WARRINGTON Liberal Democrats have questioned whether the council’s latest £51.2m savings programme can be delivered, warning that residents need greater clarity over the impact of cuts – particularly in adult social care.
The opposition group has criticised the council’s Medium Term Financial Plan after councillors approved a second round of savings totalling around £52m, on top of approximately £39m of savings already identified.
The latest development follows a report by *Warrington Worldwide* earlier today highlighting the scale of the council’s financial challenge as the authority presses ahead with its latest savings programme.
Lib Dem Group Leader Cllr Mark Browne said the council was facing a “financial crisis”, but questioned whether the latest figures provided sufficient evidence that the proposed savings would actually be achieved.
“In the first quarter of this year, the Council failed to meet its targets,” he said.
“Residents need evidence that these additional cuts can be achieved.
“The biggest cut is £34m in adult social care. What does this mean in the real world? How many people will receive different levels of support and what additional pressures will be placed on families and unpaid carers?”
Cllr Browne also warned that changes to social care could have wider consequences, including additional pressure on the NHS through delayed hospital discharges.
He said the council needed to set out the risks associated with the savings programme, together with contingency arrangements should savings fail to materialise.
“We cannot put another set of optimistic numbers into the plan and hope they materialise,” he said.
“We need to know the risks and what contingencies are in place when they fail. We need milestones and transparent reporting with more scrutiny.”
‘Significant burden on future budgets’
Lib Dem Deputy Leader Cllr Helen Speed also criticised the council’s reliance on Exceptional Financial Support from central government.
She said Warrington was relying on a total of £354m of Exceptional Financial Support, describing it as borrowed money which would have to be repaid over 20 years.
“This is borrowed money and will have to be paid back over twenty years which is a significant burden on future budgets,” she said.
Cllr Speed said the Liberal Democrats had previously offered to work across party political lines to address the council’s financial problems.
She called for greater transparency and accountability, stronger scrutiny and changes to the way the council delivers services.
The Lib Dems also highlighted digitisation as one potential area for modernisation, while stressing that residents unable to use computers should not be excluded from services.
Concerns over town’s appearance
Cllr Sharon Harris focused on the visible impact of council budget pressures, claiming residents were increasingly concerned about the appearance and atmosphere of Warrington.
She pointed to weeds along roads and pavements, litter and a lack of maintenance in public spaces.
“This affects civic pride,” she said.
She also raised concerns over public safety, including security arrangements at the bus interchange, reduced live CCTV monitoring and reductions in street lighting.
Commercial decisions under fire
The council’s historic commercial investments also came under renewed criticism from Lib Dem finance spokesperson Cllr Ian Marks.
He said he was “horrified” by what he described as the current state of the authority and claimed staff morale was poor and the council was losing experienced officers.
The Liberal Democrats have long opposed a number of the council’s commercial investment decisions, including Redwood Bank and Together Energy.
Cllr Marks also questioned the council’s approach to selling assets as it attempts to address its financial position, claiming the sales of the bank and Birchwood amounted to “firesales”.
The council has previously maintained that its asset strategy is designed to support its financial sustainability rather than dispose of assets indiscriminately.
‘Disconnect’ between town and council
Cllr Marks also argued that there was a disconnect between Warrington’s wider economic performance and the financial problems facing the local authority.
He pointed to Warrington’s strong performance in areas such as employment, quality of life and economic growth, particularly through knowledge-based industries and the nuclear sector.
“There is a disconnect between a very successful town and this Council,” he said.
“I don’t understand this disconnect, but I do worry that what the Council is doing and the way it is doing it will adversely affect the town’s economy and hence the future lives of residents.”
Earlier today, Labour’s finance portfolio holder Cllr. Denis Matthews said the second phase of “savings” represented progress towards a more financially sustainable council.
“We continue to face a significant financial challenge,” he said.
He described the savings plan as “credible” and said the authority was moving towards a “new, more sustainable, and simplified financial future.”
But he also issued a warning that could prove more significant for residents.
“Realising the overall £90 million of identified savings will continue to require very difficult decisions about the services we are able to provide in future.”
