Shropshire Star

Powys finances better than expected

Powys County Council delivered a near balanced budget for the last financial year despite huge financial pressure.

Published
Aled Davies

The council had a £561,000 overspend for the financial year 2016/17 which ended on March 31.

However that was a small amount compared to the overspend of almost £4million which had been predicted, cabinet members have been told.

The deficit, which followed savings during the year, represents less than half a per cent of the council’s net spend for the year.

Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Councillor Aled Davies said the £0.56 million deficit was an improvement from the £3.7m overspend projected in February. However he warned that the council still faced making £2.5 million savings in the coming 12 months.

“I am pleased that the end of year financial position statement shows an improvement on the position predicted just three months ago. This is thanks to the hard work of officers and council members working together across the council, and the corrective action of the Chief Executive’s Budget Recovery Plan which is starting to take effect.

“I am also pleased that the council ended the financial year using less of its financial reserves than was forecasted in the autumn. The council had a general financial reserve of £8.7m at the end of March which is above the three per cent level for the authority but within recommended acceptable levels.

“However, there remains much to do, the council did not deliver all of the planned savings for 2016/17, and the remaining £2.5 million planned savings must be delivered this year.

“While the overall budget position is almost on target, concerns remain over school delegated budgets and, despite recent improvement, our main area of concern remains Adult Social Care within the People Directorate. This is one of the council’s biggest spending areas."