Mounting costs to delivering core council services could leave a local authority facing a funding black hole of £114million over the next five years.

Medway Council is predicted to continue to overspend by around £30million each year for the next four financial years.

However, it believes the threat of bankruptcy has reduced since last year.

A report which is to be considered by the council’s cabinet on August 27 anticipates spending requirements are to increase by £50million by April 2028/29, but available funding is only expected to rise by £30million.

Predictions from council officers say there will be a £28.8million funding gap next financial year, a £29.3million the year after that, a £31.3million gap the year following, and a gap of £24.7million for the 2028/29 financial year.

The medium term financial report for 2023 to 2028, which was published last year, also predicted large shortfalls in the coming years.

It also rated the authority’s likelihood of having to file a Section 114 order - commonly known as bankruptcy - as very likely.

However, this year’s report has downgraded the likelihood of this outcome to C, meaning unlikely, due to the exceptional financial support (EFS) received from central government as part of the budget setting process in February.

Medway Council asked Westminster to be allowed to borrow money in order to cover everyday spending for the next three years while it made efficiency improvements.

Officers predicted the authority would need a total £41.3million (£14.7million for 2024/25, £16.3million for 2025/26, and £10.3million for 2026/27).

But even with this support, the costs of services the council offers are expected to rise so significantly as to create budget shortfalls.

The department budget requirement anticipated to grow the most is children and adults services, which is expected to increase by £40million to £364million in 2028/29.

The regeneration, culture and environment spend is expected to increase by £15million in the same time.

However, some areas are expected to improve for the authority, as the council’s investment in streamlining its IT system, known as Medway 2.0, is anticipated to save £35million by April 2029.

Medway Council has been predicted, in the first round of budget monitoring for the year, to overspend its budget by £16.5million by the end of this financial year.

It has until February to reduce costs or raise more revenue in order to form a balanced budget for the next year.

The authority’s cabinet will discuss the medium term financial outlook report at its next meeting on August 27.