West Sussex County Council forecasting overspend of almost £10million

The figure, which is £1.9m higher than what was predicted in June, was shared during a meeting of the cabinet in late November.

A report to the meeting showed that children’s services was looking at an overspend of just over £9m, with another £1.2m overspend for learning & skills, and £1.1m for highways & transport.

Perhaps the most worrying was the news surrounding the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG).

An overspend of £15.25m was projected, which would be transferred to DSG reserve at the end of the year.

That reserve dropped into the red in 2019/20 and has been falling ever since. It will stand at minus £40.8m at the end of this financial year.

Jeremy Hunt, cabinet member for finance, told the meeting that measures put in place by the government – which allowed that deficit to stay off of the balance sheet – were due to expire at the end of March.

He advised that, if the government failed to extend the measures, the £40.8m could be covered by the council’s budget management reserve, essentially wiping out the latter.

Mr Hunt warned that such a move would ‘severely impact on our financial resilience’.

A recent survey by the County Councils Network showed that almost half of local authorities with education responsibilities would not be able to balance their budgets should the government not extend the protective measures.

West Sussex is not one of those authorities.

The report laid out a number of key financial risks facing the council.

They include increasing inflation leading to the price of energy, goods and services rising; the rising number of children needing high needs education, and problems recruiting and retaining staff.

Mr Hunt said the latter could have ‘a serious impact on our capability to deliver services efficiently and effectively’.

Taryn Eves, director of finance & support services, told the meeting it had been ‘an uncertain and volatile year’ so far and the council needed an ‘air of caution’, particularly when it came to the pressures winter will no doubt bring.