Costly Care for Vulnerable Children ‘Essential’, Say Lincolnshire Leaders
Council faces £9 million overspend as demand and complexity rise
Care for children in the most complex cases, costing up to eighteen thousand pounds a week, is essential according to Lincolnshire County Council.
The authority says it expects to spend nine million pounds more than planned on children’s social care this year, with one hundred and twelve children currently needing support.
Opposition councillors have called the rising costs “worrying”, but council leaders insist children’s welfare comes first, and some care packages are expensive due to the high level of trauma involved.
They say the council is joining a regional co-operative to help find stable, local placements and is urging more people to consider becoming foster carers.
The council is also predicting its school budget will be fifty one million pounds over, driven by more children with special educational needs needing support, although the government is expected to cover most of the SEND debt.