Northumberland County Council sets aside £5.2m to deal with rising fuel and utility costs

North East councils have warned of “unprecedented and unavoidable” cash shortfalls set to total tens of millions of pounds as the cost of living crisis bites.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

Just as households across the region are grappling with rising inflation and escalating energy bills, local authorities have warned that they too are faced with a deepening financial black hole that could force cuts to frontline public services.

Multiple councils have warned that they will have to make “difficult” decisions to try and balance the books.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The Local Democracy Reporting Service asked councils in Northumberland, Tyne and Wear and County Durham what extra money pressures they were facing due to the cost of living crisis and what measures were planned to deal with budget deficits.

Northumberland County Council will discuss the impact the cost of living crisis is having on its finances next month.Northumberland County Council will discuss the impact the cost of living crisis is having on its finances next month.
Northumberland County Council will discuss the impact the cost of living crisis is having on its finances next month.

Northumberland County Council confirmed it had already set aside £5.2m this year to deal with issues such as rising fuel and utility costs, but the Tory-run authority’s deputy leader Richard Wearmounth said that “we anticipate that further difficult financial decisions will need to be made going forward as costs continue to increase”.

He added: “We are working hard to ensure that these pressures impact as little as possible on our frontline services for residents and further details will be reported to Cabinet in September.”

Durham County Council has reported that its financial forecasts have “deteriorated further” since warning last month that almost £22m of savings would need to be found in 2023/24 and £55m over the next four years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sunderland City Council has said inflationary cost pressures will cause a budget overspend this year of almost £4m.

Officials in Newcastle currently estimate that rising energy bills alone will add £1.2m to the council’s bills.

North Tyneside councillor Martin Rankin said the economic crisis was “creating further strain on our already impacted budgets” and was made worse by not knowing what level of funding councils would receive from the government next year.

A government spokesperson said: “We are working with councils to understand the impact inflation will have on their budgets and stand ready to speak to any council that has concerns.

“Councils in the North East will have access to an additional £210 million this year, with a total spending power of over £2 billion.”