Ealing Council could have to find a further £30million of savings by 2014/15, bringing the total savings to £85million over four years.

Following a cut to its government grant and rising financial pressures, Ealing Council was forced to make plans to save £55million over a 4 year period. The latest budget forecasts indicate that it will have to save a further £30 million.

The council’s cabinet also agreed to change the way those additional savings are found to ensure services to the most vulnerable are protected.

To deliver the additional savings targets, corporate support services like the Chief Executive’s department, IT and HR will be asked to identify savings of 8.3% a year.

The Regeneration and Housing and Environment and Customer services departments, which provide universal and frontline services, will have to save 6% a year.

This will allow much smaller savings of 3.5% a year to be made in Children and Adults services, which includes education and social care services for the most vulnerable.

Council Leader, Councillor Julian Bell, said: "We’re faced with unprecedented levels of government cuts and the situation has got even worse. Following last year’s government spending review we were planning for cuts of at least £55million."

"We’re now predicting what cuts we might be faced with when we get our government grant settlement for 2013 and beyond and we’re now expecting to have to make a staggering £85million worth of savings."

"I think not even the most optimistic among us would imagine there won’t be more cuts to come, but if our worst fears are realised the situation could be even more serious."

"The priority for us is to find a way to protect the most vulnerable and make sure these cuts have the least possible impact on frontline services. That’s why back office departments, as important as they are, will have to bear the brunt of the cuts so that things like social services, education, housing, libraries and street cleaning are affected as little as possible."

The council has already agreed £35.9million of detailed savings proposals and considered outline proposals for a further £19.1million of reductions – giving a total savings target of £55million. In March the council announced the total would rise to at least £65million, because of cuts to specific grants, but the latest forecasts now bring the total savings required by 2014/15 to £85million.