A senior opposition councillor has questioned whether some of Warwickshire County Council's financial headaches are a result of past cuts.

The authority has implemented spending restrictions in a bid to plug a near-£27 million gap in this year's finances, including tighter controls over managing staff vacancies, agency staff and overtime, plus restraints on catering, hospitality, training and development, conferences and external venue hire.

A report considered by cabinet – the panel of Conservative councillors in charge of major service areas – cited rising costs and demand for special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) services, home-to-school transport and social care for adults and children.

Deputy leader of the Labour group Cllr John Holland insisted it was not a matter on which "political points" should be scored but argued that the council had cut harder and faster than it should have in the past. 

"I haven't heard any criticism of our staff exceeding budgets which suggests the budgets weren't big enough in the first place," he said.

"What I wonder is how much of the extra spending is actually a result of past cuts where we were cutting services faster than the previous government was requiring?

"That gives us two problems – extra needs because services were not provided in the past and restoring services that are needed. It is a double hit."

Cllr Holland also referred to plans to ratchet up housing numbers nationally, giving councils more people to cater for when it comes to core services.

"We don't only need to provide a sound financial base for the existing population but also a planned sharp increase in population," he added.

Cllr Peter Butlin, deputy leader of the council and portfolio holder for finance and property, agreed that the dedicated schools grant (DSG) – government funding distributed to provide education – was not enough. 

"In most cases we deliver (education within budget) but the one area that is really significant in terms of our inability to keep the demand down to meet the amount of money we have been given is SEND," he said.

"That bleeds through into home-to-school transport. One follows the other.

"Has it had anything to do with past cuts? I look at this with care, I think the real problem is poor legislation, increased demand and the inability of governments of whatever colour to quantify that demand and give us the amount of money to meet it."

Long-serving Liberal Democrat leader Councillor Jerry Roodhouse (Eastlands) said he had "not seen anything as bad as this" and that it was "quite clear" the demand pressures would only increase with an ageing population among other factors. 

"To a harsh extent, we are where we are now through successive reductions in budgets and pressures that have been put on local government," he added. 

"It is not just us, it is elsewhere and across the whole sector. As someone who sits on the County Council Network, it is something that is deeply worrying when we meet.

"Government is listening and some people are thinking the purse strings might get slackened a little bit but you go back to Tony Blair's time and it was two years before we started to see any funding come down towards local government.

"We might get something in October to keep things ticking over but it doesn't fix the structural issues around SEND and home-to-school transport, and it doesn't fix everyone getting older with additional pressures on the health services and communities."

Cllr Butlin had already spoken about how the council had "responded quickly" with the early signs showing that spending controls "are gaining traction". 

He said the situation had put plans for the medium-term financial strategy (MTFS), the council's five-year financial plan, "in jeopardy".

"We will be looking for at least an extra £10 million of savings," he admitted. 

He also called for help from Westminster. 

"The chancellor's autumn spending review will give us more clarity on the available resources and potential policy changes to fund and address these pressures," said Cllr Butlin.

"We have a new government, they are being lobbied and are well aware of the pressures that all authorities are having in these particular fields.

"Hopefully they will, in one form or another, give us the tools to bring these spending pressures under control, either through more funding for SEND particularly or give us the tools with which we can control that spending. 

"I have never thought of a budget as more important than the one coming on October 30."