The county’s largest local authority faces a huge increase in savings it must make in the near future or face going bust, according to newly published statistics.

Figures from the BBC Shared Data Unit (BBC SDU) shows Kent County Council (KCC) will have to find £144 million in 2026-27 - around £55 million more than the current financial year.

KCC says the “enormous pressures” on its finances are caused by the soaring costs of adult social care, children’s services and home-to-school transport.

But the council is not alone, as other large authorities face similar deficits - including Leeds (£152.4 million), Surrey (£151.7 million) and Somerset (£147.8 million).

KCC will have to look at every area of its expenditure - discretionary and statutory spending - in order to balance the books. Failure to do so could end up in the council issuing a section 114 notice, effectively an admission of bankruptcy.

Council leaders and local government observers are urging the new Labour government to do more than just introduce multi-year budget settlements as a means of easing pressure.

KCC has confirmed the BBC SDU figures are accurate but has pointed out that it is one of the biggest councils in the country.

The 2026-27 shortfall will mean predicted savings per person in Kent of £90.30 and the overall deficit will be more than 10% of KCC’s revenue from central government of £1.4 billion.

KCC has not indicated where the axe might fall, but some members on the backbenches are fearful that libraries and tips might once again come under threat.

A KCC statement said: “These figures […] reflect the enormous pressures that the whole of local government has been facing for several years, mainly around adult and children’s social care, and school transport.

“Compared with other councils on the list, KCC’s figures look particularly large because we are one of the largest local authorities in the UK. However, the figures per person show we are, in fact, middle of the pack.

“We have always been open and transparent about the fact that KCC is facing some very difficult challenges, and that we are addressing these mainly through savings, some of which involve very difficult decisions around the services we provide.

“We have also clearly outlined where we need additional time to plan and implement savings, and that we only fall back on our vital reserves in a planned manner.

“Our updated plans for 2025-28 will be published in the next few weeks and will set out more clearly how KCC proposes to make the savings required.”

Cllr Antony Hook, leader of the Liberal Democrats at KCC, said the BBC SDU statistics show local councils across the country face “big financial challenges".

He added: “This is the result of deliberate decisions by the past government to take more tax from the public into HMRC but return a much smaller proportion of it to Kent to use in local services.

“Council tax, despite Conservative increases in it of 5% year after year, cannot fill the gap. An ageing population also means the adult social care burden is growing every year. Brexit has caused big extra costs for Kent.

“We need to see in the forthcoming budget, real commitment from the Labour government to fund local government so we can provide decent services.”

Jonathan Carr-West of the Local Government Information Unit, who in the past has described KCC as a “perfectly well-run” council, says the authorities are having to spend around 80% of their budgets on a tiny proportion of their populations.

He added: “If you don’t have a child with special educational needs SEN or a relative receiving adult social care, the council probably isn’t doing very much for you.

“People are getting less and paying more. But this is not swings and roundabouts. There are no winners. Everyone is losing out in one way or another.

“We see examples of almost comical sounding savings and they are an indication of desperation, of councils scrabbling about to do all they can to protect statutory services.

“The new government has come in and acknowledged systematic problems with local government finances, but the question is, what are they going to do about it?”