The campaign group Restore Blackpool has criticised Blackpool Council in Lancashire for overspending its budget by more than £7 million during the 2024/25 financial year. The group raised concerns about the management of public funds after figures from late 2024 showed the council spent £7,074,000 more than it had intended.
Most of the extra spending was linked to the departments for children’s services and adult care, which together went over budget by more than £8.6 million. Council leaders said the overspend was due to the rising number of people requiring support for increasingly complicated and difficult health and social needs.
This high level of spending meant the council’s emergency savings were expected to fall from a target of £8 million down to just £30,000 by the end of March 2025. Restore Blackpool argued that these financial difficulties are the result of 35 years of management under the current Labour leadership.
As of 26 February 2026, the local authority has approved a budget requiring a further £16 million in savings. The campaign group has called for better control over the town’s finances to ensure that essential services are not put at risk in the future.
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