Council chiefs are facing a £2.2m overspend on services.
Lancashire County Council is set to overspend on its budgets in adult and community services, children and young people, environment and the county treasurer’s office for 2012/13. And council chiefs say action will now have to be taken to bring the services back in line.
There is concern over the financial pressures the council is set to face. But the authority says the overspend is a “routine fluctuation” which is likely to resolve itself.
Gill Kilpatrick, County Treasurer, said: “At this point in the financial year, this can be considered a routine fluctuation and we fully expect to come in on budget by next March.
“In the event of a deficit at the end of the financial year we would expect to use reserves to cover any gap, but this is very unlikely to be necessary.”
The issue will be discussed by cabinet members next week. A report to cabinet members says: “Although (the overspend is) relatively small, given the level of financial risk facing the County Council, it is imperative that management action is taken to bring spending back into line with the overall revenue budget by the end of the year.” Escalating costs associated with special education needs (SEN) transport and energy inflation pushing up the price of street lights are among the pressures.
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