Pandemic has left £500k hole in Wigan Council’s budget

A dramatic drop in council tax income during the coronavirus pandemic has left authorities in Wigan facing a funding shortfall of nearly half a million pounds, new figures reveal.
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Councils across England are facing a combined deficit of more than half a billion pounds for the 2020-21 financial year, after council tax intake plummeted in the majority of areas.

Data from the Ministry of Housing, Local Government and Communities shows Wigan Council will have to address an estimated shortfall of £495,793.

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A Government scheme should help to plug the funding gap, while the deficit will be spread over three years and split between the area’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the council as billing authority.

Wigan Town HallWigan Town Hall
Wigan Town Hall

But the “financial hole” caused by a drastic fall in anticipated income to the authority’s collection fund could cause resource and budget pressures for years to come.

The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy, a trade body, has warned that the end of Government funded Covid support could make it even more difficult for councils to repay the deficit.

The collection fund represents income and expenditure relating to council tax and business rates, with estimates used to help set local authority budgets.

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Coun Nazia Rehman, cabinet member for finance resources and transformation at Wigan Council, said: “The £495,793 is an estimate at this stage and the Council is monitoring the position as the year progresses. The Council will also look to access the Government’s 75 per cent of irrecoverable council tax and business rate loss support.

In response to the pandemic, the Government asked councils to estimate the impact of Covid-19 on the collection of funds for 2020-21.

Just 41 local authorities expect a surplus in council tax income while more than 250 reported estimated deficits of between £14,000 and £17m.

There were 10 councils that indicated they were not in deficit, but did not report surplus figures.

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The national anticipated deficit across all councils in England rises to £546m when surpluses are not taken into account, the data shows.

But the figures do not reflect councils’ overall financial position after other funding and spending is accounted for, nor the impact of the tax income guarantee scheme announced by the Government in November.

Under this scheme, local authorities will be reimbursed for up to 75 per cent of irrecoverable council tax and business rate losses, with payments expected to begin in the near future.

Rob Whiteman of the CIPFA said this will compensate councils for a “large chunk” of the deficit. He added: “Ultimately, this financial hole isn’t as deep as it looks. But with the Government ending Covid support by the end of the year, it’s hard to see how councils will be able to afford to repay the remaining deficit without additional ‘help’ from taxpayers in the future.”

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Separate MHCLG figures show that, across England, council overspend due to the pandemic totalled around £6.9bn in March, while losses were calculated at around £5.1bn.

An MHCLG spokesperson said: “We’ve committed over £36bn to help councils support their communities and local businesses during the pandemic. We’re also providing councils with £670m of new grant funding to enable them to continue reducing council tax bills for those least able to pay, including households financially hard-hit by the pandemic.”

If residents are struggling to pay their council tax on time, help is available at www.wigan.gov.uk/Resident/Benefit-Grants/Council-Tax-Reduction-scheme.aspx

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