Oldham faces crushing £20m budget blackhole
Oldham Council is facing a £20.4m budget overspend due to rising costs in adult social care, children's services, and temporary accommodation. Councillors have appealed to the government for additional funding ahead of a settlement announcement, warning of potential financial collapse if reserves are depleted.
Oldham councillors begged Westminster to “be kind” ahead of tomorrow’s local-government funding settlement as they confronted a looming £20.4 million budget black hole.
Monday’s finance briefing laid bare how children’s services, adult social care and homelessness have already swallowed £16.7 million this year, with children’s placements alone costing £8.5 million.
Finance chief Councillor Abdul Jabbar warned colleagues the overspend “is into the millions - we’ve never had that in the past” and insisted the crisis is “absolutely not because we’re handling our finances badly.”
Across the chamber, Lib-Dem leader Howard Sykes said National Insurance increases risked pushing the council “off the edge of a cliff,” adding: “We are nearing the brink now.”
Low council-tax income and historically high social need, worsened by the cost-of-living surge, have left reserves dangerously thin and raised the spectre of a Section 114 bankruptcy notice.
Labour members claimed to have heard “positive mood music” from ministers, but Jabbar’s plea was blunt: “Give us the resources that we need to deal with the ongoing issues that we’ve had for many, many years.”
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