Local authorities have a statutory duty to cover essential services such as social care for adults and children, housing services and waste collection using their revenue budgets, reserved for day-to-day spending.
In the first quarter of the financial year, the council had a £20.7million forecast overspend but officers identified ways to save more money and reduce this to £13million.
But these steps have not lowered the forecast overspend as much as expected in the second quarter of 2025/26.
Currently, the revenue budget overspend is projected to be £17.5million.
A budget management report, which is due to come before councillors at a cabinet meeting on Monday, November 17, said Slough’s position has worsened by £3.9million between the first and second quarter of the financial year.
It said ‘urgent’ steps to control this spending need to be taken, with plans to reduce the number of interim staff and have a recruitment freeze for non-essential roles.
Third party contracts will also be reviewed and maintenance that is not critical at the moment will be deferred.
These mitigations should reduce the total overspend by £7.3million with another £1.8million which is yet to be included in the savings forecast.
A review by Slough Borough Council’s team of Government-appointed commissioners, included in the report, said: “Mitigation efforts are not being developed at the pace required, and the lack of timely and effective mitigations will transform the budgetary challenge into a financial crisis.
“The council is now reliant on the emergency measures outlined in this report to further mitigate budget deficits and prevent a material reduction in the level of reserves.”
The commissioners added that setting a balanced budget for 2026/27 will be ‘particularly challenging’ if the money spent on essential services is not reduced.
A ‘worsening trend’ was identified because of higher costs and demand for services among the council’s social care, SEND, temporary accommodation and homelessness services.
The council’s projected overspend includes an extra £5million which is needed to fund adults services and an additional £1.7million to fund children’s services.
The local authority is also expected to overspend £9million as part of the Dedicated Schools Grant High Needs budget which the commissioner said is not sustainable.
The projected overspend also includes £15million to cover the rising costs of temporary accommodation and the associated loss of housing benefits.
The council’s capital expenditure which covers more long-term projects, such as building new homes and schools, remains stable, however.
Slough Council had a £9.7million underspend in the second quarter of the financial year, with £44.8million spent against a £54.6million budget.