Council faces £6.3m overspend as tax set to rise

A cash-strapped authority revealed its projected overspend has risen to more than £6m as it proposes a 4.99% increase in council tax.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is forecasting a £6.3m deficit for the current 2025-26 financial year as of the end of December, up from £4.1m in the previous quarter.

The authority said the overspend was largely being driven by the high cost of children in care. Spending on care placements is forecast to be £15.2m over budget for the year.

Although the number of children in care has fallen slightly from 1,120 to 1,095, it remains significantly higher than the average for English councils.

The authority said it had needed to fund some "very expensive" individual placements for young people with "very high complexity" needs.

A report said this had had a "significant" impact on the council's finances.

It added: "The children's services improvement and delivery plan continues to be central to managing placement demand. The plan, aligned with commitments set out to central government, aims to reduce the number of children in care over the medium term and manage placement costs through effective commissioning.

"Progress continues, although challenges remain regarding market sufficiency and capacity, particularly in higher-cost placements."

The adult social care directorate has also seen its projected overspend rise, from £800,000 to £1.6m.

The council is facing rising demand and an increase in costs for social care, partially due to an decrease in the number of patients being assessed as eligible for funded nursing care following hospital discharge.

According to the report, various measures are being implemented to reduce the council's deficit, including "enhanced" spending controls in areas such as recruitment, agency staffing and overtime.

Councillors will next week approve the authority's 2026-27 budget, which includes a 4.99% council tax hike and a request for a further £10.5m in exceptional financial support from the government.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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