Liverpool’s deputy mayor has warned the city faces a “very, very difficult” budget next year as tens of millions in funding is cut.
The council is currently projecting that it will need to carve £33m from its budget for the next financial year, on top of £15m this year.
A total of £445m has been cut from the council’s budget since 2010.
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Negotiations over the council’s budget for next year are already well underway, with councillors set to vote on them next spring.
Deputy mayor Jane Corbett told members of the council’s finance and resources select committee last night that the council was heavily scrutinising how money was spent across departments and making sure the council was maximising the money it could get through grants.
She said: “This budget is going to be very, very difficult so we need to target the money that we’ve got, specifically the discretionary money and discretionary grants, very, very carefully.”
City residents were asked earlier this year to give their views on the budget as part of an early consultation, with the formulation of the budget still at an early stage.
Councillor Corbett said that so far there had been more than 500 responses but said she hoped to push for more before the consultation is paused in a week’s time.
Last year’s budget cuts came from a range of areas, including a controversial overhaul of the city’s One Stop Shop service, the sale of ground rents held by the council and a review of supported accommodation for adults.
Residents were also hit with a council tax rise, something which is also a likely this year.
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