Leeds Council leader admits extra funding “not enough to make a difference”

The Leader of Leeds City Council has described extra government funding as “regrettably not enough to make any real difference” as final budget plans to deliver £63.9million of savings in the next year were released today.

The council’s budget report for the coming financial year 2024/25 includes a wide range of measures such as new car parking charges, price increases, service and staffing reductions together with a council tax increase of 4.98 per cent in order to deliver a balanced budget, as the council is legally required to do each year.

Councils across the country are experiencing severe financial stress as a result of significantly increased costs to provide services and rising demand, especially for vulnerable young people and adults. This is being seen especially in supporting looked after children, those with special care and education needs as well as for adult social care, while a nationally-agreed pay increase for council staff has also added to budget pressures.

The council is expecting to receive approximately £6.8million of extra government funding announced last week, which will be used to help cover the additional costs of children’s social care placements. While welcoming the extra money, the Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor James Lewis says it won’t make a significant difference to the council’s overall financial position.

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor James Lewis said: “While we welcome any additional support, the reality is it will regrettably not make much of a real difference given the scale of the situation we are in.

“The position remains perilous for not just us but councils across the country, with spiralling costs and a continuous challenge to make ends meet which has become almost impossible. The result is a budget which includes decisions we did not want to make but now have to reluctantly put forward for approval. They will have an impact on the services people see and receive, but we are committed to doing everything we can to keep providing for all our residents even if some things are going to have to change as the reality is we have no other choice.”