Wirral Council will make staff redundant and borrow millions of pounds from the government to balance its books for the coming financial year.
It is the third time it has had to request a bailout from Whitehall, known as ‘exceptional financial support’.
Last December, the council revealed it had a £32 million hole in its finances, but has since delivered savings and identified budget options that have reduced the gap to £6 million.
But the authority warns: “Despite these actions, the scale of demand‑led pressures means that savings alone cannot bridge the 2026/27 gap”.
In particular, it says that there are more than 1,000 people receiving adult social care than two years ago, and the complexity of the support they need is growing among older adults, individuals with disabilities, and those with mental health needs.
In response, it says it is to launch a “major transformation programme” and its adult social care budget will be “better aligned with levels of demand”.
The council’s auditors, Grant Thornton, have identified “significant weaknesses” in the council’s financial sustainability, the pace of transformational activity, regeneration risks, the level of deficit in the schools budget and strategic planning.
It follows a damning independent review of major regeneration projects which found “unrealistic expectations, an absence of any clear model for delivery, confused processes for project monitoring and decision making, high staff turnover [and] significant failures of project and programme oversight.”
Interim Chief Executive Matt Bennett says the council is implementing recommendations made by auditors, but has warned: “The coming months will be difficult and we cannot underestimate the challenges we face but together we will make this an organisation which delivers the vital services the people of Wirral want and expect efficiently and effectively.”
Budget options include axing staff to save £1 million, a review of home to school transport to save £200k, reducing the business support service to save £323k, hiking fees and charges to raise £450k and reducing reliance on residential care for children to save £2.5m.
The authority is proposing to raise Council Tax by almost five per cent.
A final decision on the budget will be made at a meeting on Monday 2 March.
