Further savings proposals are being put forward by Derbyshire County Council after it was revealed that the authority has a predicted shortfall in its budget for the financial year ahead (2025-26) of £18.6 million – this is in addition to a current forecast overspend for 2024-25 (the current financial year) of £28.1 million.
As a result, a number of new savings proposals have been set out that, if agreed, would save the authority millions of pounds and help it to balance the books for 2025-2026. This will be debated at a meeting of the county council’s cabinet on Thursday, January 9.
It will set out how the council intends to make the savings required, meet the funding shortfall and set and maintain a balanced budget for 2025-26.
A full list of new budget savings proposals put forward is included in the report:
- The use of AI tools to streamline and automate parts of the care and support planning process for adult social care
- A review of current in-house and external extra care housing schemes
- One Council integration through centralisation and redesign of council support services
- A review of transport provision for people using adult social care services, looking at eligibility and charging policies
- Improving reablement to reduce hospital stays and maximise independence
- Council property rationalisation, reducing the authority’s property portfolio to a more affordable, sustainable level
- Implementation of reforms set out in the Environment Act around collection and packaging which relate to waste and recycling
- Savings in senior management costs, relating to savings from the transfer of functions to the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) and part of the One Council programme.
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The council says it continues to face significant budget pressures due to a number of factors which are beyond its control. These include pay and price inflation and rising demand for services, particularly in adults and children’s social care.
The new savings proposals follow a previous savings plan for 2024-25, which is on track to achieve its target of £31.9 million by the end of this financial year (March 31, 2025) and will continue to deliver a further £18.9 million of savings in 2025-26. It is proposed that the 2025-26 funding shortfall of £18.6 million will be met from £17.5 million savings options plus £1.1 million departmental efficiencies.
Councillor Barry Lewis, Derbyshire County Council leader, said: “During the course of the year we have made no secret of the fact that the pressures on our budget continue to mount due to costs and demand which are beyond our control.
“However, we are in a better space now than we were this time last year and the solid savings plan we put in place at the beginning of 2024 is on track to achieve its target.
“While we have made a step change in the way we identify and deliver savings, the pressures keep increasing, so we are focussing on ways to reduce those pressures and also fundamentally changing our operating model, including automating and digitising support services where we can.
“The situation around adults and children’s social care is serious for all councils but we are taking action to challenge how we deliver it, and also working as One Council to bring functions together and challenge all day-to-day expenditure.”
The council previously put measures in place in December to stem the forecast overspend for this year, which included:
- vacancy management including pausing recruitment where appropriate
- reviewing vacant posts and freezing or deleting them where appropriate
- reviewing the use of agency workers to reduce costs
- reducing expenditure on procurement to only spend money on essential areas.
A cross-party budget commission has been set up to review the causes of significant budget pressures and a review of the council’s whole operating model is also being commissioned to ensure the authority is working as effectively as it can and that it is considering all available opportunities to reduce costs through rationalisation and improvement.
Following the cabinet meeting, the council’s improvement and scrutiny committee – resources, will meet on January 13 to consider the new budget saving proposals and provide feedback to cabinet.
The budget-setting report will then be considered by cabinet at its meeting on Thursday, January 30, before going to full council when it meets on Wednesday, February 12.