Flintshire Council ‘struggling to cope’ with spiralling cost of frontline services

Flintshire Council says it is ‘struggling to cope’ with the spiralling cost of frontline services as a new report reveals it is facing a major overspend. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

Current predictions show the local authority is expected to go over budget by around £3m this financial year. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

A senior figure said high increases in demand on children’s services and school transport were to blame for the deficit, including an extra £2m required to pay for youngsters to be looked after by private providers. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

It comes as councils across Wales say they are becoming more reliant on external placements to manage the growing number of children entering the care system. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

Despite the significant overspend, Flintshire’s chief executive Colin Everett defended the authority’s record in managing its finances. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

He also issued a warning that it could no longer handle reductions to its funding from national government, with reserves of only £1.9m available to plug the gap.
He said: “For the first time in many years we are looking at a major overspend in our overall budget in-year. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“The trend in the sharp increase in demand for complex children’s cases, particularly where looked after children are in our care, is a national one and demand here is particularly high. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“We have been warning that councils are becoming unsustainable with such inadequate government funding after a decade of budget cuts. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“Flintshire is financially well run and this is a strength recognised by the Wales Audit Office as our external auditors. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

“However, the challenging financial situation is becoming beyond our control as we try to keep pace with the increasing demands for services with less money at our disposal.” ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

The figures were outlined in a report set to be be considered by members of the authority’s corporate resources scrutiny committee on Thursday. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

An additional overspend of close to £1.3m has also been highlighted in relation to transport. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

The council said much of the amount related to the cost of providing school travel. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

It added that work was ongoing to bring the amount down to the original estimate of £930,000. ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

By Liam Randall – Local Democracy Reporter (more here). ‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌​

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