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24
Jan 2023
Harrogate council faces £1.2m overspend on energy bills
Harrogate Borough Council has estimated its energy bills are set to cost £1.2 million above budget by the end of the financial year.
In a quarter three financial report due before councillors next week, Gillian Morland, service finance manager, said the authority has an estimated overall overspend of £1.4 million.
The overspend is largely due to soaring utility costs and a higher than expected staff pay award. It budgeted for a 2.5% pay increase but the actual increase was 6.7%.
In her quarter two update in October, Ms Morland forecast the council faced a “sizeable overspend” by the end of the financial year.
She told councillors:
Read more:
- Andrew Jones MP defends government response to energy crisis
- MPs warned energy bills are pushing Harrogate district businesses to ‘tipping point’
- Ripon MP warned councils are facing ‘enormous’ costs as inflation rises
But the economic situation remains difficult, mainly due to rising energy bills.
In quarter three, an overspend of £170,000 is predicted in housing and property, an increase of £121,000 from quarter two. The report explains:
Parks and environmental services is forecasting an overspend of £739,000, largely due to temporary staff costs.
Harrogate Convention Centre is forecasting a net overspend of £264,000 — the reasons are exempt from the public and media.
But a £166,000 underspend is expected in legal and governance and underspends are also forecast in ICT and organisational development and Improvement.
Support from government
The report comes after senior county councillors warned that soaring energy costs meant local authorities needed support from government.
Cllr Simon Myers, executive councillor for growth, culture, leisure, sport and housing at North Yorkshire County Council, told a meeting in September:
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