Gloucestershire County Council overspend by £7 million on childcare placements
We're being told is was due to "limited market availability"
Gloucestershire County Council is facing a £7m overspend this year due to rising cost of placements for children in care.
Deputy leader and finance cabinet member Lynden Stowe told a recent 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 is disappointing and hopes central government will recognise it continues to be a challenging issue for councils and will provide more funding in future.
He said: “Our forecast revenue year end position after the end of July 2022 is an overspend of over £7m.
“Clearly we live in challenging times. 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. These are the national issues which cabinet and I’m sure all members of scrutiny are aware of.”
He also said there was some good news as the council’s earmarked reserves have increased by £5.59 million due to amendments to the business rate grant funding.