One of Britain’s largest trade unions has warned the £28m funding gap Cambridgeshire councils collectively face in the upcoming financial year is likely to lead to "huge cuts" in services.
Councils say inflationary pressures and increasing demand for services are among the reasons behind the estimated shortfalls in their 2024/25 finances.
But UNISON has described the situation as "dire" and says that it could lead to job losses, cuts that impact the vulnerable and force councils to sell off assets.
The trade union analysed the 2024/25 funding shortfall figures of 50 councils in the East of England for its Councils Under Pressure report.
It found councils in the region collectively have a £332m hole in their finances - and Cambridgeshire County Council’s was the fourth highest at £16.37m.
He said: “In addition to calling on government to make a fairer settlement for local government which reflects the level of work we carry out, we are also focused on what we need to do as a council to manage this.”
The three other councils with shortfalls higher than Cambridgeshire County Council’s were Thurrock Council in Essex (£156.5m), Norfolk County Council (£45.9m) and Essex County Council (£19m).
Cllr Andy Coles, the Cabinet Member for Finance, HR and Corporate Services, said it has been “working towards financial sustainability”.
He said: “That is why the budget gaps we are predicting in Peterborough are much smaller and more manageable than some other councils.
"That said, we still face significant financial pressures and our predicted budget gap in 2024/25 is now £5.1m, up from the £533,000 we predicted earlier in the year.
“The reasons for this are rising demand and an increasing complexity of cases in children and adults, huge pressures in our housing department and high rates of inflation.”
Meanwhile, with district councils, the 2024/25 funding gap for Huntingdonshire District Council is £2.77m and Fenland District Council’s is £0.64m.
He said: “The financial stability of the council is vital and we have taken preventative action and early intervention where necessary.
“This means that we have taken the difficult decision to charge for some non-statutory services, such as garden waste from next year, to ensure that we can keep our statutory services running to the standards our residents expect.”
South Cambridgeshire District Council, often criticised for its four-day working week, and East Cambridgeshire District Council were among nine councils with a zero funding gap.
Cllr John Williams, South Cambridgeshire’s lead cabinet member for resources, explained around 25 per cent of its income this financial year is due to be generated by investments.
The council is also aiming to identify at least £2m in savings by April 2026 without affecting services.
Cllr Williams said: “That is why we are trialling a four-day week to see if it can improve recruitment to hard to fill posts and thereby reduce our staffing costs, by not having to use more expensive agency staff to cover.”
Cambridge City Council says its funding gap is now £2.90m, and not £4.76m as stated in the UNISON report, as the figure was revised following the announcement of the local government finance settlement.
As local authorities explore how to deliver services within the budgets available, UNISON claims “councils are on their knees”.
“Yet more service cuts and job losses are sadly inevitable across the country unless the government intervenes with the lifeline of significant extra funding.”
Fenland District Council declined to comment on its shortfall.
East Cambridgeshire District Council was approached for comment.
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