Bolton Council faces £7.4M funding gap, Unison finds

The public sector union Unison says its research has found that Bolton Council will be facing a shortfall of at least £7.4M over 2025 and 2026.

But with services under pressure across the country, town hall leaders say the challenge they are facing could be more severe still.

Bolton Council leader Cllr Nick Peel said: “I suspect it will probably be more than that, specifically due to financial pressures on adult social care and children’s social care.

“These are the two that are growing across the country, and we know that the funding we have is not going to suffice.”

Services across Bolton could be affected (Image: Paul Heyes)

He added: “We know that the new government is not going to be able to change things straight away, but many services are at breaking point.”

Bolton has already seen severe cuts in recent years with the most recent budget meeting last February agreeing to cuts of £11M and council tax rises of up to five per cent.

The cuts meant having to dim streetlights by up to a quarter in some areas and scaling back beige bin collections to just once a month.

But budgets could be flashed further still according to Unison’s research without support from the government.

The union has said that it is calling on the national government to help councils like Bolton which it says are facing a “desperate funding crisis.”

Cllr Peel has said that he supports the call for more funding for authorities like Bolton.

He said: “This is particularly important because people need to keep in mind that it's not all potholes and road repairs.

“Around two thirds of the council’s budget goes on adult social care and children’s social care and we know that demand is only going to carry on growing.”

Using the Freedom of Information Act, Unison asked each of the 370 local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales in May their predicted funding gap by the end of 2025/26.

Their findings show that Bolton appears to be facing a less severe crisis than neighbouring Bury, facing a shortfall of £10,627,000 and Salford, facing £16,356,000.

ALSO READ: Bolton's council tax to RISE and CUTS to services set in stone after approval

ALSO READ: Bolton's council tax still set to rise – what will I pay?

ALSO READ: Bolton Council overspent by millions looking after children

But Unison warned that many services could be severely affected if the government does not take action.

A spokesperson said: "Unison is warning that in many areas local services will disappear without emergency funding.

"Union members are being urged to contact their local MP to ask them to call on the government in Westminster to allocate much more funding to local authorities as part of the union’s #SaveOur Services campaign.

"The union is also calling on members working in local councils to take part in a national industrial action ballot over pay."