Warrington Council Bans Non-Essential Travel and Recruitment Amidst £28m Overspend Forecast

A council has prohibited all but essential travel and recruitment, as it confronts a projected £28m overspend for the current financial year. Warrington Council has received a warning that it might need to contemplate issuing a Section 114 notice if it fails to implement urgent savings. Such notices are typically issued by local authorities when they are, in essence, insolvent. According to Council Leader Hans Mundry, the Labour-run authority finds itself in “no worse a situation than other councils”. Warrington Council established its budget for 2024-25 in February, incorporating a savings objective of £15.9m. Multiple reasons have been identified as contributing to this year’s anticipated overspend. Revenue generated from commercial properties is anticipated to be temporarily below projections, a situation the council attributes to scheduled refurbishment projects and new lease agreements. Concurrently, expenditures are persistently increasing in sectors such as adult and children’s social care, the provision for special educational needs, and efforts to address homelessness. In an effort to conserve funds, the council intends to fill only “essential” job vacancies. Additionally, stricter oversight will be applied to overtime payments and expenditures for agency personnel. Furthermore, travel will only be approved for the “essential delivery of service or in very exceptional circumstances”. Consequently, meetings are now required to be held remotely whenever feasible. A report has cautioned councillors: “If these actions are not introduced and followed – and the budgetary position continues or worsens – then the council would need to consider issuing a Section 114 notice or applying to the government for exceptional finance support.” Council leader Mr Mundry stated that immediate measures were necessary to address the forecasted overspend.