£18,000-per-week care costs help drive council £9m overbudget
Care for children which costs £18,000 a week is necessary in the most complex of cases, Lincolnshire County Council has said.
The authority predicts it will spend £9million more than expected on children’s social care this year, with 112 children currently in care.
Opposition councillors have described the figures as “worrying”, but council leaders say they will continue to prioritise children’s welfare while looking at ways to bring the costs down.
The finances were discussed at the leaders’ Executive meeting on Tuesday, September 1, where Councillor Natalie Oliver, who is responsible for children’s services, said that their first job was to protect young people.
“We have seen an increase in complexity and amount of children who need to come into care,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.
“We’re a council which prioritises the outcomes of children, and do not look at the financial basis.
“It’s not a unique position for Lincolnshire, it’s a national issue across the board.
“We are looking at mitigation in order to secure placements, we’re looking to see what we can do locally to change that. We’ve recently become part of a regional care co-operative to try and achieve placement stability.”
She described care packages which cost £18,000 per week as “necessary”, saying: “Complexity is rising.
“Some children have a very high level of trauma and in order to give them the therapeutic care that they need, sometimes they are really expensive.
“It’s a statutory requirement of the council. At the end of the day, we’re here to protect children and their welfare is our overwhelming priority.”
Leader, Councillor Sean Matthews, made a plea for potential foster carers, saying it was “fantastic for children and the community at large”.
The council’s other area of concern is the school budget, which is predicted to outstrip the budget by £51million this year due to more young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities requiring support.
However the government is expected to step in and fund 90 per cent of authorities’ SEND debts, which experts warn have become unsustainable.