Latest news with #overspend
BBC News
6 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Guildford Borough Council overspent by £1.6m on fire safety scheme
A Surrey council has overspent by £1.6m on a major fire safety project after failing to work out how many fire doors needed replacing, it has been from incomplete data left officers underestimating how many doors needed replacing in Guildford Borough Council's housing stock, according to a revealed that the council had already spent £4.1m on the scheme – above the original £2.5m contract further expenditure needed to complete the project would bring its total cost to £6.5m, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service. Council leader Julia McShane labelled the unexpected cost a "slight overspend", but emphasised the importance of fire efforts to shore up fire safety follow a self-referral to the regulator of social housing in 2023, which came after the council had admitted it was not fully compliant with building safety standards.A C3 rating, flagging serious weaknesses in the council's oversight of its housing stock, was the new doors, additional blocks and fire safety improvements were added mid-way through the project, increasing costs the overspend, no extra funding is being asked for at this stage, with the costs set to be covered from elsewhere in the capital Wrobel, joint chief executive of the council, said: "Whilst it is frustrating we did not catch this before breaching the budget, at the very least, we caught it very shortly afterwards."
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Extra £15m to cover healthcare overspend approved by Tynwald
An additional £15.3m in funding to cover the cost of an overspend on healthcare last year has been approved by Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) asked for the sum at the final sitting of the parliament before the summer recess to cover spending by Manx Care in a debate lasting one and a half hours, several members criticised the department's continuous DHSC Minister Claire Christian said the DHSC had "identified areas of further efficiency which will be developed and implemented" this financial year. Among members who stated they would not support the supplementary vote was Onchan MHK Rob Callister, who called for a "fundamental review" of Manx Care's said "difficult conversations" were needed after the healthcare operator had repeatedly overspent and needed extra funds each year since it was created in April 2021. Calling for "reform, change and restructuring", he said Tynwald had become "an open cheque book" and they had reached a "critical junction".His views were echoed by Arbory, Castletown and Malew MHK Tim Glover who said "enough is enough".He said: "We're just going to stand here and vote £15.3m through as if it was perfectly normal.""Get your act together," he rising to speak was Douglas North MHK John Wannenburgh, who called the situation "nothing short of ridiculous" and blamed the overspending on budget also argued a full breakdown of where the overspend had come from was needed, calling for a review of the "bloated management" within Manx Care and the DHSC. Christian said Manx Care was "still going through a great deal of growing pains" and the DHSC had worked on "tightening spending controls".She said in the 2024-25 year, the healthcare provider had saved £13.4m through its cost improvement was through reducing bank and agency staff, optimising medicines, workforce management, review of high-cost contracts, reducing supply expenditure and increased commercial income, she she said despite this "spending exceeded the amount allocated for the services outlined in the mandate for the year" and further work was "still required to achieve more efficiencies".The minister said she wanted "solutions" from Tynwald members and asked them to help avoid the same situation arising the following motion carried, with 18 votes for and five against in the House of Keys, and seven for and one against in Legislative Council. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
The Independent
14-07-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Council overspend on social care highest in decade amid warning over NHS plan
Recent overspend by councils in England on their adult social care budgets was the highest in a decade, according to a major survey. The annual report from care leaders warned that due to the current state of the sector – which campaigners have long argued has not been prioritised or had adequate investment – the Government's aim to shift more care into the community could be undermined. The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (Adass) said the financial situation 'is as bad as it has been in recent history' with council overspend on adult social care budgets in the year to March hitting around £774 million. This was up from £586 million in the previous year and is the highest level for at least a decade, Adass said. Its survey – which had responses from 91% of directors of adult social services in England – also showed care leaders have reduced spending on prevention by 11% this year. Just 5.6% of this year's total adult social care net budget is projected to be spent on prevention. Adass said this lowest recorded spend is because overstretched budgets mean care leaders have had to prioritise immediate needs and people in crisis. Earlier this month Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Health and Social Care Secretary Wes Streeting unveiled their 10-year NHS plan which they vowed would 'fundamentally rewire' the health service and put care on people's doorsteps. The plan set out how the NHS will move from treatment to prevention and from hospital to more care shifted into neighbourhoods and people's homes. But Adass president Jess McGregor said: 'Without more investment to keep people well and independent at home, we risk undermining the shift towards prevention and neighbourhood health that Wes Streeting, the NHS and this Government are rightly championing.' The overall overspend is 'likely to result in councils further tightening the eligibility criteria for social care, so they can deliver their legal obligations, leaving very little left for preventative measures that would likely save the state money in the longer term and most importantly, improve outcomes for people', Adass said. Ms McGregor said: 'The maths simply doesn't add up – more people are coming to councils for help and their care is complex and costly, which means we don't have funds left to provide the early support and prevention that would stop people's health from deteriorating and help them avoid spiralling into crisis, where they frequently end up in hospital.' The spending review published last month stated there would be an increase of more than £4 billion of funding available for adult social care in 2028-29, compared with 2025-26. But Adass said there remains 'uncertainty' about what that figure covers, including whether it takes in the 'much-needed but costly fair pay agreement for care workers', which is yet to be set out by the Government. Ms McGregor repeated a call for social care to be prioritised, saying: 'It's vital that adult social care leaders who are well versed in delivering support at the community level are meaningfully involved in decisions about where and how resources for neighbourhood health and care are spent. 