Wrexham Council’s Finances in Good Place but Big Budget Pressures Loom

Early predictions show Wrexham Council’s finances are in a good place according the the Leader of the Council – but big budget pressures mean it’s unlikely to last.
Wrexham County Borough Council’s first quarter revenue report is due to go to Executive Board on Tuesday, July 7 indicating a projected end-of-year deficit of around £2.5m.
That is thanks to a number of savings made across council departments totalling £1,118,250.
These include a £450,000 saving as a result of eight individuals housed in high-cost children’s social care placements moving into independent living.
Council departments continue to look for more savings to bridge the gap – but the report does not include the schools budget, which is currently undergoing a separate review by the authority’s Chief Finance Officer Richard Weigh and is likely to significantly increase the council’s overspend.
“I’m pleased with where we are,” said Council Leader Cllr Mark Pritchard. “But it could go the other way very quickly.
“You only need two, three, maybe four out-of-county care cases – they are expensive – and the pressure can change overnight. 
“But as the lead member of finance, I think we’re in a good position and let’s hope that continues – although none of us have got a crystal ball to see the future.”
The authority’s schools budget is almost £112m, however ongoing overspends by schools – including Darland High School which has a deficit of over £1m and has recently faced industrial action from teachers – suggest that it is likely to be over-budget again this year.
Social care is still the biggest budgetary concern for the council however, with a forecast overspend already of £3,158,861 for the year likely to increase before April 2027.
The authority also learned last week that the new Plaid Cymru Welsh Government would be withholding £12m of funding for additional learning needs (ALN) education that was promised to the authority by the previous Labour-led administration.
Council Chief Executive Alwyn Jones said the authority was aware of the risks and was working on ways to control spending areas that traditionally apply unexpected pressure to the public purse, including social care and education for pupils with ALN.
“There’s lots of really positive stuff going in some of the areas where we’ve got the high costs,” he said.
“We will be developing new ALN provision in-county because they’re best placed in Wrexham and we can better manage the cost.
“We are working on local authority provision to support some additional learning needs. We all think that better than sending kids to specialist provision outside the county.
“There’s been research to indicate since Covid there are more children experiencing challenges that we need to support in terms of their education.
“We’re doing a lot of work to try and provide that in-county, but that won’t work for every child.
“In social care what we’re trying to do is manage things as best we can depending on the needs of the individual.”
The Executive Board will review the revenue report on Tuesday. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

%gallery% ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

By BBC LDRS ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​