Cuts 'highly likely' as council faces £38m gap

A council has said it is likely to ask the government for exceptional financial support, warning that cuts to services are "highly likely".

Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council is forecasting a £38m gap in its budget for 2027/28.

It also faces pressures of more than £32m this year if no action is taken, and is urging the government to cover the final 10% of its special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) debt, after ministers agreed to fund the rest earlier this week.

A Department for Education spokesperson said the High Needs Stability Grant was the largest ever government intervention on council SEND deficits, worth more than £5bn nationally.

Mike Cox, the council's cabinet member for finance, said it was dealing with a financial challenge "on a scale it has not experienced before".

"I think it's likely that we will be asking for exceptional financial support," he said. "But personally, I will do everything I can to make sure it doesn't happen."

He stressed that no decisions had been made on cutting services but, given the scale of the challenge, that was "highly likely".

The council said the pressures were driven by rising demand for children's and adults' social care and the rising cost of delivering services, with government funding expected to fall by £15m in real terms by 2028/29.

Matthew Filmer, the council's interim director of finance, said: "If people come into care, we have to look after them, it's our statutory obligation to do so."

Earlier this week, the government approved the council's plan to reform its SEND services, making it eligible for a grant covering 90% of its historic deficit.

The council expects to be left with a SEND debt of about £38m by March 2028, after which the government will take over the spending.

Cox said it had planned to cover that by selling property, but would probably also need to sell assets to balance next year's budget, leaving it "between a rock and a hard place".

"This is a statutory service that government has underfunded for years," he said.

The council has set up a "situation room" where senior directors meet every Monday, with every vacancy and contract being examined.

Cox said he had been told more than 100 councils were in a similar position.