FINANCIALLY strapped Bury Council is forecast to overspend on its budget by nearly £5 million this year, despite drastic efforts to cut costs.

A report on the council’s spending in the first half of the financial year shows that it is projected to overspend its annual budget by £4.9 million, which represents nearly four per cent of the net budget.

That figure, described as being of “grave concern” by opposition councillors, has been reduced from the predicted £6.4 million overspend that was forecast in a report presented to the council’s cabinet in September.

An action plan from the council’s senior leadership team has been put in place with some immediate, additional spending controls over and above the usual measures.

These include a recruitment freeze on staff and new agency placements, release of all casual and agency staff and the ceasing of overtime and additional hours.

Cllr Jane Lewis, deputy council leader, said: “It is important to note that this report is only a forecast and we have not actually overspent by £4.9 million.

“We are only halfway through the financial year and the measures we have taken have already reduced the forecast overspend from £6.4 million three months ago to £4.9 million, which equates to just 3.9 per cent of our total net budget.

“Bury Council has always set a legal and balanced budget on time and we will do so next year too.

“Many councils are struggling to fund services appropriately, and Bury Council is no exception. Much of the financial challenge is caused by increasing demand on our services, particularly in adult social care.”

Most of the projected overspend – almost £3 million - is in the areas of children, young people and culture, with home to school transport and children’s social care areas.

There is also a projected overspend of nearly £2.5 million in communities and wellbeing services and just over £1 million in resources and regulation..

An estimated underspend of £1.8 million has been projected in other services.

But Conservative group leader Cllr Iain Gartside is critical accusing the Labour run council of failing to reign in spending.

“Their financial competence in setting a budget to run the Council has to be seriously questioned.”

Tim Pickstone, leader of Bury Lib Dems said: “My worry is that the council is failing to meet its existing budget plans this year, meaning that extra cuts will need to made in future years.”

Last week the government announced that local authorities would be able to increase council tax by up to 6 per cent over the next two years to help fund social care.

But Cllr Lewis described the decision as “utterly inadequate.”

She said: “It’s shifting the financial burden onto local taxpayers, and the extra money raised will be nowhere near enough.”

Bury Council has yet to consider whether to use the additional powers to increase council tax for funding social care.

Bury - and will be wiped out by increases in National Living Wage, which we have to pay to care providers, and which the Government itself introduced.

“At present the NHS provides health care nationally, and councils provide social care locally, but the crisis in social care is a national problem which needs a national solution now.

“Yet again, local residents and councils are being left to carry the can, and the level of care available will continue to be a postcode lottery depending on which council area you happen to live in - which can’t be right.

“This council has been forced to make cuts of £65 million since 2010, and it we will have to make another £32 million of cuts in the next three years to 2020. In these circumstances, it becomes harder and harder to make the cuts required.

“Members and officers are working extremely hard to turn things around to provide the services that the people of Bury want and need, but we can only do that with the reducing resources that are available to us.”