Council 'really worried' by fuel price rises

Leaders at Shropshire Council have said the war in the Middle East could worsen its financial situation at a time when there were "green shoots" of recovery.

The Liberal Democrat administration said fuel inflation as a result of the conflict would "wash away the savings they've made" by increasing costs.

The authority has already decided to increase council tax by 4% above the usual limit in an attempt to reduce its reliance on a £130m government loan in the next financial year.

It is now concerned that both oil and gas prices have soared since the US and Israel began bombing Iran on Saturday and Tehran responded by attacking neighbouring Arab countries.

"The Iran war is really worrying for us and the ongoing conflict will fundamentally impact Shropshire as a rural county," said Kidd.

"Energy is one of our big spends, and unless we have money coming in from the government to help us with that, then it will hit our budget.

"It costs a lot to run our services across 1,230 square miles. Whether you're collecting waste or providing care to a property on a hillside, you're using much more diesel [than urban areas]."

Figures for January 2026 have indicated that the council's predicted overspend for this financial year has improved by £801,000.

Despite an early sign that the council's financial position is beginning to stabilise the authority is still predicted to overspend by £49.9m in 2025-26.

Councils usually have tens of millions of pounds in a reserves pot to mitigate against external risks, such as inflation.

Shropshire Council's overspend means all of its reserves have been spent. But the council hopes to increase reserves to £47.7m in 2026-27.

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