Oldham Council has managed to bring down a huge projected funding gap - but still faces a £21m overspend. The update was issued at a council meeting on Wednesday evening (September 11), where the council’s finance boss Abdul Jabbar was grilled on the state of Oldham’s accounts.
The council was initially facing a £26m budget hole and has asked staff to consider voluntary redundancies and reduced contracts in a bid to bring it down.
This came in top of an £11m gap the local authority is still trying to plug from last year’s budget. If they don’t succeed in cutting costs, the council previously said they will use up the majority of its reserves in 2025, leaving it vulnerable to ‘effective bankruptcy’ in future years.
But on Wednesday evening, Coun Jabbar told the council: “Clearly, we’re in a very challenging situation and we’re dealing with it head on.
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