Oct 27, 2020, Children and Young People Now: CROYDON COUNCIL APOLOGISES OVER DAMNING REPORT INTO CHILDREN'S SERVICES OVERSPEND
(SOUTH LONDON) Croydon Council has been advised to make 'significant savings' in children's social care. HTTPS://WWW.CYPNOW.CO.UK/NEWS/ARTICLE/CROYDON-COUNCIL-APOLOGISES-OVER-DAMNING-REPORT-INTO-CHILDREN-S-SERVICES-OVERSPEND The report, published by the council last week, states that the council has overspent £39.2m [$51M U.S.] on children’s and adult’s social care over the last three years. The council overspent £8.4m [$11M] on children’s social care alone in 2019/20, the report states, and is projected to overspend £16.5m [$22M] on children’s social care in 2020/21 based on projections from the first quarter of this year. “The challenges of demand led services with both children's and adult social are impacts across the local government sector and the council is not unique in facing pressures on these budgets,” the report states. It recommends that “executive directors need to address the underlying causes of overspends in children's social care and take effective action to manage both the demand and the resulting cost pressures”…. The report states: “The council, with other similarly impacted authorities, has lobbied for an increase in the rate per child. “The latest rate was increased in June 2020 to £143 per child per night. The focus of the council's effort has been on increasing the daily rate. “The daily cost of the services provided by the council exceeds the daily rate received. There is a need for the council to review how services can be delivered within the funding provided. … They state that Croydon had “provided additional funding in excess of the government grant (DSG) to meet local needs” due to increasing pressures “in particular on the high needs block which covers children and young people with special educational need”. … The report adds that: “Despite applying significant amounts of transformation monies (£73m) [$95M] in the past three years the council continues to experience overspends in both departments [children’s and adult’s social care] and planned significant growth funding in the original 2020/21 budget. …
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