Councils saw £800m overspend on children’s social care in 2018/19: LGA

Councils were forced to overspend on their children’s social care budgets by nearly £800m last year, the Local Government Association has said, blaming “severe funding shortages and huge demand pressures”.

The LGA said there was an urgent need for the Spending Round to plug a £1.4bn funding gap facing children’s services next year.

It said: “By securing the sustainability of children’s social care services, the Government can ensure councils can deliver their legal duties, protect the preventative services which support families before they reach crisis point and improve the lives of children and families.”

The LGA said its analysis showed that councils had budgeted an additional £542m in 2018/19 for children’s social care, but despite this they had to spend £770m more than they planned. 

The Association noted how the last decade had seen an 84% increase in children being supported on child protection plans, and an additional 15,920 children in care.

It said councils had been forced to divert money away from services that support children and families earlier, and towards services that protect those children at most immediate risk of harm.

Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board, Cllr Anntoinette Bramble, said: “Councils want to make sure that children can get the best, rather than just get by, and that means investing in the right services to reach them at the right time. 

“Funding pressures coinciding with huge increases in demand mean it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to do that.”

Cllr Bramble added that up to 1,796 referrals were made to council children’s social services every day - more than one referral a minute.

“In order to keep children at most risk safe, councils up and down the country have been forced to find savings from non-statutory or discretionary budgets, which includes valuable early intervention and prevention support that can stop children and families reaching crisis point. This is not sustainable,” she argued.

“It is therefore vital that the Government uses the upcoming Spending Round to fully fund the demand on children’s services next year to allow councils to provide the vital support that children and families rely on.”