Issue - meetings

Report CEF19017

The report presented the budget monitoring position for 2019/20 based on activity up to the end of September 2019.  Overall the position for Education was a predicated overspend of £213k related to SEN transport (£88k overspend), Education Psychologists (£54k overspend), and Education Welfare Service £56k overspend).  There was currently a projected overspend in Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) of £877k and this would be deducted from the £2,495k carried forward from 2018/19.  Children’s Social Care was predicting a £979k overspend (net of management action of £186k).  Placements for children, the cost of agency staff, and direct payments in Children with Disabilities all continued to place pressure on the budget.  The Committee noted that another ongoing risk area for placements was the Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children (UASC) cohort.

Concerning the ongoing budget pressures relating to SEN Transport, the Director of Children’s Services highlighted that the Council’s Transformation Project was a 4 year programme and due to the complex issues surrounding SEN Transport it was unlikely that proposals would be developed for consideration before 2022.

RESOLVED: That the Portfolio Holder be recommended to note the latest projected overspend of £1,192,000 forecast on the controllable budget, based on information as at September 2019.