Council services are to be cut in an effort to rein in a £15 million overspend this year.
According to a report by council officers, government Covid grants of around £30m will be “wholly insufficient” to allow the council to “deliver all its services at the same level”.
A range of cost-cutting measures were put to the strategy and resources committee on October 19.
The children and families service will cut £880,000 by reducing agency staff and “not recruiting when posts that are above budget become vacant”.
The biggest predicted overspend is in adult social care, where officers expect to go £10m over budget.
The committee was told this is due to “a significant surge” in referrals and an increase in care needs since the pandemic, as well as the need to rely on agency staff, which adds £1.2m to staffing costs.
The vast bulk of a £3.9m overspend by the housing department was attributed to the need to house rough sleepers during the pandemic and temporary accommodation.
Share