Barnsley Council forecasts £3.8m overspend amid rising children’s care costs
The authority is set to go almost £4m over budget this year - mostly because of the ballooning cost of children's social care and home to school transport.
Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council is forecasting a £3.8m overspend this year, driven largely by pressures in children’s social care and home-to-school transport.
The authority set a budget of £282.3m for 2025/26 and planned to deliver £12.6m in savings. But current forecasts suggest only £10.4m of those savings will be achieved, leaving a £2.2m shortfall. Together with other spending pressures, this brings the overall projected overspend to £3.8m.
The biggest pressure is in children’s services, where costs are £4.4m over budget. The council said demand for placements remains in line with expectations, but the complexity of needs and a shortage of foster carers has forced greater reliance on costly external residential care and independent fostering agencies. Some placements now cost more than £11,000 a week.
Home-to-school transport is also expected to overspend by £800,000 due to increased demand and higher contract prices.
These pressures are partly offset by a £1.5m underspend in treasury management, with the council earning more than expected from investments and delaying new borrowing.
The council said departments would be expected to stay within their existing budgets, with any new spending needing to be covered either by external funding or savings in other areas.
Alongside the budget forecast, the council’s cabinet will be asked to approve the write-off of £871,000 of historic debts that the authority says are no longer economical to pursue. These include unpaid council tax, business rates and housing benefit overpayments. Officials stressed that the debts remain legally recoverable, even if written off in the accounts.
Other departments, including adult social care, public health and housing, are currently forecasting balanced positions. The council’s Housing Revenue Account is also expected to break even.
The figures cover the first quarter of the financial year, to the end of June 2025. The report will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on 17 September.