Priti Patel has asked Essex County Council which services are at risk from a £170m budget gap and what it plans for council tax. Checked November 2026.
Witham MP Priti Patel has asked Essex County Council which services are at risk from a £170m budget gap. She has also asked what it plans for council tax.
Her office says Councillor Peter Harris, the council’s leader, stated the £170m figure. Ms Patel has written to the council’s chief executive asking how it will deliver a balanced budget next year.
Her constituency is Witham, but the county’s finances reach every Chelmsford household. Essex County Council takes £1,641.96 of the £2,244.64 band D bill before any parish charge, far more than any other authority on it.
What she has asked for
Her office says the letter seeks detail on:
- which services could be at risk
- the plans for a council tax increase
- the impact of government funding changes on the council
- the forecast rise in demand for council services
- the effect of inflation on its finances
- when the updated 2027/28 budget and medium-term financial strategy will be published
- whether the public will be consulted on the measures to balance the budget
Ms Patel’s office puts the gap at more than 10% of net spending. The council’s 2026/27 Annual Plan and Budget gives a net cost of services of £1,437m this year. On that total, £170m works out at about 11.8%.
What the MP said
Ms Patel said:
“Residents across Essex deserve clear answers about the financial challenges facing Essex County Council, and what they mean for the future of local services. £170 million is a significant sum, and we should all know how this figure has been calculated, and how council leaders plan to address this issue in light of the growing demand upon council services. Key services could be at risk of being cut and it is vital that we know what services are being looked at and where savings will be found.
“Essex taxpayers need transparency on how their money is being spent, and whether every opportunity to manage costs and improve efficiency is being explored. It is also important to understand the impact of changes to Government funding and how these affect the Council’s ability to meet its statutory responsibilities on important areas including adult social care, children’s social care support for young people with SEND.”
Her office’s statement did not include a reply from the council. It also did not say when or where Cllr Harris gave the figure, or which year it covers.
How £170m compares with the council’s own forecast
When the council set this year’s budget, it forecast a smaller gap for next year. Its plan gave these figures:
- £108m in 2027/28
- £191m in 2028/29
- £278m in 2029/30
If the £170m refers to 2027/28, it is £62m above that forecast. We did not find the £170m figure on the council’s news pages or in the budget plan.
The plan says the main cause is rising demand, mainly in social care and home to school transport. It says those pressures total £225m by 2029/30, and inflation reaches £156m by the same year.
The forecast makes no assumption about future council tax, so the gaps are stated before any rise. Council tax is already the largest source of the county’s funding, at £948m or 66% this year. Adult social care and health is the largest part of its spending, with a net budget of £670.7m.
Ms Patel has separately asked the council for three-year school transport forecasts.
What the council has said
Cllr Harris wrote an open letter to the Chancellor, which the council published on 13 October. The council’s summary of it says Essex faces a predicted deficit larger than any it has dealt with in recent years.
The summary gives these figures:
- a £50m cut in government grant funding, compared with the previous arrangements, which it links to the new “fair funding” formula
- a predicted £61m increase in children’s services spending by 2027/28
- a forecast £20.7m overspend on children’s services
- a forecast £18.2m overspend (1.3%) against a net revenue budget of £1.4bn at the half-year point
The letter argues that councils cannot keep bridging funding gaps through council tax increases alone.
Cllr Harris said:
“Local government cannot continue to be expected to absorb every new pressure while funding falls behind demand.
“Government must recognise the scale of the challenge and work with councils to put local government finances on a sustainable footing for the future.”
What it means for you
Nothing changes yet. Neither Ms Patel’s statement nor the council’s summary of the letter announces a service cut or a council tax figure for 2027/28.
This year the county’s band D charge rose 3.95% to £1,641.96. Our Chelmsford council tax page has every band and parish rate, and the discounts you can claim.
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