Good news as Liberal Democrats leadership at Guildford Borough Council announces balanced budget for current financial year

Good news as Liberal Democrats leadership at Guildford Borough Council announces balanced budget for current financial year

The Liberal Democrats running Guildford Borough Council are delighted that, after much hard work, the immediate threat of a Section 114 Notice has been avoided by the council for the current financial year.

Despite the council not going into effective bankruptcy, there is still a long, arduous road to travel to get the Council back to financial stability but the Liberal Democrat administration will ensure to continue travelling down that road.

Cllr Richard Lucas, Lead Councillor for Finance and Assets explained:

“This is positive news and I am incredibly grateful for the hard work of officers at all levels to find savings across the council to ensure Guildford Borough Council achieves a balanced budget with minimal disruption to services over this current financial year. The last few months have been a challenge but the Lib Dem Executive, along with senior officers, has risen to that challenge and worked hard and fast to bring in a balanced budget. Thank you to them all.

“The situation we found ourselves in back in May has been brought about by years of council  underfunding by the Conservative government, together with a rapid rise in interest rates which have increased our debt servicing costs on capital projects. We have responded to this and met our short-term objectives, but there is no time to rest. We still have much work to do.  The Lib Dem team and I are already moving forward on a proactive plan for how we achieve a balanced budget next year and beyond. We are aware of the enormity of the task and will not sway from the challenge”

 Council Leader, Cllr Julia McShane is similarly pleased with the news adding:

“Everyone has worked at pace to achieve the primary goal of achieving a balanced budget for 2023/24. I would like to thank the cross-party working group, made up of leaders from all political parties, who have scrutinised and advised on decision-making during the process. 

We want to be clear that while the challenge is far from over, the Lib Dem administration is 100% focused on ensuring that our borough and its residents are served well and that core services, and those supporting the most vulnerable, are not compromised..