Gloomy outlooks, grim predictions, and dire warnings have become a feature across Greater Manchester town halls. For years, councils have talked about tightening their belts in the face of government funding cuts. Now, councillors fear they’re "at the cliff edge".
The word "unsustainable" has been used by two council chiefs. One leader says "there’s nothing left to slice off" in trying to make ends meet. Unlike the government, local authorities cannot borrow to finance day-to-day spending.
Legally, they must pass a balanced revenue budget — where outgoings are covered by income. And officials in Greater Manchester say it’s getting harder and harder to do that. Worryingly, a quarter of English councils say they’ll ask for a government bailout soon.
Officers are therefore anxiously awaiting the Chancellor’s October 30 budget — so how are Greater Manchester’s finances faring? What’s the situation in Greater Manchester? It’s a mixed picture. The largest council, Manchester, projects it will face a £65m budget black hole by 2028. This year, it’s facing an £17.
4m overspend, which will deplete its reserves down to £6.5m if £50m of cuts are not made. The other city, Salford, also has an in-year overspend.
Its earmarked reserve has £6.8m left. Bolton is staring down a £7.
4m budget shortfall next year, but leader Nick Peel "suspects it will probably be more than that". Next door, Bury is facing a £22m gap, and needs to spend £15m of reserves in the next tw.