Latest Financial Performance

SOUTHEND City Council’s latest financial performance report shows an improving overall financial position, despite continued and increasing pressures within statutory social care services.

At the end of the first six months of the financial year, the council is forecasting an overall overspend of £11.96m, an improvement of around £1.3m compared to earlier forecasts.

Whilst the vast majority of other council services remain within budget or are managing comparatively limited pressures, 108% of the remaining pressure (previously 97%) continues to be concentrated within Children’s and Adult Social Care.

The increasing complexity of care needs and the rising cost of specialist provision continue to place significant pressure on social care budgets. While the council has made progress in strengthening financial control and reducing spending pressures across the organisation, costs within Children’s Services have increased by around £1.5m since the summer.

In Children’s Services alone, one residential placement currently costs more than £1m a year, with a further seven placements costing more than £500,000 annually. Across England, shortages of suitable children’s care placements continue to drive up prices as councils meet their statutory responsibilities to protect vulnerable children.

The council says it has continued to strengthen oversight of spending and budget management throughout the year. Existing recovery work has delivered significant savings and mitigated a number of financial pressures, including an improvement in Adult Social Care that alone contributed to a £1.3m improvement towards the overall forecast position.

This work is being intensified further through strengthened financial controls, directorate-level recovery plans, targeted budget challenge and accelerated transformation activity through the council’s Strategic Budget Recovery Plan.

Coun Daniel Cowan, Leader of the Council, said: “These latest figures show that the additional actions we’ve taken across the council that are having an impact and in the vast majority of areas are coming under control.

“We’ve improved our overall financial position by around £1.3 million since earlier forecasts, demonstrating that we are on the right track.

“However, we are under no illusion about the scale of the challenge we continue to face in Children’s Services. Despite the ongoing work undertaken to strengthen oversight and manage placement costs, demand continues to grow and the cost of care for some of our most vulnerable children remains exceptionally high.

“It is important to be clear about where these pressures lie.

“Around 108% of our forecast overspend remains concentrated within statutory Children’s and Adult Social Care services. Across the vast majority of other council services, budgets remain well managed and services are continuing to perform strongly.

“But local taxpayers simply cannot continue carrying the burden of social care markets that are fundamentally broken. Whether it is escalating adult care costs or children’s placements costing more than £1 million a year, councils across the country are facing pressures that are simply unsustainable.

“We have consistently raised these concerns with Government and will continue to press the case for changes to services that deliver both better outcomes for residents and better value for taxpayers. In the meantime, we will continue doing everything within our control to improve our financial position and build a city that residents can be proud of.”

Coun Paul Collins, Cabinet Member for Finance and Transport, said: “This report shows that the measures we’ve put in place are working.

“At the same time, the increase in Children’s Services pressures over recent months highlights the continuing challenge facing local government. These are largely demand-led services, where costs can increase significantly and quickly as we meet our statutory responsibilities to support vulnerable children and adults.

“The challenge we face is not a lack of financial control. Most council services continue to operate broadly within budget. The issue remains that statutory social care demand and market costs are rising at a pace that far exceeds available funding.

“We will continue strengthening our budget recovery arrangements, challenging how services are delivered, and learning from best practice elsewhere in local government to ensure every pound delivers maximum value for residents.”

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