County Hall audit firm's contract for up to £30m

£1.4M DEAL TO FIND SAVINGS, MORE POSSIBLE IF THESE ARE IDENTIFIED

- By HANNAH RICHARDSON

A contract worth up to £30 million has been agreed with the firm carrying out Leicestershire County Council's savings review.

Council leaders had said they would be paying Newton £1.4 million to carry out a deep dive of their books in a bid to reduce costs.

However, documents revealed the estimated contract value has been set at “up to £30 million” as a whole, with the £1.4 million audit phase one.

The council needs to plug an expected £90 million gap in its day-to-day spending by 2029 in order to balance its books.

It also has an £80 million shortfall in money set aside for projects and an £118 million deficit in its special needs budget.