Latest Teesside headlines straight to your inbox Subscribe Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Jobs are at risk after a council said it is committed to ensuring children’s services in the face of a projected £4.2m budget overspend.

This week, Redcar and Cleveland Council revealed it faces serious financial pressures due to the surging cost of looking after children in its care.

With the number of looked after children almost doubling in the last five years, today one in every 100 youngsters in the borough are now in care.

The authority has already had to make huge cuts in recent years due to government austerity measures but it is now looking into how it can make further savings - and jobs may have to go.

A report set to go before the council’s cabinet next week estimated the local authority’s predicted budget overspend to be £4.2m by the end of this financial year.

Speaking at a briefing on Thursday, Cllr Christopher Massey, deputy council leader and cabinet member for resources, said the majority of Redcar and Cleveland Council’s overspend was on children’s services.

“We have predicted an overspend of £4.2m - £3.5m of that is on children’s services,” he said.

He said this was not unique to Redcar and Cleveland with the Local Government Association (LGA) predicting a national budget gap in children’s services of £2bn by 2020.

Redcar and Cleveland Council has used £14m of reserves since 2010 and has already reduced its workforce by more than 1,000

Asked about the possibility of further job losses Cllr Massey said: “There is always a danger that jobs can be at risk.

“Last time, out of 1,000 staff, only a handful - 10 or less - have been compulsory redundancies.

“We don’t want to stop services or see anyone lose their job.”

He added: “We can’t make that decision now, we’re going to discuss all our options.

“But £4.2m is large enough to require a major change in council operations.”

Cllr Craig Hannaway, the cabinet member for children’s services, education and skills, said local authorities had reached a “tipping point” as the numbers of looked after children in Redcar and Cleveland almost doubled in the space of five years.

“We can’t pause spending when we have a statutory duty to the 27,000 children in the borough who could come to significant harm,” he said.

“We had 160 or 170 looked after children five years ago. We have about 300 now.

“The biggest reason is child neglect. It doesn’t sound as serious as other causes such as physical abuse or sexual abuse.

“But more die from neglect than any other cause.

“One in 100 children in the borough is now looked after.”

(Image: Handout)

Cllr Hannaway went on to explain just how expensive looking after children can be for local authorities.

He said for children requiring the highest level of need - of which Redcar and Cleveland has three - the cost is almost £1m per child each year.

Redcar and Cleveland Council had its central government funding cut by £76.4m between 2010 and 2018, a reduction in spending power of 35%, much higher than the national average of 29%.

The authority is also in dispute with the government which wants a £2.6m backdated payment for business rate relief dating back to the 2010 to 2013 period.

Cllr Massey said: “We are having to operate on the idea that we have to pay the government business rate relief money we never had the full benefit of.

“It would make a big difference if the government saw sense on that and we have written to the government minister requesting an urgent meeting to sort this out.”

He added: “We welcome the fact the government has commissioned a specific study on children’s services funding and we will look to ensure that the funding model for the service is able to address this demand as it continues to rise.

“The council remains absolutely committed to ensuring that our most vulnerable children remain fully protected and encouraged to thrive through ensuring this vital service continues to be properly funded going forward.

“We are fully and absolutely committed to ensuring our most vulnerable children are looked after.”