Swindon Borough Council’s projected budget deficit by the end of March 2021 is now £4.75m.

That is after the £13m already promised to the authority by the Government to cover extra spending it might have incurred during the coronavirus crisis.

The calculation does not include any further money the government might make available to cover the loss of earning suffered by the council through the drop in parking income and fees for facilities since the end of March.

Deputy leader and cabinet member for finance Russell Holland told his Conservative colleagues: “The financial situation at the moment is relatively stable.”

The £4.75 expected gap is £1m lower than was projected in September – but it is still a challenge for the council as, by law, it must set a balanced budget in March.

The last budget was £149m, with the difference between that and what is expected to have been spent being £17.75m

Leader of the Labour group Jim Grant asked Coun Holland if, given the uncertainty over the coming months, he was planning of releasing a draft budget in December as is the normal practice.

Coun Holland said he was aiming to do that.