Middle East conflict poses new risk to Monmouthshire County Council finances, warns cabinet

WAR in the Middle East is a new risk for Monmouthshire County Council, its cabinet has been told. 
The authority publishes a “strategic risk assessment” to identify and monitor issues that could adversely impact its financial position or ability to deliver services. 
Councillor Ben Callard presented the latest assessment to the cabinet’s June 10 meeting and said: “The two main changes for this year are both to do with the situation causing uncertainty in the Middle East and the war in Iran and the risk to supply chains and a risk that has come back is the cost-of-living crisis due to impact of uncertainty from the conflict in the Middle East and increases in fuel prices.” 
Conservative opposition leader, Richard John, asked Cllr Callard, who is responsible for finance in the Labour/Green Party cabinet, which services he believed are “most at risk” due to the identified £37.4 million budget shortfall, by 2029/30, identified in the assessment. 
Labour’s Cllr Callard said the projected medium term shortfall has “always been” above £30m which he said is around 15 per cent of the authority’s budget or “over the next three years five per cent a year.” 
But the cabinet member said he “would not write” the 2027/28 budget now or predetermine the 2028/29 and 2029/30 budgets “which are for the next council to agree”.  ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​

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