THE councillor responsible for finance at Southampton City Council has been accused of showing an "unwillingness" to clarify how the council will address its money problems.

In a statement set to be discussed on Wednesday, the former overview and scrutiny management committee chair Cllr David Fuller said members have been left "frustrated" by cabinet member Cllr Steve Leggett's response to its questions.

Cllr Fuller said the authority has tried on numerous occasions to engage with the finance boss given the authority's "precarious financial position".

The claims come as the council's former chief financial office warned last month that the authority faces declaring effective bankruptcy due to spending.

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Published as part of the overview and scrutiny annual report for 22/23, Cllr Fuller's statement said: "The committee were repeatedly frustrated by the obfuscation from the cabinet member and his unwillingness to clarify the approach that the executive were seeking to adopt and the options that had been rejected.

"Moving forward, it is imperative that the committee continues to hold the executive to account as it works to deliver a balanced budget.

"Quarterly scrutiny of financial outturns and savings targets must become standing agenda items reflecting the gravity of the current situation."

But Cllr Leggett hit back saying he is "surprised" with the claims - saying he attended meetings on three separate occasions.

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He said he also “spent over six hours going through the dismal national financial position, how this is affecting Southampton City Council, and what we are doing to address the problems created by this Conservative Government.”

Jeremy Moulton, deputy leader of the council's Conservative opposition group, said they didn’t get the answers because “there was no plan”.

As reported, the administration is set to draw up plans to potentially cut jobs in a bid to save even more cash after external auditors raised concerns.

He said: “They have raided the piggy bank and as a result external auditors have been brought in.

“The expectation is that there will be an emergency budget in July.

“He (Cllr Leggett) is completely out of his depth. The leadership of the council is completely headless walking towards a cliff.

“They need to properly understand the finances and come up with plan.

“It is going to have to be emergency cuts to the budget. The people that will suffer the most are the people that are using those services.”

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Cllr Leggett added: “I remain disappointed that local Conservative councillors making these claims, showed no leadership of their own, offering no alternative proposals, ideas, plans or balanced budget of their own.

“As a Labour Council, we know times are tough for the country and local government; but we have a plan, a vision and intend to face any challenges head on, offering value for money and ensuring every pound the council spends works for local people.”