The council now expects to overspend by £11.96m this year, down from £13.29m in July. Children's and adult social care account for all of it.
Southend council now expects to overspend its budget by £11.964 million this year, an improvement of £1.3 million since July. Social care for children and adults accounts for more than the whole overspend. Savings elsewhere in the council claw some of it back.
The figures are in the half-year finance report for Cabinet on Monday 16 November (Finance Performance Report, Period 6). The council set a £201.57 million day-to-day budget in February. The forecast overspend is 2.8% of its gross spending.
| When | Forecast overspend for 2026/27 |
|---|---|
| February 2026, budget set | nil |
| End of July 2026 | £13.291m |
| End of September 2026 | £11.964m |
In August we reported the July forecast: Southend Council faces £13.3m overspend. The council ended last year, 2025/26, with a £12.0 million overspend, the report says.
Where the money is going
Children’s and adult social care together account for “over 108%” of the forecast overspend, the report says. Underspends in other areas, and £1.1 million in corporate budgets, bring the total down to £11.964 million.
Children and SEND: £7.09 million over. Almost all of it, about 92%, is the cost of placing children in care in residential homes and high-cost supported housing. The report blames a national shortage of places and of foster carers. The council says it has saved £4.36 million so far by moving children, where it is safe and in their interests, into foster care, supported housing from 16, or back to their families. The number of these high-cost placements has changed like this:
- 50 at the end of November 2025
- 65 at the end of March 2026
- 60 at the end of July 2026
- 54 at the end of September 2026
One placement costs more than £1 million a year. Seven cost more than £500,000 a year each.
Adult social care: £5.84 million over. This is the Deputy Leader’s portfolio, Social Care and Healthier Communities. The main pieces are:
- care for older people, £2.73 million over, partly because more people have used up their savings and now need the council to pay
- care for people with physical and sensory impairments, £1.8 million over
- mental health services, £1.75 million over
- learning disabilities, £350,000 over
Housing benefit for supported housing
The report flags one more growing cost. When a resident lives in supported accommodation run locally by a not-for-profit landlord, the council must pay the rent the landlord charges. That can be above the official “fair market rent”, and the government refunds only 60% of the excess. Where the resident does not meet the DWP’s vulnerability rules, the council can claim nothing above the local rent level.
The extra cost this year is put at about £2.41 million. The council expects to offset £700,000 of it through debt provisions and recovering overpayments.
The pier had a hot summer
Pier income is forecast to be £200,000 below budget. The report puts it down to “five consecutive heatwaves” this summer, which it says sent visitors indoors. It warns that the recent storms may hit visitor numbers further.
What the council is doing
- New Community Investment Fund grants are paused, saving about £200,000. Grants already approved will still be paid.
- Vacancies are being held in several services.
- Panels review every new adult care package and every request for more support.
- 84% of this year’s planned savings of £6.05 million have been delivered, £5.08 million so far.
The report also warns about the years ahead. The council’s financial strategy forecast a £28.5 million budget gap to 2030/31, including £9.0 million next year. The report now says economic conditions could push next year’s gap to an estimated £11.5 million.
Cabinet is asked to note the forecast, approve £3.6 million of budget transfers and agree £29.4 million of changes to the capital programme. The next update, for the end of November, goes to Cabinet in January.
What it means for you
- This report makes no new cuts. It asks Cabinet to note the forecast and the steps already taken.
- The pressure builds into next year’s budget, which will be set in February 2027. The council has said the overspend cannot be met from reserves indefinitely.
- Community groups planning to apply to the Community Investment Fund should expect no new grants for now.
- Our council tax bands page has this year’s charges.
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