Hampshire County Council faces 'unprecedented' £200m budget black hole

HAMPSHIRE County Council will have to plug an "unprecedented" £200m black hole in its budget within the next four years.

The Conservative-run authority has revealed it is expecting the budget gap to reach this amount by 2025/26, writes David George of the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

The figure comes from work on a new medium-term financial strategy – the progress of which will be presented to the cabinet next week.

Early projections at the start of this year had this figure at £237m, sparking urgent calls for a new way of properly funding local government.

Councillors across the political spectrum have voiced concerns about the county council’s financial future.

HCC leader Cllr Rob Humby said: "The financial pressures facing the county council by 2025/26 will be our toughest yet.

"We are not alone in this unprecedented financial situation – this is a national problem as the entire system of local government finance is simply not fit for purpose and urgent root-and-branch changes are needed to this funding model if the sector as a whole is going to survive this difficult period.

"The money we get in from increased council tax and from government each year simply is not enough to cover the increased costs of inflation and growth in services – particularly in social care, but also across highways, waste and the growing need for new technologies."

No additional government funding is expected over the next two years, Cllr Humby added.

The news comes as adult social care costs rise by 18%, with similar inflation troubles in the construction industry and a national recession looming.

Cllr Keith House, leader of HCC's Liberal Democrat opposition group, said: "The county council is in a deep, dark financial hole that gets worse each year.

"The underlying issue is this government has failed to fund adult and children’s services fully for more than a decade, and the Conservative administration has failed to make any impact on local MPs and government ministers to sort this out.

"This is a problem of the Conservative party’s making and it is Hampshire residents who are paying the price with endless cuts in services and more to come.

"But the county council could have done more over the years to raise more income and be more fleet of foot commercially, as the Liberal Democrats have advised."