Libraries could be targeted for spending cuts in plans to find as much as £28 million of ‘savings’ at Slough Borough Council next year.

A first public draft of the council’s next spending plan includes what it calls a £60,000 ‘service reduction’ to libraries in its children’s services budget.

Slough Borough Council told the Observer that councillors will discuss ‘potential options’ for library services at a meeting next month – but didn’t say what those possible changes might be.

The cut is included in draft budget plans published earlier this month that propose £10.78 million in savings next year. But the plans say Slough Borough Council may still need to find as much as £17.35 million more for its final budget to be approved in February 2025.

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Councillor Wal Chahal – responsible for finance – said it was an ‘eyewatering’ sum. He said: “Even with the massive amount of work and the savings that we’ve uncovered the gap in the 25/26 budget is 17.35 million. That’s an eyewatering number.”

He added that the council’s coffers were coming under ‘massive pressure’ – especially from rising demand and costs for temporary homelessness accommodation and social services.

Councillor Chahal also said the council has to do ‘a lot of hard work’ to stop itself overspending on this year’s budget. But he said the council faced a ‘thankless, endless task ahead’.

He said: “I’m amazed at the amount of work the finance team is doing with all departments, pretty much painting the Forth Bridge – going round and round and round to make sure people are on target, budgets are being met, savings plans are being met, pressures are being contained.”

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Councillor Chahal said he hoped the £17.35 million target could be reduced to £5 million through changes to the support given to Slough Borough Council by the Government.

The Government has allowed the council to use the money usually reserved for infrastructure it owns – such as buildings – to plug gaps in its day-to-day spending. But it has to find ways of covering this, including by selling off properties.

Under the current Government-approved plans, Slough Borough Council is allowed to use some £14 million of its capital funds to plug spending gaps next year, £9 million the following year and £3 million the year after that.

But councillor Chahal said the council has asked for permission to ‘reprofile’ this – change the schedule – so that it can use more of this money next year.

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He also said work to draw up a new ‘target operating model’ – changing the way the council operates – would also help to keep spending under control.

Presentations on this new way of working have painted a picture of a ‘smaller council’ with a ‘more limited range of services’.

Slough Borough Council’s cabinet – its group of leading councillors – discussed the draft budget on Monday, November 18.

The draft plans are available on the council’s website along with a survey open to the public. The final plans will be decided at a meeting of all councillors in February.