Reading council overspends by £6 million over a year

Councillors recently received a report on how much was spent over the 2023/24 financial year which ended in April.

Figures show that  £170.5 million was spent against a budget of £164.4 million meaning Reading Borough Council spent £6.099m  more than budgeted.

The figures were presented by Darren Carter, the council's director of finance.

The overspend will be paid for out of the council's Financial Resilience Reserve, leaving £8.2 million.

Hoped for savings of £3.196 million -which included recovering reduced parking income since the pandemic and enforcing moving traffic offences- were not made.

Mr Carter said: "We have to do better on that."

The figures were presented to the council's policy committee.

Commenting on the council's financial performance, councillor Josh Williams (Green, Park) said: "Savings aren't being made, costs are still going up. Costs went up massively and still are rising.

"Reserves are being drawn on. I think the only way to turn around local authority finances for good is to fund local authorities properly, make funding simpler, make it fairer, no more piecemeal grants here and there.

Councillor Josh Williams (Green, Park) to the right, speaks at the Reading Borough Council policy committee meeting on July 8. (Image: Reading Borough Council)

"Sometimes the previous government seemed to make councils fight over like a weird local authority Hunger Games.

"Proper funding to ensure our residents and our communities are properly resourced to flourish in the sixth richest country in the world."

The council did see success in bidding for government funding, examples include the £26 million of funding achieved for its bus service improvement plan and the £19.1 million of 'levelling up' funding awarded for projects to upgrade The Hexagon and relocate the Central Library into the council offices.

Members of the council's Labour administration were cautious about hopes that the council's finances would be 'rescued' by the national government.

Liz Terry (Labour, Coley) the leader of the council said: "I guess some of us who were here in 1997 remember that the cavalry didn't come racing over the hill, it couldn't, but it does take some time to turn around 14 years of underfunding and austerity.

"But we also do have to hold some hope and faith for our town and public services generally, that a Labour government has heard that, does understand it, and in due course will find a way to bring funding forward."

Cllr Terry admitted the financial report was 'sobering' and said that the council "cannot keep running on reserves".

Nationally, Rachel Reeves, the chancellor stated the government itself has a projected £22 billion annual 'black hole' in its finances.

Reading council's policy committee unanimously approved the report on the 2023/24 financial year and the use of reserve funding to pay for the overspend at a meeting on July 8.