'After all, acute hospitals are not best placed to deliver social care at the neighbourhood level – but councils are.' The Local Government Association (LGA) said the survey results show 'councils are caught in the impossible position' of choosing between meeting people's complex care needs and supporting other's wellbeing to prevent needs escalating. The LGA added: 'Local government is best placed to lead this shift and deliver neighbourhood-level care, but it cannot do so with one hand tied behind its back by underfunding.' Mr Streeting has previously said social care 'has to be part' of neighbourhood health, adding: 'In the context of this plan, social care features because it has a role to play on admission avoidance and speeding up delayed discharges.' The Casey Commission, launched earlier this year, aims to set out a plan to implement a national care service, but social care leaders have previously raised concerns over the potential timeline of 2036 for some recommended reforms to be introduced. The first phase is expected to report in 2026, although recommendations from the initial probe will be implemented in phases over the course of 10 years. The second phase of the commission, setting out longer-term reforms, is due to report by 2028. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'We inherited a social care system in crisis but in our first year of government we have taken immediate action to improve this. 'The spending review will allow for increased funding for social care by £4 billion, we have legislated for the first ever fair pay agreement for care workers, and Baroness Casey has begun her work on the independent commission into adult social care to build a National Care Service that is fair and affordable for all. 'We have also invested £172 million extra in the Disabled Facilities Grant to deliver around an extra 15,000 home adaptations and given unpaid carers a £2,000 uplift to their allowance.'
BBC News
14-07-2025
- Health
- BBC News
'Added pressures' cause £15m Isle of Man healthcare overspend
Tynwald will be asked to approve £15.3m overspend on healthcare services for the last financial year, after a previous bid for extra money was thwarted in Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) will ask for the sum, which is £4.7m less than previously sought, at the final sitting of the parliament before the summer recess this costs, off-island care, and inflation have been blamed for the overspend in DHSC initially asked for an extra £20m, which included £5.35m to "mitigate" for any additional costs, but politicians argued the department should come back with a "exact figure". Health Minister Claire Christian said all healthcare systems around the world were "grappling with rising costs" and even with savings, inflation could "sometimes outpace them, which puts added pressure on our budget""The team remains firmly committed to managing those challenges carefully," she the overspends were down to several key factors, including a 3.9% tariff increase by the UK's NHS in October for off-island care, which had prompted a review into the cost of tertiary had affected the price of a number of medications, pushing drug spending up by 4% on the previous department said there were also "significant increases in costs for treatments in cancer, rheumatology, renal, gastroenterology and cystic fibrosis".Several new services, ranging from the emergency helicopter service, to staff training, and community pharmacy contract changes, had also cost the department an extra £3.8m. And a further £2.3m was needed to cover staff pay rises, which were settled at 8%.These pressures were cited among others as the reason the DHSC would be using the full £10m contingency funding allocated to the department. 'Significant recruitment gaps' At its latest board meeting, Manx Care confirmed was already looking at a £2m deficit in the current financial officer Tammy Hewitt said risks to funding around pay awards still being negotiated and unknown factors relating to tertiary care meant the healthcare provider was "assuming we will need full usage of the £10m Treasury contingency fund" this executive director of operations Shaun Stacey said issues remained in securing staff meaning there were "some significant recruitment gaps"."We're still significantly struggling to recruit in our medical workforce," he was also a pressure to provide a more responsive acute and urgent care service, which was taking "a lot longer than anticipated" as it required further investment, he member Charlotte Orton told the meeting work was being undertaken in occupational therapy to improve recruitment and retention. She said: "We've done quite a lot of work with universities in the UK about potentially offering remote training for people that don't want to leave the island."It was hoped a limited number of remote learning spaces would be available "if not this year then possibly next year", she added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Alderney care home extension inquiry finds 'shortcomings'
An independent inquiry into a £1.3m overspend on a care home extension has found there were "a number of shortcomings in the project's administration and management".The inquiry was tasked with examining where accountability lies for the soaring costs of the 13-room extension to the States-owned Connaught Care States of Alderney said while the project governance was correctly structured, the report provided recommendations that the General Services Committee (GSC) would endorse and apply to its future major capital GSC said it recognised the public interest in the matter and had agreed for the inquiry to be published in full on the States of Alderney website. 'Responsible and accountable' The inquiry, which took place in private was led by Martin Thornton, a judge from Guernsey Magistrates' MacFarlane, chair of the GSC said: "The report highlights issues with oversight and communication across various responsible bodies and third parties."However we can now be responsible and accountable to learn and move forward from the findings of the inquiry and create a framework that can be applied when the States of Alderney takes on major capital projects."Planning permission was granted for the extension in St Anne in 2019 and £1.29m was approved for the project in March 2020. It was previously reported that, overall, the States had approved spending of £2.367m.
