Borough leaders are calling for an urgent review of government funding as the local authority prepares to raise council tax for residents to help plug a £40m funding gap.

They warn Bury "cannot go on" without getting a fairer deal, which is desperately needed to meet the soaring costs of inflation and huge rises in demand for services.

A report to be presented to the full council meeting tonight, Wednesday, outlines how these factors have placed £11m of cost pressures on the council since 2022.

The report says that Bury needs to make £40m of savings over the next three years to balance the books – including £25m in the first year (2024/25).

For 2024/25, the Labour-run council is proposing to use £15m from reserves and £10m in savings, efficiencies and income generation.

Councillors are set to decide the budget for 2024/25 at its meeting tonight, Wednesday, with council tax set rise by 2.99 per cent with a further two per cent increase for adult social care. 

More than 1,300 residents have signed the Let’s Fix It Together petition calling for a better deal, with it reported that Bury is among the poorest funded councils in the country.

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Council leader, Cllr Eamonn O’Brien, said: “Fourteen years of austerity has stripped more than £100m from our resources, and we simply cannot go on like this.

“On top of inflation, we have seen a big rise in the demand for services, particularly in adult social care and for children with special needs.

"These are crucial services that we must provide, but they are also among the most expensive – social care accounts for two-thirds of the council tax.

“Sooner or later we will be reduced to providing only the services that we have to by law.”

He added: “Last summer, the council declared itself to be in a ‘state of financial distress’ and conducted a review of all its financial systems and processes.

"This looked at all aspects of the council’s finances, from staffing levels to the use of balances and reserves.

“This has ensured the immediate viability of the council, but it is not a long-term solution. Reserves can only be spent once and therefore work is well under way to identify recurring financial savings over the next few years.”

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Cllr Richard Gold, cabinet member for finance and communities, added: “The government says we’ve had our spending power increased by 7.7 per cent, which is true, but it expects that we’ll put up council tax by the maximum allowed.

“So really the funding increase is being funded by the local tax payer – and increasingly so.

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"Now, 57 per cent of our income comes from the council tax – up from 50 per cent just nine years ago.

"While there has been a recent increase in one-off grants and fixed-term funding from central government, our core funding has gone down by 55 per cent since 2010/11.”

The Institute of Fiscal Studies published data in 2023 which highlighted the council’s position in the bottom 20 per cent worst-funded councils in terms of money to spend per resident.

Cllr Gold added: “We are suffering from the lack of a long-term, sustainable funding policy for local government which was first announced in 2016.

“This has led to short-term funding settlements which prevent the development of longer-term saving strategies.

"Going from year to year is not the way to deliver long-term sustainability.”

To visit the Let’s Fix It Together petition, go to https://www.bury.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/budget-campaign-petition

A Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities spokesperson said: “We recognise councils are facing challenges and that is why we recently announced an additional £600m support package for councils across England, increasing their overall funding for the upcoming financial year to £64.7bn – a 7.5 per cent increase in cash terms.

“Councils are responsible for their own finances and set council tax levels, but we have been clear they should be mindful of cost-of-living pressures. We continue to protect taxpayers from excessive council tax increases through referendum principles.”