HEREFORDSHIRE has turned around its finances at time when councils are under ever greater pressure, its financial chief has claimed.

When the minority Conservative coalition took over control of the county in May 2023, bucking the national trend, the county’s finances were said to be in a dire situation, with a £14 million overspend on a £193 million budget, cabinet member for finance Cllr Pete Stoddart said.

“They had spent £22 million on improving children’s services that didn’t seem to get anywhere,” he added.

“We imposed tighter control, with monthly monitoring reports and any spending over £500 having to be signed off by directors.”

Cllr Stoddart observed in the year to this April that the authority had a half-million underspend, and said: “It’s not magic, it’s been a lot of hard work. And we can’t take our foot of the gas.”

Along the way, the council’s finance team picked up an industry gong last November for ‘excellence in governance, reporting and assurance’. The administration then got its current budget passed in February with only one dissenting vote. Cllr Stoddart pointed out: “As a minority, you can’t just say, ‘we will do this’ – you have to take people with you.”

The authority is moving to a multi-year format in preparation for a balanced budget following the government’s financial settlement.

However, Herefordshire also faces a growing gap between what the government pays to fund the county’s schools and their actual cost to the council – put at over £20 million this financial year.

“The government says they will cover the deficit, but just till summer next year,” Cllr Stoddart said. “If they then say we have to cover it, we can, just about. But it’s our number one risk.”

Spending on children with special educational needs has meanwhile risen sharply in Herefordshire as elsewhere.

“We don’t have enough special educational needs and disabilities places, but we want to grow that to keep them in the county,” while also rationalising spending on children’s transport, currently standing at £4.5 million a year, he said.

And while seeking to provide more housing for those at risk of homelessness – another statutory requirement on the council.

“We want this to be cost-neutral, by cutting out the cost of hotels and bed and breakfasts, “Cllr Stoddart said. “Overall, there is very little inefficiency in Herefordshire.”

The authority’s accounts will be presented to the council’s audit and governance committee on June 10 and will be audited by Grant Thornton between July and September this year. This is to confirm they are ‘true and fair’ and free from errors.

Cllr Stoddart concluded: "The prudent use of reserves, making efficiencies has enabled us to achieved the £10.9million of planned recurrent savings.

“Looking ahead to 2025/26, we’ve set a balanced budget and a financial strategy which aims to preserve and protect the council’s financial resilience and sustainability while at the same time investing in and improving our services to support the priorities outlined in the council plan.”