National Budget Offers Relief for Cornwall Council’s Funding Shortfall

Cornwall Council’s deputy leader has indicated that the task of balancing the council’s finances has been eased by the national Budget announced this week. The government confirmed that local authorities are slated to receive an additional £1.3 billion starting from the next year. The Conservative-led council still faces a £58 million deficit in its budget for the upcoming financial year and has yet to pinpoint £9 million in necessary savings. Councillor David Harris expressed approval for the additional government support but acknowledged that further efforts are required. The government committed £500 million for local road maintenance and £232 million to assist councils in preventing homelessness. It also confirmed the continuation for another year of a pilot scheme that allows the council to retain 100% of business rates revenue. Mr Harris remarked: “Bearing in mind what we saw were broad numbers, it was pretty good.” He further elaborated, “The devil will be in the detail – but overall it’s made it slightly easier because I can see there’s possibly an extra eight, nine, ten million pounds for us coming out of the budget.” On Thursday, councillors on the budget development overview and scrutiny committee met to evaluate £49 million in savings already identified by officers. Mr Harris stated that a “team effort” would be essential to locate the remaining £9 million and that “all ideas” would be considered. However, he stressed that the authority drawing from its reserves for a second consecutive year to cover the shortfall would be “unsustainable.” Looking ahead, the government also confirmed its intention to reform the method by which local authorities are allocated funding through the current formula. Cornwall has consistently advocated for more equitable funding for the area, but Mr Harris indicated he would remain cautious until the details were seen “in black and white.”