Libraries and leisure centres £1m over budget as council faces possible bankruptcy

The Oval Leisure Centre in Bebington which is one of several run by Wirral Council
-Credit: (Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)


Leisure centres and libraries across Wirral could be hit with cuts as they’re nearly £1m over budget. Wirral Council could be looking at possible bankruptcy later this year and a new report said some services could be reduced to try and avoid that outcome.

The new report, published ahead of a tourism, communities, culture, and leisure committee meeting, said the council “faces a severe financial challenge that demands immediate action” and to balance the books, it has to bring in “all possible measures to curtail spending and generate substantial cost savings.” The local authority is currently in talks with the government to find a way forward though its finance director has warned Wirral Council could be declaring bankruptcy either this year or next without extra financial support.

The local authority set a budget in February 2024 of just under £400m but this year it is expected to have gone over budget by £21m unless things improve. The local authority previously said this is being driven by increasing costs to fund adult and children's social care services.

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However it’s not just social care. The new report said services like leisure centres, libraries, neighbourhood safety, and tourism are now expected to cost more than £16m by March 2025. This is an overspend of £1.3m.

Most of this is being driven by leisure centres and libraries which are expected to go over budget by £994,000. The report said leisure services are over budget by £664,000 due to “staffing pressures and a lack of budget to cover premium payments and enhancements for rota hours.”

Libraries are also over budget by £330,000 in part due to repairs and maintenance costs and “unachievable income targets” that total £200,000. The report said the targets had stayed in place “despite site reductions, changes in customer behaviour, and technology advances.”

The report will be reviewed by councillors at a meeting on November 28. It said the council was “looking for further options to mitigate the overspend in year” including holding vacancies and “potentially reducing the level of service being provided.”

To balance the books overall, the council is looking to use its contingency funds, introduced a spending freeze in September, plans to use money generated from land and asset sales, move £5.3m of earmarked back up funds around as well as use all of its £13.8m general reserves, usually kept for emergencies. This would allow the council to balance its budget this year but entering the next year with no back up funds at all if things go wrong.

The report said the council’s situation is “untenable” which is why it is talking to the government. On a positive note, the report said the council is on track to make the £1.3m of savings approved at the beginning of this year by the committee.