Finance chiefs wrestle

Government funding will be essential to prevent huge cuts being needed to balance the books in Peterborough.

The city council, which has had to make multi-million pound savings for years due to the substantial slashing of its budget, is anxiously waiting to find out whether it will be reimbursed for its spending on tackling the coronavirus pandemic.

The council has lost nearly £15 million as a result of being on the frontline of delivering support to local residents and businesses, meaning its overall deficit for 2021/22 could be as high as £28 million.

And it will now have to wait until December to find out how much support it will receive from the Government going forward, with the likelihood of “big cuts” needed if it does not receive more funding. In a revealing interview outlining how the pandemic has impacted the council’s finances, the authority’s corporate director of resources Peter Carpenter said all of local government will face: “significant issues” balancing their budgets next year without additional Government investment.

He added that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is: “begrudgingly starting to realise that the frontline deliverer of the vast majority of Covid stuff is local government, and they’ve got to fund it properly”.

Cabinet member for finance Cllr David Seaton revealed that the council has suggested to the Government giving it a year’s reprieve on repaying loans or pension contributions which would: “sort out the problem of the 2021/22 budget and would give us a couple of years where things can come back and we can plan the recovery of the future of the council’s finances”.

In a more positive outlook, the Conservative member for Hampton Vale, who has delayed his departure from the council to help tackle the current crisis, added: “I’m always optimistic for the future.

“Since 2008 it’s been a tough challenge and this does not help things at all. But we’ve got a really robust city, a lot of positive things like: the number of jobs that have come in, the demand for housing, the footfall which has started to come back, and the (new) university is just a fantastic opportunity for us.

“Given a fair wind, absolutely I think this city can bounce back in a positive way.”

Speaking to the Peterborough Telegraph, the council’s two finance chiefs revealed that:

The council will tell its • auditors in November that its finances are: “not sustainable” for the 2021/22 budget, which has to be signed off before next

April, as it will not know by then how much Government funding it will receive

Work on restructuring • on the council’s operations, and how the city recovers from the pandemic, are ongoing with £9 million of potential savings already outlined

Nearly £75 million of support • for businesses has been handed out in Peterborough, boththroughcouncilandGovernment funding

Future schemes to boost • cycling and walking in the city centre are being looked at after the council decided against restricting vehicle movements in and around Cowgate following lobbying

Cllr David Seaton