WEST Devon Borough Council leader Philip Sanders this week raised concerns over a Government media statement, which he said gave a misleading impression about the council's finances for the coming financial year.

Cllr Sanders is disappointed by the information, which said the council's 'spending power' would increase by 1.2% as a result of the Government grant announced in Parliament.

When the detailed figures are analysed, the council will suffer a net reduction in funding, which it is calculated will leave the authority with a budget deficit of almost £400,000 for 2013/14.

Cllr Sanders said: 'We were anticipating a budget deficit in excess of £330,000 and had been working hard to identify savings to close this gap. The actual allocation makes it clear that we need to find further savings of just under £70,000.

'I am concerned that the public, councillors and staff may be misled by the information sent to the media by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) on Wednesday which suggested that the council would be better off by the financial settlement announced.

'To put this in context, we have a net budget of £7.5-million and given the substantial savings that we have already made in previous years, finding just under £70,000 is an extremely difficult target to hit. In addition to the substantial funding cuts, the council is subject to the effects of inflation on goods and services.'

The council has to set a balanced budget by February.