Blackpool Council hits budget target despite overspend in Children’s Services

Saturday, 27 July 2024 15:14

By Shelagh Parkinson

Caring for vulnerable children cost Blackpool Council £6.6m more than expected last year despite a drop in the number of children living in care, new figures show.

A report setting out the council’s position at the end of the 2023/24 financial year shows Children’s Services overspent once more, largely due to a rise in the cost of residential placements of nearly eight per cent.

Overall the council overspent by around £8m on delivering services, but better financial performances in other areas mean it was able to stay within the £172m set out in last year’s budget.

An extra £4m of council tax was collected during 2023/24 partly due to a rise of five per cent in the amount residents have to pay.

The total amount of council tax collected in the last financial year was £61.84m and the collection rate was 88.97 per cent. This compares to

£57.76m and 88.88 per cent at the same point in 2022/23.

But the main pressure on spending was once more from adult and children’s services, with an overspend of around £2m in Adult Services and £6.6m in Children’s Services.

The number of children currently living in care is currently 529, compared to 540 in July last year and 651 at the same time in 2022. Fewer children are being taken into care, and more have been able to leave the system.

But a report to the executive committee warns the number of residential placements has increased compared to the expected figure of 60 which has put pressure on spending.

The report says: “Residential placements are costly, with unit costs rising year on year by 7.9 per cent. There has been movement in the numbers of residential placements, from 84 to 76 as a result of a focused, ongoing piece of work led by the newly recruited Head of Service for Supporting our Children.

“Reviews of a number of care plans has resulted in children being moved from

residential settings to settings that better meet their needs, always ensuring their safety and individual needs are at the forefront when planning.”

However some savings have been made by relying less on agency staff for social workers.