Southampton City Council: Labour denies responsibility for finance

A shocking external audit report received by the council at a committee meeting on Monday night has revealed that the council may need to consider staffing cuts and fee increases

The financial situation has been described as "very serious" by auditors at a Governance Committee meeting, who said it could be "too late" if the council wait for the budget next year. 

But committee chair Cllr David Shields has said the responsibility for the financial crisis lies with the Tories - not Labour.

READ MORE: Staff could be cut at council as authority faces ‘financial difficulties'

Cllr David Shields (Image: Newsquest)

Speaking to the Daily Echo he said: "It is helpful to contextualise things by recognising that every local authority in England with responsibility for children’s services and adult social care is facing similar financial challenges – primarily because of a sustained failure by central government since 2010 to adequately fund these crucial services.

"It is clear to me that the problems generated for local councils by central government austerity have been made worse in Southampton because of reckless and unfunded budget priorities by the previous Conservative administration during their brief tenure in 2021/22 where they took the City Council to the financial brink from which the current Labour administration has pulled the City back.

"I was reassured at last night’s meeting that the Council is very much a ‘going concern’ and a review of the MTFS is a prudent measure that will enable Councillors to weigh up a wide range of options moving ahead in order to achieve a balance.

"However, it would be premature of me to speculate at this point what those options might include.

"I’m also very pleased that our Labour administration is approaching this challenge with the aim of securing good value for money for local citizens and investing in the City’s local economy.

"Labour in Southampton has consistently sought to avoid privatisation, harmful reductions in vital public services and Council staff job losses and I expect this approach to be maintained with the maximum consultation throughout with both the Council trade unions and service users.”

READ MORE: What we know so far as council told to make cuts or risk going bankrupt

Leader of the Tory opposition, Cllr Daniel Fitzhenry, said that the Labour Council has offered "no clear plan" on how to rectify the budgeting issues. 

He told the Daily Echo: "It's clear the auditors see that the Labour council is in a very difficult position and that immediate action needs to be taken. 

"That will either mean Labour has to cut services or increase council tax to solve this."