BOLTON Council is “on track” to make the £12.5m savings needed to balance its two year budget which came into effect from April 2017.

The finding is included in a report from the borough treasurer to corporate resources chief, Cllr Akhtar Zaman, summarising the local authority’s position at the end of the 2017/18 financial year.

It states: “In February 2017, the council approved the 2017/18 budget which included the use of reserves to balance both the 2017/18 and 2018/19 budgets.

“In addition in order to balance the budget, savings of £12.5m are required. A robust monitoring process has been put in place led by the chief executive.”

A breakdown of figures in the report finds that more than £3.5m of the £4.4m savings set out for the department of people has been found.

The public health department has also found £1.6m of the £2m it needs to find by the end of 2018/19, while the department of place has found £2.3m of its £2.5m target.

Together with the £1,906 in savings found by the corporate/CEX departments the authority has found £9.5m towards the £12.5m needed by March 31 2019.