Alliance save £1.7m in yearly budget for 2022/23

At the July 17th Cabinet meeting of Rother District Council, Councillors heard how the financial position of the Council for 2022/23 was markedly better than predicted, reducing the necessary draw on reserves by £1.7m.

Whilst cautious that more savings would be necessary, Councillors praised this successful step towards financial stability, enacted by the Rother Alliance Administration, and the remarkable turnaround from the financial situation they inherited.

In 2019, the Rother Alliance inherited a circa £3mil deficit following years of financial mismanagement by the previous administration and over a decade of funding cuts by government. Almost immediately, the Rother Alliance administration began identifying areas of wasteful spending and developing a financial stability programme alongside their ambitions for the Council’s future.

Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, the energy crisis and the rise in interest rates, much of the Alliance administration’s savings programme was delayed, or counteracted by higher costs. Nonetheless, the Rother Alliance managed to keep the deficit stable and the budget in line with the pre-pandemic targets set by the previous administration.

This recent announcement shows that the hard work of the Rother Alliance administration over the last four years is having an impact, with the deficit down from the predicted £3.2m to £1.5m. Putting Rother on a firmer footing to close the deficit gap without major cuts to services, whilst continuing to deliver the Rother Alliance’s ambitious and progressive policies and improvements.

Speaking about the report after the meeting, Council Leader Doug Oliver said, “This is a positive result following a difficult four years. It is good to see our hard work, and the hard work of Council officers, paying off.”

Councillor Ashan Jeeawon, Cabinet member for Finance and Governance, said of the report, “This shows that our current strategy is working. We mustn’t take this for granted however, and must continue to work hard, delivering value for money on all our services and identifying areas where savings could be made. Having said that, this is a significant step towards financial stability and a milestone to be proud of.”

You can read the Cabinet report in details here. To find out more about the Rother Alliance’s priorities over the next four years, click here.