In advance of next week’s Cabinet meeting, Torbay Council has published the latest information on its budget position.
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic the budget monitoring report for Period 2 (up to the end of May 2020) shows there continues to be significant pressure on the Council’s revenue budget.
The Council is facing financial pressures totalling £18.7m. It’s forecasting to receive £10.3m of un-ring fenced COVID-19 grant funding from the Government to support expenditure and lost income. Further Government funding was announced on 2 July for income reimbursement which we estimate at £1.8m for Torbay.
Taking government funding into account and service-specific reserves, the Council is forecasting an overall budget overspend of £4.8m for the current financial year.
Steve Darling, Leader of Torbay Council, said: “The financial impact on 2020/21 is constantly evolving, ultimately the impact on the Council will depend on the level of economic recovery in Torbay, which has a direct effect on the Council’s income. At this stage, there are no significant reductions or closure of services proposed, but we are taking a number of actions to reduce the impact. These include a moratorium on all non-essential spend in the council and reviewing the 2020/21 budget so we can respond more effectively to future unknown factors”.
Darren Cowell, Deputy Leader, Torbay Council, said: “We have a very clear view that the totality of the financial impact of COVID-19 should be funded by Government and not the local taxpayer. We will continue to lobby government for both additional funding and to consider options for mitigating the financial impact in 2020/21 and in future years”.
Details of the areas and levels of spend are set out in the Cabinet report published on the Council’s website.
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