WILTSHIRE Council could be heading for “financial crisis”, as a report shows it is failing to make savings or stick to spending plans agreed in this year’s budget.

In a report submitted to Wiltshire Council cabinet on Tuesday, figures showed the council could spend more than £2.6million more than the budget agreed in February 2018, meaning it may need to dip into its limited cash reserves to cover costs.

It said proposals to make savings of £26.7million this year were “one disappointing aspect” of the overall financial picture.

Figures now suggest that less than 60 per cent of the planned savings (£15.6million) are likely to be delivered while £7 million are “unlikely to be delivered” and a further £3million can only be delivered “with risks”.

The Wiltshire Lib Dems said it was a sign the authority could be heading for “financial crisis”. Leader of the opposition Ian Thorn said the party had challenged the council’s Conservative leadership about its plans to cut £26million from the budget back at the start of 218.

“They said they were ‘95 per cent’ certain they could do it, even though it’s the largest budget cut the council has ever made,” Cllr Thorn said. “Now they are admitting to a current budget ‘black hole’ for this year of £2.6million.”

But cabinet member for finance Philip Whitehead warned against “alarmist over-reaction” in light of the report and said the council is “ensuring we are heading for a balanced budget by the end of March 2019”.

“It is not unusual to have a forecast overspend at this time of year, at £2.5million it is less than in previous years and equates to less than one per cent of our total budget,” he added. “There is continuous action taken throughout the year to ensure we achieve a balanced budget and we have a history of achieving this since 2009.”

The report said nerve agent-related incidents in Salisbury and Amesbury had led to “significant expenditure/loss of income” for the council, including almost £1million to cover the costs of free parking and park and ride and about the same amount for emergency business support. It said the total funding secured from central government was £4.8million, with £2.9million already spent and the remainder to be allocated “to recovery work streams” or given out “as proposals come forward to support Salisbury recovery”.

The report showed an expected overspend of almost £4million in adult social care, which could be due to a shift from placing residents into residential care to trying to maintain their health and social needs while keeping them in their communities.

Overspending is expected in the special educational needs service for children and adults, highways and libraries, heritage and arts. Waste is also projecting an overspend of £3.8million, after a “significant delay” in planning permission for a recycling-sorting facility meant the council’s planned waste collection contract could not be delivered on time.

An interim service was put in place, but requires spending on additional staff and vehicles.