Leicestershire County Council deficit set to increase by millions

Leicestershire County Council says it could be forced to make cuts to frontline services as an increased budget deficit is forecast.

A report published on Tuesday said the council's deficit was likely to increase from ?8m to ?28m next year, and could reach ?140m by 2026.

It says savings could have to be made from services such as road gritting, bus subsidies and park maintenance.

The council's cabinet will meet on Friday to discuss budget plans.

A proposal to cover the next four years is set to be published in December.

'Tough decisions'
The report said the council "is facing a challenging, worsening and frightening financial outlook", made worse by rising inflation and "ever-increasing demand for core services".

Service costs are expected to increase in cost by ?18m each year before inflation is taken into account, with additional expenditure expected for building roads, schools and other investment projects if rising infrastructure costs do not decline.

Nick Rushton, leader of the county council, said the authority had lost "?230m a year in spending power since 2010", meaning further cuts would affect frontline services.

"Our financial situation is frightening, worse than the years of austerity," he said.

"We pride ourselves on doing the best we can with the money we have but we will have to make some tough decisions.

"Nothing is off the table."