All "non-essential spending" has been halted at Hertfordshire County Council, as latest figures show the authority is already facing a £6.2m overspend by the end of 2025/26.

In a message sent to all county council staff who control spending, deputy chief executive Scott Crudgington describes the financial position as "extremely difficult".

He acknowledges ongoing efforts to find savings, juggle "scarce budgets" and to pivot services to meet increasing demand "without the resources to match".

But in a message that highlights rising costs, the potential impact of the proposed Fair Funding Review and the need to make further savings, he tells senior officers that "the financial headwinds remain against us".

And he asks them to pause before approving purchases – avoiding non-essential spend wherever possible.

He also asks them to try to achieve an underspend – stressing that "budgets are the maximum amount of money available, not a spending target"

And he asks senior staff to "assess the urgency of new roles" – asking whether the position is "critical" to delivering a service or whether it could be postponed.

"We trust you to do the right thing," Mr Crudgington told staff in the message.

"But we will need to monitor spend closely – you are accountable for the decisions you make, so please make these decisions in light of my asks above.

"As we move forward together, we must continue to think and act as OneHCC, making sure every pound is spent carefully and responsibly on behalf of our residents and each other."

Mr Crudgington referred to the message at a meeting of the county council's resources and performance cabinet panel on Tuesday (November 25).

At the meeting, councillors heard that the council – which has an annual budget of £1.2billion – was forecasting the £6.2m overspend, equivalent to 0.5% of its revenue budget.

This is within the £10m contingency set by the county council, but bosses say they hope to minimise the use of this so that it can be used more widely.

And addressing the meeting head of corporate finance, Scott Walker, said: "In the realms of the size of the budget, it is at a manageable level at this time of the year.

"Obviously, it is probably at that exact point where we need to manage it down to ensure that the contingency is not exceeded – and preferably even lower so we can then bank any contingency into reserves at year's end for future financial need."

The report presented to councillors highlights increasing demand for services from older people and looked-after children.

According to the county council, the proposed Fair Funding Review could reduce the council's grant funding from central government by £50m a year by 2028/29.

And the council is seeking to make a further £42m of savings, with £495m of savings having to be made since 2010.

And following the meeting, a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "Like every council in the country, we are in a difficult financial position, and with uncertainty about our level of government funding in the years to come, we want to make sure we're ready to respond to potential challenges on the horizon in order to protect services.

"That's why this week we're asking all our budget managers to challenge all non-essential spending and look for ways to drive cost-saving innovation, so we are on the strongest possible financial footing going into the new year."

• In addition, the report also highlighted the increasing financial demands on the schools' high-need funding block, which is used to support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

According to the report, the block is now forecasting an in-year deficit of £63m – and an accumulated deficit of £88.5m by the end of the year.