The council’s expected budget overspend for this year has risen to almost £30m as the cost of caring for vulnerable people continues to rise.
A recruitment freeze and spending restrictions remain in place to cope with Leeds City Council’s financial deficit.
Budgets for social care and looking after at-risk children were the biggest pressures, a financial report said. The children and families department saw an increase in its overspend position of £6.6m between July and August. The adults and health budget was facing a £12m overspend, leaving the overall forecast defict so far this year at £29.2m.
Councils around the country are facing similar budget problems and hoping for a boost in funding from central government.
The report said tighter controls were in place to limit spending on agency staff and overtime.
It said: “With a small number of exceptions for critical front-line delivery such as social work, or for income generating posts where the income fully covers the cost of the post, a complete recruitment freeze is now in place.”
Council staff were being encouraged to “treat the council’s money as if it were their own and only spend where necessary.”
The council was already required to make £103.8m worth of savings this financial year. That rose by a further £3.6m due to some savings not being achieved in the previous year.
The cost of placing children in private care homes, along with meeting the cost of pay rises for workers, were also cited in the report.
It was hoped a governmnent finance review would ease the situation for Leeds and other councils, the report to the council’s executive board said.
It said: “This current and future financial climate for local government continues to represent a significant risk to Leeds City Council’s priorities and ambitions.”
This post was written by Dom Mort, Local Democracy Reporter
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