Wirral Council is at “breaking point” and has a £12 million black hole in its budget.

A combination of austerity and pressures on key services were blamed for the crisis, which council leader Cllr Pat Hackett admitted shows no signs of easing.

Wirral Council has three main ways to address the problem.

It can cut spending, raise taxes (such as Council Tax and business rates), or eat into its reserves.

Cllr Hackett said: “We have to ensure a balanced budget for 2019/20 by the end of March 2020. Any shortfall would have to be met from balances (also known as reserves) which is not prudent action to take.

“Currently as we plan for next year we have a predicted £12 million shortfall which we are also working to address.

“For these reasons all discretionary spend is frozen. Spending restrictions have been put in place to varying degrees in most of the years since the start of the national austerity programme in 2010/11, with varying durations and degrees of enforcement.”

Cllr Hackett said the situation is more severe than in previous years, as the council has less “one off” revenue raisers, such as selling off unwanted property it owns.

“Many of the options and opportunities to balance previous years’ budgets are no longer available to us, particularly in respect of “one off” and this combined with the additional demand pressures has resulted in this course of action.

“Managers are ensuring that all staff are made aware of the position through urgent briefings and that the expenditure restrictions required are implemented with immediate effect.”

Detailing how the budget gap may be filled, Finance chief Cllr Janette Williamson said: “I have asked the director of finance and her staff to go through all council department budgets line by line to check for any and every area of additional saving and except for a brief list of key areas such as education, social care and benefits, any extra spending must be signed off by the council’s chief executive and director of finance.

“A range of savings options are now being considered and we will be working closely with staff and unions to determine the best way forward.”

The LDRS will consider the impact this serious money shortage may have on the people of Wirral in a follow-up piece tomorrow.