Councillor Bob Filmer has challenged Somerset Council's leadership over whether the authority can deliver the pace of change needed to tackle growing financial pressures and secure its long-term future.
Speaking at a recent council meeting, Councillor Filmer acknowledged the hard work of officers and councillors in responding to the financial challenges facing Somerset Council. However, he pointed out that concerns around rising demand-led service costs had been raised repeatedly since discussions on local government reorganisation began.
Referring to continuing overspends identified in the council's latest financial monitoring reports, Councillor Filmer posed what he described as the "£64 million question" to senior officers.
He asked:
“Are we actually capable of stepping up that pace and make that step change now to address this? Because we now are at the stage where we are looking at not having those reserves that we can call on in terms of selling off assets going forward.
At the moment we've been talking, we've been saying all the right things and we've been trying to do all the right things, but it hasn't got us to where we need to be. So are we confident that we can now make that change at this point in time?”
In response, Chief Executive Duncan Sharkey said he believed the council could increase the pace of change but warned that many of the solutions required are long-term rather than immediate.
He explained that reducing pressure on services such as adult and children's social care depends on investing in prevention and early intervention, helping people before they reach the point where costly statutory support becomes necessary.
Mr Sharkey also highlighted the need for a council-wide approach to transformation, focused on prevention and neighbourhood working rather than individual service-based programmes.
Senior officers sought to provide further context around the financial position. David Coleman-Groom, Executive Director for Adults and Housing, explained that a significant proportion of the forecast overspend in adult services was linked to changes in funding arrangements with the NHS rather than increasing demand. He said that pressure is expected to reduce as ongoing assessments are completed.
Claire Winter, Executive Director for Children's Services, outlined work to increase support for foster carers, reduce placement costs and help children safely return home to their families where appropriate. While positive progress is being made, she cautioned that the financial benefits of such work would take time to materialise.
Councillor Filmer's intervention comes as Somerset Council is forecasting an overspend of £30.863m just three months into the financial year, with members seeking assurances that meaningful reform can be delivered before budget pressures become even more severe.
