Derbyshire council says it is ‘progressing well’ with budget cutbacks to manage ‘£40m’ deficit

Pictured is Derby County Hall
-Credit: (Image: Jon Cooper / LDRS)


A Derbyshire council claims its multi-million-pound savings plan is ‘progressing well’ after it has begun making ‘difficult decisions’ and considering dramatic changes to its services to manage an estimated budget shortfall of around £40m for the current 2024-25 financial year.

The Conservative-led Derbyshire County Council has announced prior to a Cabinet meeting on September 18 the overall savings target for 2024-25 to be made through the ‘budget savings proposals’ is £31.3m with the savings forecast to be delivered totalling £30.2m and it added that in some areas originally forecast savings have exceeded the original target.

Some controversial changes to council services have included already agreeing to close ten children’s centres and as the authority also considers closing up to eleven residential care homes and eight day opportunity services for the elderly it has argued high demand and cost pressures across social care continue to challenge its finances.

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Council Leader, Cllr Barry Lewis, said: “We continue to be a well-managed, efficient and financially stable council, and it is to be welcomed that we are progressing well with the savings plan we agreed earlier this year. A lot of hard work and strong planning has gone into ensuring we keep our finances on track but it has not been without many difficult decisions having to be made.

“However, like councils across the country we continue to face great financial challenges, with most of the pressures on our budgets being simply outside our control, for example higher than expected inflation. These pressures affect all our services, but in particular adults’ and children’s social care where demand and costs continue to rise. The County Council Network has warned that local services could face a ‘breaking point’ with county authorities facing a £2bn funding black hole over the next two years, so we know that this issue is not just one facing Derbyshire.”

The council’s Cabinet will consider a budget report on the first quarter of the 2024-25 financial year at a meeting on September 18 detailing the progress of the savings plans and its budget position so far. When the council agreed to progress with its saving proposals, in February, to try and balance the estimated budget deficit and funding gap of around £40m for the 2024-25 financial year, opposition Labour Group Leader, Cllr Joan Dixon, accused the authority of placing the council on the edge of bankruptcy.

But the council has stated that like many authorities it has been struggling due to reduced Government funding, the financial impact from the Covid-19 pandemic, high inflation rates, rising costs, the cost of living crisis, and a growing demand on services.

As part of saving plans, the council’s decision to close ten children’s centres was not well-received by Labour councillors with over 100 feared potential job cuts and the ‘disestablishment’ of the council’s Early Help Service and the introduction of a new Family Help service to achieve a £3.9m savings target. Council plans to also consider closing up to eleven residential homes and eight day opportunity services for elderly people have also been met by opposition from nine of Derbyshire’s 11 Labour MPs.

However, the council has identified potential savings of over £5.2m with possible care home closures and over £1.3m with possible day centre closures and it has argued there is a decreasing need for residential care and it aims to refocus by creating specialist dementia residential care centres. The council is also due to decide on how it provides Day Opportunity centres and Short Break residential units for adults with learning disabilities and or autism which some fear could result in some support services and centres being discontinued and closed.

And the latest Cabinet report highlights that despite the delivery of savings being on track in most areas continuing demand and cost pressures, mainly in adults’ and children’s social care services, could result in a forecast overspend of just over £20m for 2024-25. In addition, the council has already agreed to new cost-saving efficiency changes at its nine household waste recycling centres including reduced opening hours, new charges to dispose of tyres and asbestos, and a trial scheme to allow small businesses to pay to use two of the centres.

It is also considering plans to transform the health visiting services for pre-school families and children which could mean possibly stopping discretionary pre-school face-to-face reviews to children at three-and-a-half years-old. The council has also been looking into plans to end over £1m of funding for 50 community and voluntary groups as part of its saving plans.

A number of saving proposals for council services have been put out to public consultations and have either been agreed or are awaiting final decisions but many are still in the planning or consultation stage. Cllr Lewis added: “We are continuing to lobby the Government so that we can continue to run vital services to those who need them most, but we also recognise that even more difficult decisions will be needed as we work to balance the books now and in future years.”

Deputy Council Leader, Cllr Simon Spencer, who is the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Budget, has previously stated that future staff redundancies cannot be ruled out.

Cllr Spencer said: “While we welcome the good progress of our savings plan, we continue to face many challenges as the forecast overspend indicates. Making savings across the authority is a position that no-one who goes into public service ever wants to be in.

“However, they are necessary if we are to continue to balance our books and we will continue to monitor the financial situation very closely. Despite the continuing pressures we remain ambitious for Derbyshire and will continue to do all we can, working with partners, to deliver the best services we can for our residents and communities.”