West Lothian Council leader fears it could "run out" of money

The surging number of homeless people has pushed the council to an overspend of £3.5 million – only four months after drastic cost cutting in its annual budget.

Councillors heard on Tuesday that more services will have to face cuts – including a jobs freeze – in a bid to balance the books.

Council leader Lawrence Fitzpatrick warned that services were facing disaster and highlighted the financial crisis that has already claimed big city councils.

He said: “We have all seen what has happened with Birmingham City Council recently which has essentially gone bust and will now be forced to close many facilities and stop all but essential services.

“I believe it’s time to reflect on where we are going and what future we face unless a significant increase in funding is provided to councils.

“We have done everything that is required of us in terms of agreeing a long-term budget strategy and having strict budget monitoring and controls in place. However, the reality is that we do not have enough funding to deliver the level of services we currently provide. It is not sustainable and this is an extremely worrying situation for local council services.”

Urgent action has been agreed to manage the overspend including recruitment controls and stopping non-essential spending.

Councillors on the Executive – the council’s main decision making committee – have been asked to consider other cost cutting measures.

The long-standing problem of insufficient funding has been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis and increasing costs means that the council will have to deliver savings of £26.9 million over the next three years to help contribute to the budget gap.

The council receives 80 per cent of its funding from the Scottish Government, with income through Council Tax making up less than 20 per cent of the budget.

Councillor Fitzpatrick added: “It is clear that we can no longer continue to deliver the services we currently deliver and remain solvent.

“The simple reality is that if we continue to deliver the services we deliver now, we will run out of money.”