AN alternative Somerset Council budget has been tabled showing a reduction in the use of expensive agency workers to fill vacancies following the cutting of more than 500 jobs last year.

The authority is meeting in Bridgwater on Wednesday (March 4) to agree its budget for the 2026-27 financial year, which will include a 4.99 per cent council tax increase after the Government blocked its bid for an 11 per cent rise.

The council’s opposition Conservative group has put forward its own figures which it said would allow investment in frontline services, produce a balanced financial plan over time, begin rebuilding reserves, and place the authority on a more sustainable footing.

It includes £2.4 million of in-year savings by keeping a limited number of posts vacant, alongside phased workforce savings equating to £26.4 million once fully implemented.

The plan also signals a reduction in agency staff reliance and proposes targeted investment in planning enforcement, additional capacity for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) teaching, and increased spending on gully emptying and road sweeping.

Conservative group leader Cllr Diogo Rodrigues said: “The Liberal Democrats have failed to manage the finances competently, failed to truly balance budgets, blamed everybody else for their own mess, and gone after the wallets of hard-working people.

“Now, even Government has raised serious concerns about their financial management.

“We are offering a helping hand so they can finally get their house in order.”

Cllr Rodrigues said more than £1 million could be invested in priority areas which residents and parish councils consistently said were not working.

They include four extra senior planning enforcement officers to tackle a backlog in dealing with developers who breach planning permissions, and increasing the number of educational psychologists to speed up education and health care plans (EHCP) for SEND children.

Cllr Rodrigues said: “Holding vacancies is not unusual.

“Services regularly do so when budgets are tight.

“Our amendment simply plans ahead and applies that discipline at the start of the year rather than reacting later, allowing us to make targeted investments where the Liberal Democrats are clearly falling short.”

Cllr Rodrigues said he was proposing to complete a council workforce restructure which was promised but never fully delivered, where the number of staff was to be reduced by 20 to 26 per cent, against the 10.8 per cent actually achieved so far.

He said: “According to the council’s own medium term financial plan, the projected incremental budget gap in 2029/30 is £6.303 million.

“Our recurring workforce savings alone would exceed that gap, moving the council from structural deficit to a projected surplus position within the plan period.”

Cllr Rodrigues said there would be at least a 30 per cent reduction in agency staffing, the bill for which currently stood at £14.2 million, meaning it would come down to £9.94 million.

He said the measures were about ‘getting a grip’ on workforce control, reducing reliance on expensive temporary labour so that ‘more money can be invested in Somerset people, and rebuilding permanent, stable teams’.

Cllr Rodrigues said: “This is a common-sense plan.

“We invest in planning enforcement, SEND, and flood prevention by making sensible in-year savings.

“In the medium term, we finish the workforce restructure that was started but never completed.

“That permanently lowers the council’s cost base and changes the direction of travel.

“By 2029/30, our recurring savings would exceed the projected incremental budget gap.

“That is how you move from ongoing financial crisis to long-term stability, while keeping faith with Somerset taxpayers.”

Cllr Rodrigues said the alternative budget would restore financial resilience without relying on repeated Government intervention or further above-inflation council tax rises.

He said: “Our plan can start to get Somerset working again.”

However, the Conservative budget stands little chance of being adopted as the group holds just 31 of the council’s 110 seats, with the majority Lib Dems on 62.