Bolton council faces £30m of cuts over next four years

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Bolton Council will need to make £30m of cuts over the next four years as their budget gap grows, councillors have been told.

A meeting of the council’s cabinet heard the overall ‘budget gap’ predicted by the council over that period is around £46.4m with the council set to use of £16.6m of cash reserves to assist in the implementation of the cuts.

However, such use of reserves has been challenged in a recent report by the council’s external auditors as ‘unsustainable’. The council have said the gap in finances is being largely caused by increasing demand in children’s services and adult social care.

The authority is also forecast to overspend this year’s budget by around £15m. The council’s treasurer has recommended a two year budget with savings target covering 2025/26 and 2026/27 be set by the council next February.