West Berkshire Council Faces £9.3m Overspend Crisis

West Berkshire Council says it has a £9.3m overspend after the first three months of the financial year, with rising volume and rates in childrens services the main cause.

Details show five children in care now cost the council about £3m a year. The council also lists 24 "clients" at an average cost of around £500,000 a year.

The General Fund Reserve is just over £10m, built using previously requested Exceptional Financial Support (EFS). Current spending would cut that to about £1m, leaving the fund below the level judged financially sustainable. The council also holds around £4.6m of revenue reserves created through EFS.

Leader Jeff Brooks (Lib Dem, Thatcham West) said he is "comfortable" with the councils financial position, after Conservative leader Ross Mackinnon raised the issue at Tuesdays resources and place scrutiny committee.

Mr Brooks accepted the overspend was a problem but stopped short of calling it a financial crisis, repeatedly pointing to national pressures in childrens social care and decisions by the former Conservative administration.

"Of course, I am not comfortable with the increased demands on children coming into residential care costing millions of pounds," he said.

"But I am satisfied that we are making the savings budgeted across the council and that aspect is what I am comfortable with."

Mr Mackinnon accused the leader of applying different standards of accountability. "Jeff Brooks has repeatedly held me accountable for the financial figures when Conservatives ran the council," he said.

"Now his administration is forecasting a £9.3m overspend after just three months, apparently responsibility lies everywhere except with the people currently running West Berkshire.

"Of course there are serious national pressures in childrens social care.

"But those pressures do not remove the responsibility of the administration that sets the budget and runs the council.

"The leader says he is comfortable with the councils financial position.

"I suspect many residents will find that extraordinary when the forecast overspend is £9.3m."

Mr Mackinnon also challenged Mr Brooks over last years independent review of the councils finances by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA), which was commissioned as part of the councils request for Exceptional Financial Support and examined West Berkshires financial resilience.

Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter