DORSET Council faces a budget black hole of almost £42 million, prompting concerns 'there may be difficult decisions ahead'.

The council yesterday released its budget which revealed it has suffered a loss of more than £60m due to additional expenditure and a loss of income during the coronavirus pandemic - a prediction reported back in June.

Grants and relief from the government mean the loss this financial year is around £35 million. Due to ongoing budget pressures and the continually growing demand for adult and children's social care, the council is currently forecasting a budget gap of £41.9 million in 2021/22.

The council has identified £11.9 million of tactical savings, such as deleting vacant posts, reducing staff travel and training budgets, and making contract efficiencies, as well as £8.2 million of transformation savings, which are changes in the way they deliver services.

That still leaves a budget gap of more than £21 million.

The council has reserves which can be used to mitigate the income loss, however councillors have concerns the reserves can only be used once and may leave the council unable to fund changes in demand-led services in the future.

Councillor Gary Suttle, portfolio holder for finance, commercial and capital strategy, said: "These are very uncertain times. We may face a second wave of Covid-19 here in Dorset and, if we do, there will be further financial impact from that.

"The savings we've made over the last 18 months as a result of local government reorganisation is helping us to weather this storm. But it remains a very challenging time financially.

"We continue to lobby government for the funding we need to serve the people of Dorset. We are grateful to the government for the additional support they have provided this year to help with the gap in our budget caused by Covid-19 but is isn't enough to fully cover the cost.

"We are working hard to manage our budget gap over the coming months but there may be difficult decisions ahead."

Members of the public can watch the council committee meeting on Tuesday, October 6. For more information, visit the Dorset Council website.