Pressures on local authority finances are rarely out of the news. Whereas costs related to an aging population have brought longer term financial pressures on local authorities, the contribution made by rapidly increasing spending on services for children is also gaining prominence.
The (delayed) publication in January 2024 of Department for Education information about the spending of local authorities in England for the year 2022/23 offers stark indicators of the areas of escalating spending related to children.
Headline findings
Total spending on children’s services grew at an unprecedented rate in 2022/23, adding £1.3bn to local authority costs. Against a backdrop of high inflation in the economy, which peaked around the middle of 2022/23, increased demand levels and market supply factors combined to further drive children’s services costs to all-time high levels.
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