Hertfordshire County Council overspent by £2 million on the delivery of services in 2023/24, latest data shows.
In the last financial year, the council had budgeted to spend £1.1 billion on services, including education, social care, highways, and public health. However, according to a report presented at the latest cabinet meeting, the council ended the 2023/24 year with a £2 million overspend.
This overspend is in addition to the £10 million already set aside as a contingency as part of the budget.
Nevertheless, after a “very challenging year,” coming within £2 million of a balanced budget—equivalent to 0.2 percent overall—was welcomed.
At one point, halfway through the year, an overspend of £15.7 million had been forecast.
Executive member for resources and performance, Cllr Bob Deering, told councillors that, to all intents and purposes, they had delivered a “balanced budget.” He emphasised that overspending by “only £2 million”—which he stressed was about 0.2 percent of the overall budget—was a “very very good outcome.”
He highlighted the efforts of council officers in achieving balanced budgets and delivering the best services possible. He also noted that they had achieved 97 percent of the council’s own savings target of £28 million.
Meanwhile, council leader Cllr Richard Roberts emphasized the financial difficulties of the previous year, citing the impact of inflation and energy costs. He affirmed that it had been a “challenging year” and that coming within £2 million of a balanced budget was “excellent.”
At the meeting, councillors were informed that service costs had escalated due to increased demand, complexity of need, and the impact of inflation. Actions taken to “mitigate” costs included “recruitment prioritisation”—freezing recruitment to all but essential roles—and the “children’s action plan.”
However, councillors also heard that there had been underspends in non-social care departments, including waste management and back-office support services.
Overall, the department with the largest overspend was children’s services, at £17.1 million. Community protection recorded an overspend of £900,000, and adult care services an overspend of £800,000.
Responding to the budget out-turn, Cllr Roberts highlighted the particular financial pressures on children’s services, noting a £7.5 million overspend in schools. He said, “We took the view that we were going to put children first and money second. We virtually had no option. We couldn’t hold the budget any longer. There is not enough money going into the high needs block as part of the schools funding that comes from government, and we cannot hold it back.
“Like many upper-tier authorities managing this budget with and for schools and school children, there is not enough money in it. So last year that budget overspent by £7.5 million. And I think this year we’re looking at something like a £17 million overspend in that area. It is unsustainable. And parents and children need to be reassured that there is funding and support available for children with special educational needs in schools—as well as all of the other provision that we provide. That is one of the big challenges, I think, for us and by inference our relationship with government on this issue.”
Meanwhile, at the meeting, councillors agreed to reprogram £33.9 million of capital funding from 2023/24. Despite carrying over the funding, Cllr Deering told the cabinet that in 2023/24, the council had achieved “the biggest capital programme we have ever done—to the order of £280 million.”
Looking forward to 2024/25, it was reported that financial pressures on revenue spending were expected to continue. “There are real concerns that the 2024/25 financial year will be another challenging year financially,” said the report presented to the cabinet. “As part of the budget preparation for 2024/25, £98 million was invested in service budgets to address some of these concerns, but early forecasts suggest demand and average costs will continue to escalate without additional demand management interventions.”
The budget report was presented to the latest meeting of the council’s cabinet on July 9.
Deborah is a Local Democracy Reporter covering news across Hertfordshire, with a strong focus on councils, local government and public policy. Her reporting includes county council decisions, council tax, spending pressures, legal and regulatory issues, healthcare stories including junior doctors, and community projects affecting local residents.
