By Don Mort, Local democracy reporter
The council’s expected budget overspend for this year has risen to almost £30m as the cost of caring for vulnerable people continues to rise.
A recruitment freeze and spending restrictions remain in place to cope with Leeds City Council’s financial deficit.
Budgets for social care and looking after at-risk children were the biggest pressures, a financial report said.
The children and families department saw an increase in its overspend position of £6.6m between July and August.
The adults and health budget was facing a £12m overspend, leaving the overall forecast defict so far this year at £29.2m.
Councils around the country are facing similar budget problems and hoping for a boost in funding from central government.
The report said tighter controls were in place to limit spending on agency staff and overtime.
It said: “With a small number of exceptions for critical front-line delivery such as social work, or for income generating posts where the income fully covers the cost of the post, a complete recruitment freeze is now in place.”
Council staff were being encouraged to “treat the council’s money as if it were their own and only spend where necessary.”
The council was already required to make £103.8m worth of savings this financial year.
That rose by a further £3.6m due to some savings not being achieved in the previous year.
The cost of placing children in private care homes, along with meeting the cost of pay rises for workers, were also cited in the report.
It was hoped a governmnent finance review would ease the situation for Leeds and other councils, the report to the council’s executive board said.
It said: “This current and future financial climate for local government continues to represent a significant risk to Leeds City Council’s priorities and ambitions.”
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They would not have an overspend if they would stop builing cycle paths that no one uses our updating roundabaouts such as Lawnswood that were working perfectly well.
Most of the work work you talk about isn’t funded by the council, it’s by grants secured from central government or from West Yorkshire Combined Authority.
But the grants were for transport improvement, not just a cycle path
You have to have someone to blame THE VULNERABLE…. who can’t answer back. Stop wasting money like kirkgate market.. even better do away with your huge expenses. And give the Mayor a bike. Sell some of those paintings in the Civic Hall.. stop blaming the public for your message ups
Greed City Council. Scamming residents
It’s a waste of money spending on cycling lanes nobody uses.
Spending money on doing houses up for migrants is also costing millions
Leeds waste so much money there disgrace
They waste hundreds of thousands of pounds on cycle lanes and bike parks ect and on huge salaries, expenses, and enormous pensions, the council tax payers of Leeds are consulted on alleged improvement scheme then ignored.
Then they have the brass neck to blame social care and SEN , Shame on you LCC
Stop wasting my money on cycle paths. Stop spending on minority groups .
Don’t put the blame on social care . Stop the waste !
If they have cut down on overtime, why have the refuse department got agency staff full time and most days agency staff sitting in the canteen waiting for a route ,the binmen starting at 6am and doing 5/6 hours a day and getting paid 10 hours, some of them are doing overtime on there shift day’s and getting paid upto 25 hours for 1 day
I’m not sure how the amount of buildings they have sold and departments that don’t exist anymore maybe overspending is due to expenses and high wage earners .