Although the Council’s forecast budget overspend this year has halved compared to earlier forecasts, it is still around £2.5 million. This assumes that the whole of the £600,000 contingency reserve will be spent.

The biggest problem is the amount being spent on adult social care and this despite an additional £2 million being put into this year’s budget to help with the care of the elderly.
Of particular concern is that the cost per client which has almost doubled in the last year. Spend on our home care contracts has increased from £54k a week in July 2011 to £80k a week in July 2012. This results in a forecast overspend of £2.531M.

Most of the expenditure is influenced by wage rates although the increasing number of people aged over 85 – who have greater needs – will also add to the Councils costs.

The number of looked after children are also increasing, resulting in higher Council costs.

Predictably, promised savings in waste round rationalisation, Household Waste Recycling Centre policy and garden waste collections have failed to deliver the promised savings of around £380,000

Car parking income is down by £167,000.

The overspends are partly being funded by some “windfall” gains with lower interest rates and a Landfill Tax rebate (payments made over a number of years) clawing back around £850,000.

Meanwhile the Councils capital programme is being increased by £2.2 million which it will spend on buying new refuse collection vehicles (it previously leased them) and £248,000 upgrading premises in Nursery Drive which will become a children’s centre (the building has not been used by the Council for several years and was scheduled to be sold to help pay of debts).

£618,000 is to be spent remodelling offices at Hazel Court.

The Council are also proposing to spend £1.6 million modernising the market.