A COUNCIL chief has said she cannot rule out further cuts to the authority’s budget.

Angie Ridgwell, Lancashire County Council’s new interim chief executive and director of resources, said she ‘can’t make any promises’ that more cuts won’t be made.

Her comments come as county hall bosses prepare to make further budget announcements in the coming weeks.

Lancashire County Council has said it has forecasted a funding gap of £157.786m in 2021/22, £60.313m of which relates to 2018/19.

In September, proposals announced by council chiefs included slashing both the children’s social care and the learning disability services by £2.7m each, while the fostering and residential services budget was also set to be cut by £800,000.

Mrs Ridgwell, who was speaking during the third day of her role, said: “I can’t make any promises, as what we do know is actually, if we continue spending based on the way we’re currently delivering services, and with the demand we’re forecasting rising in the future, our income is not going to be sufficient to cover the costs.

“So as a council, what we’re going to need to do is look at how we can balance the books.

“This is not always about cutting services or raising taxes, but we can look at ways to increase the tax base, growing businesses and helping people reduce demand on services by making sure they have good career options, so they’ve got the skills to have meaningful careers throughout their working lives and then less dependency on council services.

But Mrs Ridgwell acknowledged that the amount in the pot for local authorities is ‘insufficient’ to meet the council’s needs.

She said: “The council is facing some significant challenges, but they’re not unique in that, as all local authorities are facing these challenges.

“All public services are facing these challenges simply because of the macro-economics of the UK, and the challenges we’re facing, which means we don’t automatically have the settlement that we’d like from government.

“I would say I think that everyone would suggest that money in the pot for local authorities is insufficient to meet these needs.

“Having said that, the Government itself is having to make trade-offs in the way it allocates money, as simply if they give money to local authorities, it comes from somewhere else, or if they want to allocate more money in totality, we’re going to have to raise taxes and that is something that people equally have a view about.”

Prior to Mrs Ridgwell’s appointment, she was the director-general for finance and corporate services at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy.

A qualified accountant, Mrs Ridgwell’s work has focused on improving public services.

She has worked in a wide range of public sector bodies and local authorities, principally as chief executive or director of finance. These include Bristol City Council, Thurrock Council, Coventry City Council and Bridgnorth District Council.

Her appointment follows a controversial management restructure by Tory county council leader County Cllr Geoff Driver, which saw former chief executive Jo Turton and four other senior staff leaving their jobs.

Mrs Ridgwell added: “It’s my job here to take on the restructure that we have and to fill the vacant post and make sure that structure is working effectively as we face, like all local authorities, some significant challenges in the future.

“But I am delighted to have started my new role and look forward to delivering the best services for the people of Lancashire.”