Southampton City Council's plans to plug a £40m black hole in its finances next year still fall short by £10m, a new report has said.

Yesterday, the authority unveiled a raft of 28 savings projects in seven different areas - including adult social care, children's services, waste collection and council housing - to fix its financial woes in the long term.

But the report said that despite needing to raise £42.65m to balance its books for the next financial year, these plans only accounted for £32.05m of savings - leaving a gap of £10.6m to be found.

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Lorna FielkerLorna Fielker (Image: Supplied)

This is weeks before the council has to submit its plans to the Government in August, having been granted the ability to raise £121.6m to solve its woes earlier this year.

Council leader Lorna Fielker said: "We've worked really hard on these plans so I've got confidence that they're going to deliver what we've asked them to deliver.

"But we have to remember that we do need to also manage that rise in demand and increased costs as well.

"So we will continue to work really hard on this; it is not something that starts and stops. We will continue to have a very strong focus on finance."

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But deputy Tory leader Jeremy Moulton said: "It doesn't look sufficient; it looks too little, too late.

"We haven't even got the detail on the breakdown of the savings that are planned which is what they actually represent and whether they're practical and what the impact on residents will be."

The transformation plans are forecast to be completed in the next three years - with further savings to come after this, the council said.

The biggest area of proposed savings comes in adult social care and health, with the council report forecasting £14.65m will be saved.

The council leader admitted the authority hasn't "moved with the times in a way other local authorities have" in this area, resulting in it overspending.

Other savings include a projected £7.9m in children's services, £1.8m in schools and special educational needs disabilities and £11.3m in residents services including council housing.

While the plans suggest a shortfall in 2025/2026 for now, the council report said that by making these changes they would be saving £41.6m a year by 2028/2029.

Cllr Fielker said the new Labour Government would be providing multi-year settlements to help them 'plan better for the future'.

The transformation plans will be put to the council's overview and scrutiny committee and cabinet before being submitted to the Government by August 27.

Alongside the transformation programme, the council has also revealed a new Southampton City Plan for its long-term goals over the next 10 years.