THE possibility of schools making redundancies as they grapple with a near £6m overspend has been raised by a senior councillor.

Reserves held by Monmouthshire schools are set to be depleted by £4.9m this year, which will leave them £5.8m in the red by the end of the financial year.

The figure was reported to Monmouthshire Council’s cabinet during an update on its own financial position, with it on course for a £3.4m overspend, ahead of a projected £11.4m shortfall next year.

Councillor Ben Callard (Llanfoist & Govilon), Labour cabinet member for finance, repeated reassurances to the scrutiny committee that action is being taken to address the council’s spending.

He said schools are a “particular” concern and meetings are being held with those that have set budgets spending more than they receive in funding, to discuss recovery plans.

Conservative opposition leader Cllr Richard John (Mitchell Troy & Trellech United) asked if the council expected redundancies.

“Their combined deficits are close to £6m. How many teachers and school staff do you expect to be made redundant as a result of these recovery plans?” he said.

Cllr Callard said it was too soon to say what the impacts will be, and added: “It’s a concern we all share. School budgets are delegated, meaning individual schools are responsible for their budgets, including for staffing.

"We will be working closely with schools and I hope to have more specific information... at the next financial update.”

Cllr John asked on the council’s plans for addressing its own overspend.

Cllr Callard said the council had a larger predicted overspend for the 2023/24 budget this time last year, but eventually finished with a surplus.

“I recognise the challenge is a big one and hope to do the same this year. There’s no plan to use reserves but they are there in case of an emergency.”

The cabinet also approved a medium-term financial plan to address its budget shortfall, which recognises they will have to make cuts and savings and increase income.

Cllr John said the plan is modelled on a 3.5-5 per cent council tax rise, but Cllr Callard said it was too soon to say how much will need to be raised, as the Welsh Government doesn’t publish its own budget until December.