Councillors have clashed over proposals to ask the government for a further £10.5 million bailout loan – instead of making more swingeing cuts to services.

Leaders at Stoke-on-Trent City Council have included the request for exceptional financial support (EFS) – the third in three years – as part of their draft budget for 2026/27.

But for the first time in years the budget does not include cuts to frontline services – there are £9.8m of budget management actions and 'non-consult' savings.

Council leaders were grilled over the decision to include the EFS request rather than cuts during a meeting of the strategy and resources overview and scrutiny committee.

Councillor Lorraine Beardmore, leader of the opposition Conservative group, said the decision would mean her children could be left with the cost of repaying the loan for years to come.

The Labour-run council has already requested nearly £60 million of EFS to help balance its budgets since 2024.

But council leader Jane Ashworth hit back, saying that the EFS was only needed due to funding cuts by previous Conservative governments and decisions taken by the previous Tory administration at the council.

Cllr Beardmore said: "At what point do we start paying back the EFS, and how much will that cost? We're up to £66 million now – at some point that's going to have an impact on future generations in this city, which will ultimately lead to changes in frontline services. We can't just keep borrowing money forever.

"How much will my children, when they become taxpayers in this city, have to pay back because of this £66 million."

But Cllr Ashworth said the EFS had been required mainly due to the rocketing cost of children's social care. But she insisted the council's financial situation is improving under Labour.

She said: "When we took office in May 2022, within three or four weeks it became absolutely clear that the budget the Conservatives had passed would not stand the test of the year.

"So the first thing we had to do was to arrange a session with government, where we told them we were heading for a £20 million deficit, in-year. We were in trouble.

"We've been able to get the budget so the amount we need to borrow in-year is half the amount we had to borrow when we picked up your budget. So we are better managed and better off financially.

"Of course there's a problem with paying the money back. But the primary reason for the EFS is that the Conservative administration cut early help, meaning the cost of children's services escalated."

Cllr Ashworth said the cabinet had considered further cuts to frontline services, but opted against this as it would 'seriously weaken the quality of life in the city'. She said Stoke-on-Trent had already been 'cut to the bone' and that now 'the cupboard is bare'.

But Cllr Beardmore believes the choice should have been offered to Stoke-on-Trent residents.

She said: "It may be that they would have preferred to make changes now, as opposed to paying the debt back later."

The committee was told that the EFS would be paid back by selling off council assets, such as surplus land. A 'pipeline' of £60 million in potential capital receipts has currently been identified by the council.

Until the loans are repaid, the council will face borrowing costs of around £8 million a year, which has been factored into budget planning.

Director of resources and strategy Nick Edmonds told the committee that the counci's aim is to pay off the loan 'as quickly as possible', which will bring down the borrowing costs.

Labour councillor Andy Platt suggested that the city council's EFS debt ought to be cancelled by central government, arguing that this would ultimately be better for public finances.

He said: "I think we should be saying the debt should be cancelled. I think that would save money for the government in the long-term. We'll know what money we have, we won't need to cut more and more, and we'll be able to move forward."

Cllr Ashworth agreed that some form of debt relief would be a 'reasonable response' in the city council's financial difficulties, given previous funding cuts.

Public consultation on the draft budget will run until February 9.

Residents can have their say by visiting the Stoke-on-Trent City Council website here.

They can also write to Budget 2026, c/o Executive Assistant to the Corporate Director of Resources (S151 Officer), Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke ST4 1HH.