Shropshire Council predicts £6 million overspend
Shropshire Council is predicting it will overspend by more than £6 million this financial year.
A report set to go to the authority’s cabinet next week says there is a potential overspend of £6.790m on a gross budget of £561.950m.
The authority is predicting that the main overspend will come in children’s services, at just more than £3m, while it also expects to overspend in adult services, place, commercial services, finance, governance and assurance, workforce and transformation and public health.
The reports are produced to track progress against agreed budget decisions, and consider any budget changes.
One of the efforts to produce “significant financial savings” will see the council trying to increase the number of foster carers, with a recruitment campaign already underway.
The report says: "Firstly, children’s safeguarding are committed to increasing foster placement sufficiency so that the council can care for more looked after children within a family environment.
"This is not only in the best interests of the majority of looked after children but will lead to significant financial savings.
"The aim is to increase the pool of foster carers and look to identify and support foster carers with looking after more complex children. This will reduce demand for expensive residential provision.
"To enable this to happen increased capacity is required in the children’s placement service to enable the recruitment of more carers and retain and support current carers.
Recruitment
"A business case has been approved and a recruitment campaign has started.
"In addition to this, a strategy to develop additional in-house residential provision is being explored with a view that internal provision could deliver savings through supporting a few of the most complex children at a lower cost than the market rate."
Costs have changed significantly within children's services in recent months, as the council had a number of new high-cost residential placements.
The report adds: "It is notable that this is a volatile area where costs can change significantly in year.
"This has been evident in this first quarter of the financial years where the £1.222m ongoing pressure has increased by £0.708m from £0.514m at the end of period two.
"This large increase results from five new high cost residential placements starting between mid-June and early July increasing the projected expenditure by £0.700m.
"In addition to these five new placements, two placements have been disrupted, resulting in the children moving into higher cost residential placements costing an additional £0.313m."
The figures will be presented to Shropshire Council's cabinet at its meeting on Monday in Shirehall.
