Balancing a local authority budget of over a billion pounds is not a task for the faint-hearted.
Despite working in local government for many years, in all honesty, it never gets any easier.
At Buckinghamshire Council we are in the midst of setting our budget for 2022-23.
Once again, we face a multitude of challenges and uncertainties as we strive to meet ongoing and ever-changing financial pressures.
As a relatively new council, only coming into existence in April 2020, from the outset our political leaders have been keen to ensure we deliver on the promises made to residents as part of the move to a unitary authority.
Key savings have been built into both our medium and long-term plans and our footing, as the five previous local authorities disbanded and the new Buckinghamshire Council formed, was firm.
That was before the pandemic struck.
In March 2020, just weeks before our new authority came into being, we were suddenly faced with a whole range of new challenges and demands coming at us thick and fast.
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