Councils face £27m overspend on children's services
Getty ImagesNorthamptonshire Children's Trust (NCT) has set out a £27m overspend on the £186m budget it was allocated for the 2025-26 financial year.
NCT is owned by, and provides children's social care services on behalf of, North and West Northamptonshire Councils and updated the authorities at a meeting earlier.
A report to the Children's Trust joint committee stated that the main pressures were down to increased demand and placement costs, affecting services nationally.
As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, NCT will spend about £213m in the 2025-26 financial year.
The report to the Reform UK-controlled councils said a "broken market" had led to a "higher reliance on high-cost independent and spot purchased placements, creating financial risk, budget volatility, and reduced influence over quality and outcomes".
Repeated overspend
North Northamptonshire Council will be responsible for about £12m of the overspend and West Northamptonshire about £15m based on their current contract split of 44.16% and 55.84% respectively.
Local authorities have a statutory duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in their area, meaning many costs are unavoidable. The majority of the pressures are coming from placements for children in care, which is forecasting a £19m overspend alone.
At the end of February 2026, there were 181 residential placements – an increase of 31 compared to the start of the financial year.
The report also stated that the average weekly cost of residential care has increased by £1,491 from the beginning of 2025-26.
The total costs for 2025-26 already outstrip the contract sum set for the current financial year (2026-27), which has been increased to £200m.
Over the past five years, the yearly budget set for the Trust has increased by over £60m, up from £137m in 2022-23.
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