Burnley Council confident of balancing the books by year end

In September the council projected an overspend of £195,000 in the current financial year.

Now an undated revenue budget monitoring report to councillors shows that projected overspend has reduced to £86,000, based on the latest estimates of income and spending, achieved by finding savings across the budget.

This figure is lower than this point last year and the council is confident it will close the gap and balance the books by the end of the financial year in March 2022.

The report notes that there are still many future unknowns and recognises the impact the Covid-19 pandemic has had and will continue to have over future years.

Coun. Sue Graham, the council’s executive member for resources and performance management, said: “It’s good to see the projected overspend has been reduced thanks to further savings being found and that work will continue over the remainder of this financial year.

“The budget is an ever-changing situation and it is continually monitored and reviewed so we keep a very firm grip on the council’s purse strings. Like everyone else, the council has been affected by the impact of Covid which has led to uncertainty and made it difficult to predict what the future holds.”

The budget report will go to the scrutiny and executive committees.