CONCERNS have been stressed to the leader of BCP Council about whether the local authority can realistically deliver £42.6million of savings next year to balance the books.

Details on the budget plans for 2023/24 include £32.4million of itemised service-based savings and efficiencies, £9.6million of at present unitemised transformation savings and £600,000 of unidentified savings in children’s services.

A report by director of finance Adam Richens said £4.6million of the service-based savings would be “more challenging” although it has not been disclosed what this could mean for residents.

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Speaking at the corporate and community overview and scrutiny committee meeting, Cllr Stephen Bartlett said it was a “really ambitious figure”.

“It is just such a big figure and given that since LGR (local government reorganisation) when we had shared services and we started to squeeze the lemon and we have been squeezing it ever since, how many drops of lemon juice is left in that lemon to get out,” Cllr Bartlett said.

“Surely we are at the point where this ambition here is just not realistic.

“I’m sorry leader but I am going to have to ask you what confidence you have, what underpins this assumption or forecast that we can make £42.6million worth of savings in next year’s budget.”

Conservative council leader Cllr Drew Mellor said he had a high degree of confidence.

He added: “We have a strong track record of delivery. We have delivered over £50million in savings. Both previous administrations and previous councils have been a part of delivering that, it has been delivered, and now we are in a strong place in terms of delivering the savings.”

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Poole Local Group councillor Mohan Iyengar said while the council had been able to identify how it was going to close the budget gap nothing had been expressed on if it was actually achievable.

“Now we have to look at it and say can this actually be done,” Cllr Iyengar said.

“For instance, if something in my personal life required for me an assumption to get a job that earns a million pounds a year, it could be there on a bit of paper but it is not going to happen.”

He asked what the feeling was on achieving the proposed savings.

Cllr Mellor said a significant amount of work had been done by cabinet members and the corporate management board.

“It is about at what point do we get further into it and that point is now effectively. These are traditional means,” Cllr Mellor said.

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“I do ask you to have confidence and I think you can take some whether that’s from our chief executive or section 151 officer in terms of the fact that we are looking at traditional means to balance the budget and it is about the confidence levels of corporate directors, service directors, cabinet colleagues and more formally our section 151 officer in terms of having the confidence that those are deliverable.

“We believe they are and actually I would go further than that. I think what we have done is we have tried to display to government and to ourselves from a prudent position how we can present a balanced budget for next year.

“We could have put a lot of assumptions in that we haven’t put in. There are no assumptions for government support.”

Cllr Bartlett also issued an apology to Mr Richens for voting in favour of the Conservative administration’s budget for 2022/23 when the director of finance had given warnings about the need for manging finances with traditional means.

“In mitigation, really I was left with a choice of one,” Cllr Bartlett said. “There was no alternative budget offered and in the need to make a balanced budget, I supported the budget. Unfortunately, as we now know looking back we have run into problems, big problems.

“Had we not gone that direction we would have not been put in front of the public eye in the way that we have over the past few months.”

Labour councillor Lewis Allison said Cllr Mellor changed his explanation and narrative, depending on who he was talking to. He suggested the council leader was a "complete fantasist".

Cllr Mellor said the administration had a good track record of delivering savings while at the same time investing in transforming services and regenerating the area.

“One of us is living in fantasy land – and it’s not me,” he said.