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10
Sept 2024
North Yorkshire faces one of largest council budget shortfalls in region
North Yorkshire Council has one of the highest predicted budget shortfalls of all local authorities in the region, according to a report out today.
Public services union Unison published Councils on the Brink to coincide with the 156th Trades Union Congress, which began in Brighton this morning.
The report says North Yorkshire Council’s £28.2 million predicted shortfall for 2025/26 is the third highest of 15 local authorities in Yorkshire and the Humber.
Only Bradford City Council (£126.2m) and Leeds City Council (£64.6m) are looking at bigger black holes for the next financial year.
Unison, which compiled the report using freedom of information requests and financial data, warns council funding is “in a dire state with massive cuts likely to essential services and jobs”.
Karen Loughlin, Unison Yorkshire and Humberside regional secretary, said:
Councils are teetering on the brink of financial disaster. Countless essential services and very many vital jobs are at risk, with terrible consequences for communities across Yorkshire and Humberside.
After 14 years of ruthless austerity, the very fabric of local society is under threat. Councils are quite simply the linchpin of local areas, so when services go, many people are left vulnerable, with no one to pick up the pieces.
Local authorities were clobbered by the previous government, whose harsh financial settlements left councils with no option but to sell off the family silver, auction off green spaces, close key community facilities and let thousands of workers go. Only swift and decisive action to stabilise local finances will do.
According to the report, North Yorkshire Council’s revenue budget for 2025/26 is £726.2 million, which is the highest of all the local authorities in Yorkshire and the Humber.
The percentage of its revenue budget represented by the £28.2 million gap is 3.89%.
This is considerably lower than the 21.94% gap at Bradford City Council and the 10.07% figure for Leeds City Council, and also lower than seven others on the regional list, which comparatively paints a less bleak picture for North Yorkshire.
Nationally, the report says councils in England, Wales and Scotland face a collective funding shortfall of £4.3bn in 2025/26, rising to £8.5bn by 2026/27.
The council with the largest funding gap is Hampshire County Council, which faces a £132 million shortfall. Bradford City Council is second nationally, and Birmingham City Council third.
The Unison figures for Yorkshire and the Humber.
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