Facing a baby boom and a growing demand from older people needing care, Poole Council could in future struggle to make ends meet.

This is the stark warning from Borough of Poole chief executive John McBride, whose council is calling on the government to reconsider the finance it gives to authorities under such pressures.

Half of the council’s £102m net budget is spent on social care for adults and children however extra costs in social services will require nearly an extra £4m.

With the poorly funded council facing cuts totalling 21 per cent over three years, Mr McBride said the situation was not sustainable.

“There is a great question of whether government has got its priorities right as to where it directs its money.

“We think looking after old and vulnerable is a priority because that’s where we put our money,” he said.

With £7m of cuts and pressures to be found to balance the budget for 2012 and £13m up to 2015, council leader, Cllr Elaine Atkinson said if no extra finance came they would have to divert money from other services.

“We will stop filling potholes and repairing roads because we will be spending the money on looking after the most vulnerable,” she said.

The council’s budget which goes to cabinet on February 14 and full council on February 23 proposes a council tax freeze, funded by a one-off government grant equivalent to a 2.5 per cent increase for one year, of £1.8m – but no help in subsequent years.

The authority has instituted an efficiency review and will continue to put some services, like home care services, out to market testing.