Recruitment halted as council finances take a sharp downturn
COUNCIL finances in Rotherham are predicted to have slipped £2.5m further into the red in the space of just two months, according to a new report.
Now a range of economy measures are being introduced - including a delay in recruiting staff, where that is feasible.
Regular updates are provided to authority members on the state of the authority’s finances - compared to the annual budget it has to spend - so they can monitor the situation.
In September, it was predicted the borough would be £900,000 overspent by the end of the financial year.
But a new assessment, compiled in November, has seen that figure leap to £3.4m.
The reason for that is put down “primarily” to “increased cost of care packages within Adult Social Care Mental Health placements”, councillors are being told.
Another pressure has been the payment of backdated allowances for packages covering Older People and Physical and Sensory Disabilities.
Spending on social care for adults and children is a major issue nationally and in Rotherham. The combined adult and children’s social care department is predicted to be £8.7m overspent by the end of the year.
The good news for Rotherham Council is that its Central Services department should have spent £5.3m less than anticipated by the end of March.
Council officials will now continue to monitor the situation, but have warned councillors in a report that the books may not balance ahead of the new 2026/7 financial year.
That would leave the council needing to dig into its reserves - the ‘piggy bank’ of emergency cash which all public bodies must hold.
To minimise the impact of the situation, councillors have been told the authority’s team of most senior officials “are expected to take all steps to reduce the overall overspend, ensuring grant maximisation, restricting any non-essential expenditure and delaying recruitment where possible.”
Rotherham Council is taking steps to control costs for children’s care by providing services locally where possible - which is both cost efficient and better for those involved - and working to provide early interventions, to cure problems early - again, regarded as having positive outcomes for the families involved, as well as those providing care.