Leeds City Council faces £70 million further cuts over the next two years

The Leader of Leeds City Council has warned of “brutal” decisions ahead and reinforced the need for greater devolution as the council faces £70 million of further government funding reductions over the next two years

A strategy report to be discussed by the executive board at Civic Hall on Wednesday 15 October will outline the continued financial challenges facing the council, with £46 million less central funding next year followed by a projected further reduction of £23.4 millon the year after.

The council has already seen its levels of core funding from government reduced by £129 million over the last four years, and by 2017 based on the projected figures it will mean the grant funding for Leeds will have been cut by 45 per cent overall in less than seven years.

The figure for Leeds for next year represents a 14.7 per cent reduction of funding from this year, higher than the national average of 13.1 per cent and continuing the trend which has seen councils in the north hit by larger reductions than those in the south east.

Leader of Leeds City Council Councillor Keith Wakefield said: “Over the last four years the north has taken a massive hit compared with councils in the south east and even though it has meant making some incredibly difficult decisions we have managed the situation as best we can.

“Now though unless something changes I am very concerned we run the risk of putting vulnerable people into real hardship. The decisions we are facing next year are brutal – that’s the only word for it and there’s no point sugar-coating it.

“The relatively straightforward choices have already been made so now we are left with the really unpalatable ones.

“As a city we are now at the point of drawing a line in the sand in terms of our finances – we must be given more financial freedom to make our own decisions and shape our own destiny in order to try and help people.”

Leeds City Council’s detailed budget proposals for 2015-16 will be presented for consultation in December before being finalised by full council in February.