School transport cost increases add to Cheshire East’s overspend

The spiralling cost of school transport is one of the reasons the council is facing a predicted £7m overspend in children’s services at the end of this financial year.

Other reasons include:

• an increase in the number of children in care and an increase in the costs of those placements due to the complexity of care;
• the use and cost of agency staff in children’s social care to cover vacancies, sickness absence and maternity leave;
• schools catering – where the costs of the service are above the current charged income level and base budget.

A report to last night’s (Monday) meeting of the children and families committee said there had been a rise in home to school transport costs to the council because of the increasing numbers of pupils with an education, health and care plan (EHCP).

It also said driver shortages and increasing fuel costs had added to the expense.

Cllr Janet Clowes (Image: Cheshire East Council) Conservative group leader Janet Clowes, who is not a committee member but was subbing at last night’s meeting, asked what inroads had been made into reducing the costs since consultants had been employed to look at the problem.

“When I attended another meeting, you gave permission for consultants to be commissioned to help with trying to form solutions to reduce our transport budget and unfortunately it does seem they’ve gone up again,” she said.

“How much did the consultants cost and to what extent have they been successful in identifying future mechanisms by which we can reduce those costs?”

Claire Williamson (Image: Cheshire East Council) Director of education Claire Williamson said: “We are making great successes in regards of looking at how we administer transport in a different way, always keeping in mind it’s a statutory service in regards of supporting our children to be able to get to school.

“We are seeing we are having some increases in regard to cost, but the work in what we’re doing in regards of re-procurement of how we actually administer it is having a real impact.”

The report to last night’s meeting did not give a breakdown of the costs.

Mrs Williamson said she would provide an updated report on school transport costs to a future meeting of the committee and would provide Cllr Clowes with a written answer on how much the consultants had cost.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service has asked to see that written response.

Earlier in the meeting, councillors were told by interim finance boss Adele Taylor that all departments had to make savings and work within budget.

Adele Taylor (Image: Cheshire East Council)

As reported to last week’s meeting of the finance sub-committee, the council is forecasting an overspend of £27m at the end of 2024/5.

About £20m of this is down to a predicted overspend in adults and health, the rest is the forecasted children's overspend.

Ms Taylor warned if the total forecast overspend becomes a reality ‘then the only way I would be able to avoid issuing a S114 [which means the council would be effectively bankrupt] would be through exceptional financial support’.

She added: “All areas across the whole council need to continue to identify urgent actions to reduce the overspend and to bring us back in line to the budget and that’s across the board.”