How bad is Medway's financial situation?

Leader Vince Maple calls reports authority is facing bankruptcy as 'scaremongering'. What's the reality?

During Tuesday’s Medway Matters Live event, the usually affable Medway Council Leader Vince Maple took a rather harsh tone toward a report in the local press that described the bankruptcy of Medway Council as ‘very likely’.

He described this as ‘scaremongering’, ‘unhelpful’, and other similar terms.

Thankfully, he wasn’t referring to anything from this publication. Instead, he was talking about this report from Local Democracy Reporter Robert Boddy for KentOnline.

It is no secret that Medway Council has been in a dire financial position for some time. Indeed, last year we published a story with a strikingly similar headline to the one that upset Cllr Maple this time.

So, if Medway Council faced a potentially devastating budget gap last year, are they in a different position this year?

As ever, things are very much open to interpretation.

Medway Council’s Gun Wharf headquarters.

On the face of it, the numbers are stark. A report being discussed at Cabinet next week sets out a projected overspend of £11.2m for this financial year and a £26.2m shortfall for 2025/26.

There is no getting away from the fact that these are significant figures. Indeed, when Medway Council was on the precipice of bankruptcy last year, the numbers were bad, but not this bad.

So how is Cllr Maple seemingly more relaxed about the financial position this year?

Much of the Draft Capital and Revenue Budget document is dedicated to changes announced in the government’s budget a fortnight ago. It identifies several potential new funds for the local councils, though it isn’t always clear how much might trickle down to Medway: