Mayor Ros Jones: Doncaster '˜outperforming' other councils on finance but '˜austerity is not over' as more cuts are on the way Â

Doncaster Council is 'outperforming' many other local authorities on finances but more cuts are on the way, mayor Ros Jones has warned.Â
Doncaster Mayor Ros JonesDoncaster Mayor Ros Jones
Doncaster Mayor Ros Jones

Documents presented to a meeting of the council's cabinet showed £4 million was taken away from the capital build budget to help plug the well-documented black hole in children's services. 

The budget shake-up reduced a proposed overspend down to £400,000. 

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Finance bosses said the overspend at the end of quarter two would have been '˜significantly higher' without intervention.

Doncaster mayor Ros Jones was upbeat about the financial performance but warned that more cuts were needed to be made during the 2019/2020 financial year. 

It has also been revealed the borough is set to receive £1.5 million of Government cash to spend on adult social care after the Chancellor announced a '˜one off funding' package' of £240 million in 2019/2020. 

A further £2.4 million will be handed from ministers the year after. 

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But the mayor said there is still shortfalls from Government in children and adults services and called on ministers to tackle this.

'We are moving forward despite the cuts we have suffered,' mayor Jones told her cabinet. 

'But we are performing well and outperforming many other authorities. But these pressures will get more significant and we will show and deliver as an authority with what we've got.

'We will also be innovative and seek to deliver services in a different way that seeks to meet the residents despite what types of cuts are being thrown at us. 

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'When someone comes out and says '˜austerity has ended' well I'm afraid it's not ended as far as local government is concerned because they are still not giving us the full sums.

'But I am delighted to see that despite that we are actually going to show virtually balanced budget but lets not hide '“ life is getting tougher and tougher and cuts are still there to be made over the next two financial years.'