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# County council says it has balanced the books despite economic pressures
- URL: https://lichfieldlive.co.uk/county-council-says-it-has-balanced-the-books-despite-economic-pressures/
- Published: 2025-06-19T06:10:00.000Z
- Updated: 2025-06-18T09:04:19.000Z
- Description: Staffordshire County Council says it has balanced the books for the last 12 months, despite strong financial pressures.
- Author: Lichfield Live
- Tags: Politics, #wp, #wp-post, #Import 2026-07-22 18:49, News

STAFFORDSHIRE County Council says it has balanced the books for the last 12 months, despite strong financial pressures.

The authority said it stuck to its £747million plans even though costs increased for placements of vulnerable children and greater difficulty in recruiting staff for adult social care.

It added that £5.3million had been saved which could be used in future years instead.

Cllr Chris Large, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for finance and resources, said:

> “The council’s financial team has a done a strong job of keeping a tight rein on budgets in comparison to other councils.  
>  
> “The surplus shows how difficult it is for councils to plan properly when the Government just follows one-year spending plans and creates uncertainty for the following year.  
>  
> “The Government should automatically fix multi-year spending plans to allow long-term planning and focus on investing in the council services that make a real difference to people’s lives, such as care for the elderly, highways and pupils with special educational needs.”

The county council’s budget for the current financial year is around £795million.

Reform UK took control of Staffordshire County Council in the May election – and pledged to examine how the authority spends its money.

Cllr Large said:

> “The council is clearly able to control its spending within agreed budgets, but this administration wants to review how we allocate that expenditure in the first place.  
>  
> “A significant number of third-party contracts and services have existed for many years, and we need to make sure they are delivering for the people of Staffordshire.  
>  
> “We are determined to provide a value-for-money focus on delivering the core services that matter to residents.  
>  
> “The biggest financial concern for any council such as ours, and it’s one that central Government keeps kicking down the road, is the debt that is building in a separate, ring-fenced budget for children with special educational needs.  
>  
> “That currently stands at around £54million because funding has consistently failed to meet rising demand. We are trying to bridge that gap as best we can, but ultimately this is a matter for Government.”