Council predicting £500,000 overspend
District council thinks it will spend half a million more than it expected to
WEST Berkshire Council is predicting it will overspend by £500,000 in the 2015/16 financial year, owing to increased pressures on its children’s services and education department.
The Conservative-controlled district council’s Quarter Two Financial Performance Report, circulated to councillors last week, is forecasting that it will spend £500,000 more than its £125m revenue budget. However, some of these expected overspends are being softened by salary savings and increases in car parking income.
Children’s services alone is predicting a £684,000 overspend, although that is significantly less than the £1.9m forecast at the end of quarter one.
The council said this was down to the employment of high-cost agency staff to cover vacant social worker positions and spending more than £600,000 on addressing an ‘inadequate’ children’s services Ofsted report.
It is also spending more than expected in increased placements and allowances (£810,000), and joint arrangements across childcare lawyers and faces a £150,000 overspend in youth services. Elsewhere, spending in education is expected to come in at £250,000 over budget, with increased pressure on the Home to School Transport budget being the main reason.
There is also significant pressure on the Disabled Children’s Team budget, owing to an increase in disability care packages and disabled children’s residential placements.
The council is also bracing itself to receive less income than expected in legal services, leading to a predicted £70,000 overspend.
An increase in council car parking income means the Highways and Transport service is expected to underspend by £197,000.
Planning and Countryside is forecasting an underspend of £254,000, mainly owing to an increase in income from development control.
Culture and Environmental Protection is predicting an overspend of £78,000, mainly due to a payment of £43,000 from Kennet Leisure which has not yet been agreed, together with salary pressures and an increase in the business rates valuation at the museum.
The chief executive’s budget is showing an underspend of £15,000 because of salary savings, while Customer Services is forecasting an overspend of £11,000 due to increased costs IT and agency costs.
The Human Resources Service is expecting an overspend of £22,000, which is down to a reduction of training income and an increased requirement for occupational health services.
The financial report was presented to members at a meeting of its executive last Thursday. At the end of quarter one, the council predicted it would finish the financial year with an overspend of almost £1m.