FIGURES released by Wiltshire Council show that the authority is overspending by £2m on its budget.

The figures show a £500k improvement on last quarter when the council had been on track to be £2.5m over budget by the end of the year.

The amount equates to around 0.6 per cent of the annual budget of £327.746m or two days worth of spending power by the council.

Measures have been put in place to ensure that the £2.064m overspend is reduced by the end of the financial year so the council can balance its books by April.

Cabinet member for finance Philip Whitehead said: “We have worked very hard I really believe in transparent process if there’s a number there we shouldn’t he hiding anything. This report does this entirely.

“If we do no other improvements we will currently overspend by £2m we will not overspend by £2m because we are already taking actions to draw this in. that is an improvement of on the previous report.

“That is an improvement of £500k since our last report.”

The overspend includes a £4.786m over spend in adult social care on people with learning disabilities which has an annual budget of £46.194m.

Leader of the opposition cllr Ian Thorn said: “I congratulate the council for the clarity of the paperwork.”

Libraries, Heritage and Arts also has an overspend of £1.262m on top if its annual budget of £4.010m. The balance is not expected to be made by the end of this year, and will be carried over to the 12910/2020 budget. There has also been a delay in using a £200k grant from Public Health to review and fund area board Youth Activities that will be rolled into next year's budget.