TORFAEN council overspent by almost £2 million in social care and housing in 2019/20.

The county borough council had budgeted for £44.5 million for social care and housing but spent £46.4 million – an overspend of £1.9 million.

In a cabinet report, the council says that the overspend was largely due to the larger-than-expected number of looked-after-children placements.

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This alone saw a £2.8 million overspend as the council budgeted for 436 placements but saw 496 in March 2020. The year average was 483.

The council says this was partially offset by staff vacancies and additional grants and other funding income.

It was also offset by the adult housing and commissioning budget producing a £307,000 underspend because of staff vacancies, grants and additional funding.

A transfer of £108, 000 was made from the social care reserve to help offset the overall deficit in social care and housing, while the remainder was financed by other means.

To help the council deal with any pressures in the 2020/21 financial year, an additional £1.5 million has been allocated to children’s services.

In other areas, the council saw a £532,000 underspend in education, which was partially planned to enable a contribution towards the fund that was set aside for changes to post-16 education management. While neighbourhood services overspent by £144,000.

Torfaen’s cabinet will consider the financial results at the cabinet meeting on Tuesday, May 19.