UP TO £16.4m was spent on looking after children in care and those leaving care in the last financial year - more than £3.3m over the agreed budget, a report to councillors shows.
At the end of the last financial year in March there were 288 looked after children in Barnsley, according to the annual report of the Barnsley Corporate Parenting Panel, which is to be presented to the council’s ruling cabinet on Wednesday.
The overspend is mainly attributed to the increasing cost and number of looked after children, the report says, but it adds that the reported financial pressure has already been addressed through the council’s medium term financial plan.
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