Councillors may have limited say on budgets

EAST Riding councillors have been warned extreme financial uncertainty and the likelihood of more spending cuts limits the amount of say they can have over budgets.

Their officers told councillors they were working with the cabinet to set budgets but the current financial situation meant consulting all of them was impracticable.

Chief executive Caroline Lacey said members should raise budget issues through cabinet members but warned the process was very challenging against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis.

Overview Management Committee Chair Coun Denis Healy said the situation meant members could not be consulted as often but warned some felt they were being told rather than listened to.

It comes as committee members were reviewing how councillors were having more influence over decision-making following findings from the Local Government Association (LGA) made public earlier this year.

The LGA found decisions were being taken undemocratically without members’ input and that power was concentrated in the hands of senior officers.

The report, based on an inspection late last year, recommended that the council should become member led and officer driven to redress the balance.

The cabinet heard this week that the council faced a growing gap in its budget as inflation drives up its costs.

Council finance lead Julian Neilson told the cabinet the authority was set to have a £3.3m hole in its general fund budget by the end of this financial year, up from £2.6m, despite using £7m from reserves to meet rising costs from energy bill hikes and higher than expected pay settlements and £5m in cuts.

Ms Lacey said the authority would continue to face uncertainty until the Government’s Autumn Statement.