An 'unusual' increase in the number of people who previously paid for their own care but now need local authority help is heaping pressure on Cheshire East Council's finances.

The council's adults, health and integration budget is forecast to overspend by £20.8m by the end of this financial year unless urgent action is taken.

A report to next week's meeting of the adults and health committee states: "The key drivers of forecast expenditure remain price increases, staff costs and increase in complexity.

"However, at the beginning of this year we have seen an unusual increase in the number of former self-funders seeking local authority funding to meet the ongoing cost of their care."

The report says the forecast anticipates 'several serious and significant risks', including pressure on prices due to unfunded increases in the national living wage.

It says: "The department is currently in negotiations with a number of providers who are seeking above inflation increases."

Increases in the number of people being discharged from hospital is also driving additional price and activity in adult social care.

The report states: "A reduction of over 50 acute beds across the local NHS trusts is intensifying the impact on adult social care."

Cheshire East is now looking at ways of addressing the overspend.

These include:

• reviewing its pricing strategy;
• reviewing the use of agency staff;
• whole system review of supported living operations to reduce the number of
• under-utilised placements;
• reviewing use of technology to support service delivery.

Cheshire East Council is forecasting an overall overspend of £27m at the end of 2024/5.

Adele Taylor has been Cheshire East Council interim director of finance since June 2024. (Image - Cheshire East Council)

The bulk of this is down to adults and health but children's services is also predicting overspending by £7m.

Interim head of finance Adele Taylor told both the finance sub-committee and children and families committee recently that all areas across the whole council needed to identify urgent actions to reduce the overspend so the council was living within its means.

The meeting of the adults and health committee takes place at the council's Westfields offices in Sandbach at 10am on Monday, September 23.

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