Ealing Council says that due to the rise of inflation and increasing need for adult social care services, it is set to go almost £15 million over budget this financial year.
In presenting the first quarter report of the financial year, the Labour-run council revealed what it is facing.
At a recent meeting of the Council cabinet, Councillor Steve Donnelly, cabinet member for inclusive economy revealed said: “We are taking every step within our power to bring these budgets under control. I continue to meet monthly with key service areas to discuss ways in which we can bring budgets down without causing difficulty to our vulnerable service users and we will continue to do that.”
He added: “I am certainly hopeful that in Q2 I will be presenting a better, though not a rosy picture but let’s be clear we are in this in the long haul. Q1 is a period before things really went off the rails in terms of the national economy, inflation has continued to rise since the Quarter One period and the demands on our suppliers, reasonable demands in most cases, is pushing back upon us. These are difficult times for the council and for the country.”
Ealing Liberal Democrat finance spokesperson Gary Busuttil said: “Liberal Democrats say there needs to be a national solution to adult social care funding as the government have avoided dealing with this huge issue for many years. Liberal Democrats advocate a group of MPs from all parties to come up with solutions that hopefully all of parliament can agree to. In the short term though Ealing Council needs to get on and make changes by continually reviewing where processes can be more integrated to save money whilst not causing a negative outcome to the care people receive in Ealing. I think that this will be a continuing feature whilst the economic situation stabilises, and the energy prices and inflation can be tamed by the government.”
View the full cabinet meeting here
