SOME tough decision will have to be made as the new Somerset unitary authority faces a massive budget gap in its first year.

Savings of £74.2million need to be found to balance the books of the new Somerset Council, which comes into existence on April 1 next year.

Next Wednesday's (November 16) executive meeting of Somerset County Council - which is being abolished along with the county's four district councils - will receive a report saying £27.8million of savings have already been identified.

That leaves a further budget gap of around £38.2million, assuming the full costs of social care reform will be fully funded.

Details of plans to chop spending have not been drawn up at this stage, but the cutbacks are being blamed on inflation and demand, with the predicted rise in the cost of delivering services hitting 18 per cent.

Meanwhile, council leaders are urging the Chancellor not to forget the most vulnerable when he announces his autumn statement next week.

County council leader Cllr Bill Revans said: “Jeremy Hunt was the minister who brought social care into the same department as health, so he more than anyone understands the country can’t have a properly functioning NHS without making sure that social care is working well.

“If social care falls over, the NHS falls over. And at the moment it is universally acknowledged that social care, for both adults and young people, is not adequately funded. This should be a priority for the Chancellor.”

Clr Liz Leyshon, lead executive member for finance, said: “Council budgets throughout the country are being hit by three key nationwide challenges.

"Inflation is increasing many of our costs, we are struggling to hire the skilled staff we need which means we have to use contractors or external companies to deliver statutory services, and we are seeing a dramatic rise in the complexity of care needed by people presenting to adults' and children's social care.

“Both services are dealing with much more complex cases than we would have expected pre-pandemic, and we’ve seen a particular rise in the need to support young people’s mental health since lockdown.

“While the number of people with the virus may be lower than last year, it looks as if Covid-19 will have a lasting effect on public services.

"Covid grants from central government are coming to an end just as the long-term impact of the pandemic is becoming clear.”