Special needs education and children in care are costing Bristol City Council millions of pounds over its budget. New figures show how much extra money the council spent last year compared to how much was originally budgeted for, with some areas costing far more than planned.
Increasing numbers of children and young people in Bristol, and across the country, need extra support at school, while some children need to be taken into care. But the level of demand rose much faster last year than City Hall chiefs expected in the annual council budget.
Details of how much was spent compared to how much was budgeted for the financial year from April 2022 to March 2023 were revealed in recent cabinet papers. During a cabinet meeting on Monday, May 15, council bosses said they were “struggling” with over-spends.
