ST HELENS Council says compulsory redundancies are “always a last resort” amid a “significant” forecast overspend.

The financial monitoring report for period two of 2024-25 came before the cabinet at its meeting last week.

It provided members with the forecast financial position in relation to the revenue and capital budget for 2024-25, as well as summarised the council’s reserves and balances position and included the interim treasury management strategy report.

It stated that the failure to deliver agreed savings presents a “key risk” to the council.

According to the report, there is a forecast portfolio overspend of £8.910 million against the updated net portfolio budget of £185.838 million.

“There was a similar portfolio overspend in both 2022-23 and 2023-24, making 2024-25 the third consecutive year in which the council is forecasting a significant overspend,” it added.

“One-off corporate underspends are forecast to offset the portfolio overspend by £3.410m, resulting in a forecast net budget overspend of £5.500m for 2024-25.

“This presents a significant financial risk to the council. There is an urgent requirement for mitigating actions to be implemented by management to minimise this risk.”

The council has been asked if it is planning to carry out redundancies, as part of savings proposals – and if it is confident that it can significantly reduce the forecast overspend position.

In response, a St Helens Council spokesperson said: “As a local authority that provides more than 700 services to 180,000 residents every day, we strive to offer value for money as part of a key priority to be a responsible council.

“Many councils like St Helens are facing huge financial challenges but must set a balanced budget as a legal requirement. It remains the view of the council’s Section 151 officer that the council budget is robust over the medium term.

“Over the last few years, the council has been undertaking a review, with the options of voluntary redundancy – together with a small number of compulsory redundancies – in place to support the required changes and service transformation.

“Compulsory redundancies are always a last resort, and the council has a good track record of redeploying staff where possible.”