THE most difficult decisions are yet to come for Woking Borough Council as it wrestles with its multi-billion-pound debt and, more immediately, tries to find cuts of least £11 million to balance its budget for 2024-25.

That was the stark warning from local government minister Lee Rowley in response to the publication of the first report by the commissioners tasked with overseeing the council’s recovery.

Mr Rowley added that, given the scale of its deficit, it was imperative Woking council did all it could to manage its financial position and makes the tough decisions necessary to protect public money.

The comprehensive report, by Jim Taylor, Carol Culley and Mervyn Greer, was published last Thursday (October 19).

It held little comfort for residents, who are already campaigning against, among others, the proposed closure of Pool in the Park and cuts to the Bustler services, both reported extensively in the News & Mail.

There is, however, a real risk the cuts already publicly announced and discussed may not be sufficient to meet the £11m target.

The report notes: “There is progress against the existing savings target of £11m [to balance the ‘business as usual’ budget for 2024-25], with £4.4m of developed proposals and £4.4m scoped out for consideration.

“A £2.2m gap [to the £11m] remains with a target of further savings to identify of £4m to mitigate the risk of under-delivery.”

Further service reductions, it seems, cannot be ruled out.

The report continues: “This remains work in progress and difficult decisions on service delivery will be required for 2024-25 and subsequent years. 

“This will be a big test for the council as historically it has not been used to making significant service delivery efficiencies.”

Among its other observations, the report said that since the start of the intervention, more detail has emerged about the financial situation and the council and commissioners feel “there could be more to come”.

The latest 2023-24 budget monitoring has identified an increasing projected overspend in the year to date because of corporate financing costs, further under-performance of commercial assets and overruns in some departmental budgets.

Producing an asset disposal strategy is proving difficult as there is a “significant lack of data on many of the council assets”.

Further, the commissioners said: “The council remains in a serious position in terms of its outstanding debt on which the council will need to work closely with government to find a long-term solution.” 

The leader of Woking Borough Council, Cllr Ann-Marie Barker, said: “My administration and officers of the council have welcomed the government’s intervention and the support provided by commissioners. 

“We are working towards setting our 2024-25 budget, ensuring the council learns to live within its means.

“This will involve difficult decisions in the coming months.”