Budgets to be slowed as council forecasts £261,000 overspend

In October, there were 158 children in foster care and non-residential placements, an increase of 14 since the end of the last financial year, leading to an expected overspend of £324,000 in children’s services.
The environment, highways and transport department is also forecasting an overspend of around £201,000, attributed to reduced car park income and a shortfall in developer funding because of delays in the commencement of developments.
Meanwhile, care commissioning, housing and safeguarding are reporting an underspend of £102,000, while culture and environmental protection are also forecasting an underspend of £173,000.
An overall overspend of £261,000 in 2013/14 is anticipated, an increase of £30,000 since the last projected overspend, something which West Berkshire Council’s portfolio holder for finance, Alan Law (Con, Basildon) attributed to larger than expected numbers of looked after children when he addressed the executive committee last Thursday.
Mr Law said: “Overall, we are still in pretty good financial shape. The problem of the overspend [is owing to] larger than expected numbers of looked after children.
“Although this year we have built an additional £650,000 into the children placement budget, as it turns out this is not enough.
“We are trying to get ahead of the game and build up risk funds in children’s services to help us cope with this volatility [but] we have not been able to get ahead of that yet.”
As a result, the council revealed that expenditure across children’s non-residential placement budgets and all community services budgets would be deliberately slowed, however portfolio holder for children and young people, Irene Neill (Con, Aldermaston), stressed that urgent cases would not be affected.