Council services in Stockport won't be cut despite £44m deficit

Services for Stockport residents will not be cut despite the need to find £44m in savings by 2027, the council's cabinet member for finance has confirmed.

Stockport needs to make savings of £10.8m by 2024/25, and £44.059m by 2027/28. It also needs to offset an overspend of £3.75m from quarter 1 of this year.

Coun Jilly Julian, cabinet member for finance and resources, admitted that pressure is growing on Stockport Council but pledged that it will not be "another Birmingham" and face financial collapse.

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She told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The decrease in government funding is really starting to be felt, but I am comfortable in the financial management here in Stockport. That confidence in not being another Birmingham is really strong.

"We are balancing out the impact of the overspend with our reserves so other areas are not impacted. But reserves can only be spent once so we need to use them prudently."

She added that a growing part of the council's spending is being used on adult social care and children's services, as the aftermath of the pandemic and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis continue to bite.

She said: "We are looking at something like 70 percent of our spend on adult and children's social care. The amount is increasing, service costs are increasing and national government funding is decreasing significantly.

"If I had a magic wand that is where I would wave it because we are talking about populations that have significant needs."

Stockport's Labour Party has raised concerns over the budget and how the cabinet are managing the council's finances.

Councillor Christine Carrigan, Labour's deputy leader at the council and