Council faces £7m overspend after costs rise

GLOUCESTERSHIRE County Council is facing a £7 million overspend this year due to rising cost of placements for children in care.

Deputy leader and finance cabinet member Lynden Stowe (C, Campdenvale) told last week’s cabinet meeting that the costs were rising due to “limited market availability”.

The forecast for the current financial year, based on July 2022 figures, shows an overspend of £7.029 million, all of which relates to non-covid-19 spending. Cllr Stowe said the situation was disappointing and he hoped central government would recognise it continued to be a challenging issue for councils and would provide more funding.

He said: “Our forecast revenue yearend position after the end of July 2022 is an overspend of over £7m. We know the challenges around inflation but the narrative we can explain for that significant variance generally sits within children and families.

“It tends to be because of the increasing cost of external placements. That’s due to increasing numbers of children in care and the cost of those placements. Those costs are rising significantly due to a limited market availability.”

He said the council’s earmarked reserves had increased by £5.59m due to amendments to business rate grant funding.