Barnet Children's Services Projects Balanced Budget Despite £300k Overspend

Barnet Children's Services Projects Balanced Budget Despite £300k Overspend

Barnet Children's Services is projected to balance its budget by the end of the financial year, despite an overspend of £300,000. This financial pressure has been driven by increased demand and complexity in services for children with disabilities and corporate parenting responsibilities.

The Children and Families department's financial forecast for 2026-27 revealed that an initial overspend prediction of £700,000 had been reduced to £300,000 by the fifth month of the financial year. Sharon Palmer, Head of Finance for Children and Families, expressed optimism that the service would achieve a balanced budget by year-end, though she cautioned that this projection relies on several assumptions and that six months of the financial year remain.

The primary drivers for the financial pressure have been identified as increasing demand and complexity within Corporate Parenting and Children with Disabilities Services. Brigitte Jordaan, Director of Children's Social Care, explained that the demand in Children with Disabilities Services is due to an increased number of children needing support, with some requiring almost 24-7 care within the family home to prevent them from coming into care. The number of children receiving short breaks has also risen significantly, from 1,100 last year to 1,600 this year, which is viewed as a preventative measure. The Families First model is also being implemented to encourage earlier intervention and stronger multi-agency decision-making.

Despite the overspend, the trajectory for the full year is positive. Savings targets are being met, primarily through external residential step-downs rather than reductions in transport budgets for children with special needs.

Questions were raised regarding the budget lines for the growth fund and the high-needs block, which are both over budget. The council is awaiting further government announcements on relief for in-year overspends, as these deficits lie outside the general fund but will ultimately need to be met. The council did not qualify for the government's historic deficit relief program for the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) overspend because its DSG position was managed more effectively than authorities with extremely large cumulative deficits.

Sharon Palmer cautioned that the projection of a balanced budget by year-end is subject to lots of assumptions around the forecasting, and we still have a further six months of the year to go. The specific assumptions and potential risks if they are not met were not detailed in the report.

While an exact current number of children requiring support within these services and a precise year-on-year change were not provided, it was noted that the percentage of the child population requiring support within Children with Disabilities Services has increased.

See the Children and Families Financial Update Report 2026-27 here and the Family Services Quarterly Update Report for more details.