THE leader of Southampton City Council has denied claims the authority is facing effective bankruptcy but has said: "Difficult decisions will be made."

Cllr Satvir Kaur said her Labour administration wants to focus on generating income rather than making cuts, ruling out any plans of a mini-budget. 

Conservative councillors have repeatedly called for fresh spending plans after £23.7m worth of reserves was used in the budget for 2023/24.

But Cllr Kaur said it would be "wrong" to produce a balanced budget to then come up with a new one just months later. 

In February the council's former chief financial officer warned that the authority could run out of cash reserves under current plans to balance the books.

An external auditor's report suggested job cuts and fee increases could be considered in an attempt to make savings.

READ MORE: City council could go bankrupt by next year, finance chief warns

In a detailed interview with the Daily Echo, Cllr Kaur said: "Of course, difficult decisions will be made as for every local council.

"Unlike Hampshire County Council we are not facing bankruptcy. To say otherwise is a lie and political opportunism.

"We will be working on efficiencies and how best to deliver a service for the best value.

"What Labour is doing is building our finances so that we can be sustainable long term whilst still delivering for local people."

Earlier this week, Cllr Steve Leggett was accused by the former Conservative chair of the authority's scrutiny panel of dodging finance questions.

But Cllr Kaur said this was "a cheap political shot from an ex-Conservative councillor who lost their seat".

She said: "Local government nationally has been starved and robbed of investment from this Conservative government.

"In Southampton that has meant Southampton losing £170m which could have gone to benefitting local families and individuals.

"All councils up and down the country, irrespective of their political colour are facing exactly the same challenges.

"What we’re not going to do which is what the Conservatives did when they were in power locally is put on the brakes to any form of income generation.

"They can’t empty the council’s coppers and complain that there’s now a lack of money.

"The people of our city aren’t stupid, they knew that all the promises that the Conservatives were making they couldn’t deliver."