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.”
