Richmond upon Thames Council's Adult Social Care services are facing a projected budget overspend of £0.514 million for the first quarter of the 2026-27 financial year, primarily driven by demand-led pressures
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The overspend, detailed in the Revenue and Capital Forecast Quarter 1 2026-27 report presented to the Adult Social Services, Health and Housing Committee, highlights significant challenges in both housing and adult social care provision.
Key areas contributing to the projected deficit include:
Housing Services: The council continues to experience substantial pressures with homelessness and temporary accommodation, where demand remains high. Currently,
approximately 10 households enter TA for every one that leaves.
While early indications from the Renters' Rights Act show a slight reduction in presentations linked to the end of private rented tenancies, the overall situation is fragile.
Richmond's homelessness accommodation use across various categories and years. Adult Social Care: Increased costs and complexity of care packages are a major concern, particularly for learning disability services. This is largely due to the growing number of young people with increasingly complex needs transitioning from Children's Services into Adult Social Care. These young individuals often require higher-cost supported living placements, with one recent placement costing approximately £1,100 per week more per person than previously ended packages. Although overall Adult Social Care demand has reduced slightly since March 2026 (by 0.5%, or 8 individuals, mainly due to fewer people receiving mental health support), the forecast remains under pressure due to the cost and complexity of care packages within Learning Disabilities services.
Breakdown of issues and principal concerns reported in adult social care.
The report assumes the delivery of £3.361 million in mitigation actions to address the overspend. These actions include:
- Careline technology: Implementing a new contract to review operations and charging policies to mitigate some income shortfall.
- Maximizing health funding: Reviewing care packages to ensure only the social care element is funded by the council and maximizing health income contributions.
- Maximizing individual contributions: Ensuring policies are followed regarding contributions from individuals towards their care.
- Wider care technology and digital initiatives: Utilising technology to prevent, reduce, or delay the need for long-term care, enabling independent living, and exploring digital tools like AI for assessment.
- Transformation initiatives: These are ongoing efforts to manage demand and improve value from commissioned services, with further details expected in future reports.
- Housing Services mitigations: Efforts are underway to identify and relocate high-cost temporary accommodation cases and return properties to third-party providers. Negotiations have already reduced costs by an average of 4% per night since December 2024. The Private Rented Sector Offer policy is expected to strengthen the council's ability to secure private rented accommodation and support prevention, though its full impact is not yet reflected in the Q1 forecast.
Councillor Piers Allen, Chair of the Adult Social Services, Health and Housing Committee, acknowledged the pressures but stressed the importance of effective management. Despite the projected revenue overspend, the capital programme remains on track, with a committed budget of £20.4 million forecast to be delivered within budget.
The committee resolved to note the projected overspend and the latest position on the capital programme. The full details of the report can be found in the Public reports pack for the Adult Social Services, Health and Housing Committee meeting on Tuesday 08 September 2026. Public reports pack
