Overspending and undersaving

Lancashire County Council will have to wrestle with the dual challenge of overspending departments and undelivered savings in the months ahead.

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In adult services, it is projected - as things stand - that £14.9m more could be spent by the end of the financial year than was allocated in the budget for 2025/26, with recovery of income due to the authority posing a particular problem.

The directorate was set a savings target of £23m for the year, more than any other area of the county council - but it is currently predicted that it will fall short by £11.5m. However, the cabinet report notes that the benefits of some savings activity can be expected to be felt later in the year.

Elsewhere, the inclusion service is forecast to overspend by £6.2m as a result of "staffing pressures" because of the additional resources required to deliver the SEND recovery plan.

Meanwhile, a £3.9m overspend is predicted for the ever-growing cost of home-to-school transport for SEND pupils.

However, across the authority, underspends in some areas offset budget exceedance in financial footing in the years ahead.