As Kirklees Council reshuffles its cabinet and installs a new leader and CEO amid a dire financial situation, the council’s Liberal Democrat group is calling for an independent review of the council’s finances to help the local authority avoid intervention from the national government.
A motion has been put forward for consideration at September’s full council meeting that would see the Local Government Association (LGA) “peer challenge” Kirklees Council. If a peer challenge were to go ahead, councillors and officers from the LGA would “independently and constructively challenge” Kirklees Council in relation to its finances and report back on their findings.
Leader of the Lib Dem Group, Cllr John Lawson, said: “This motion comes at a crucial time for Kirklees Council. Ideally an independent review would have taken place this Summer, that wasn’t to be. Now the timing of a new Cabinet and Leader as well as the arrival of a new CEO present an opportunity to really learn lessons and put in the spadework for the future.”
The motion states: “Like many other local authorities, Kirklees Council faces financial challenges that are on a scale and depth not seen in its fifty-year history;
“While budget measures taken in March 2023 have provided savings in Quarter 1, these savings have already been outstripped by increasing need and unexpected costs, namely: ongoing Government reductions in funding, e.g. rising charges, especially for energy. Rising demand in social care for children and adults has also resulted in increasing pressure due to unresolved Government funding.
“A new Leader and Cabinet will be in place at September Council. Kirklees Liberal Democrat group believe that this is an opportunity for a new Cabinet to reassess decisions made by previous portfolio holders and to refresh the whole council, both in terms of its priorities and the way it marshals all its resources to deal with the complex issues faced by its residents in these challenging times.”
Kirklees Council is currently looking at a £20.3m overspend on its budget of £380m and needs to make a saving of £47m this financial year to balance its books.
A report to cabinet earlier this month stated that “the seriousness of the council’s financial position cannot be understated” and set out measures to help the local authority avoid effective bankruptcy. These include the freezing of non-essential spending and recruitment, increasing discretionary fees and speeding up the sales of buildings the council is looking to dispose of. Two hundred and fifty redundancies are also to be made across the council’s workforce between October and March.
The motion is due to be discussed by the council on 13 September. The council’s Green group has also put forward a motion in the shape of a 10-point plan, suggesting measures to help the council address its financial crisis.
