The coronavirus pandemic has left cash-strapped Halton Council facing a potential £6 million black hole in its budget.

Halton Council was already in a tough position after overspending its budget by £5.3 million last year and suspended all non-essential spending back in November.

But with the pandemic expected to cost the council some £10.6 million this year alone, its financial woes have only deepened.

Presenting the grim picture to Halton’s executive board on Thursday, finance chief Cllr Mike Wharton said: “The council continues to find itself in a very challenging financial position which has been made worse by Covid-19.

“Spending will need to be restricted to only what is absolutely necessary.”

Cllr Wharton told the executive board that the local authority was already running £462,000 over budget after just two months of the current financial year and could end up exceeding its budget by £6.6 million without more support from central government.

So far the council has received £9.3 million from Westminster to help meet the costs of the crisis.

Cllr Wharton said the Halton, like other councils in the city region, would need to “keep the pressure on government” to fund the full costs of dealing with the pandemic.

Those costs include £500,000 spent on PPE, almost £450,000 spent on hiring a temporary cremator and renting the Widnes ice rink for use as a temporary mortuary, and nearly £1 million spent on reopening the Lilycross care home to help free up hospital beds.

But the coronavirus bill is only part of the reason for Halton’s financial struggles.

The rising cost of social care for both adults and children, combined with a decade of cuts to local government funding, has seen the black hole in the council’s budget yawn ever wider.

With just £4 million left in general reserves, described by Cllr Wharton as “the minimum acceptable level”, the council faces another tough financial year.