Multi-million-pound support has been announced this afternoon (Thursday) to help tackle huge pressures on Stoke-on-Trent City Council’s finances.
The council has received an ‘in principle’ decision that it can borrow up to £42.2m over the next two years to cope with the rising demands of social care.
It comes after the local authority revealed it is preparing to make £8 million cuts to its annual budget as it looks to combat a predicted £29.5 million shortfall in the next financial year.
Without the loan, the council would have had to strip back a raft of services as it tried to balance the books.
If this did not work then it would have been forced to issue a Section 114 notice – effectively declaring itself bankrupt.
The Government funding will allow the authority to change the way children’s services operate to help more children and families to thrive.
Over the two years, up to £20.5m could be drawn down in 2023/24 and £21.7m in 2024/25 which will then need to be paid back in subsequent years.
Council Leader Jane Ashworth said: “When we announced our budget proposals in January we were clear that we needed this extra package of exceptional financial support from government to help sustain our essential services and look after the people in our communities who need the most support.
“We made a compelling case to government, this is not just the Government handing it to us.
“Whilst central government would be granting us special permission, it is important to note the council is still essentially using its own resources to address the challenge we face.”
More than 3,500 vulnerable adults require social care support, and 1,148 children are in the council’s care – one in every 52 children in the city – which is the highest number per head of population in the country.
Jane added: “These figures are continuing to rise and the only way we can combat this is by investing in these essential services with more early intervention support.
“This being said we still remain ambitious for our city. We want to make a difference to family life and the local economy and bring inward invest into Stoke-on-Trent.”
The announcement comes as last week the council’s cabinet approved the 2024/25 budget proposals.
The proposals, which were open to public consultation until 12 February, include raising council tax by 4.99%, with an additional £26.1m invested into social care services to look after the people who need the most support.
This would include a record budgeted investment into adult social care as part of a proposed increase in spend on children’s services, adults’ services and public health to £192.1m.
The budget proposals will now be put before a meeting of the full council on 5 March.
