Budgets set for short breaks for Swindon children in council care have been overspent by huge amounts over the last two financial years.

But the head of children’s services at Euclid Street Lisa Arthey says officers have a much better ‘grip’ on which children and their carers are eligible for such short breaks, and that a wider variety of breaks are being used instead or more expensive overnight stays away.

A report by the council’s internal audit team, which had been requested by Ms Arthey told councillors: “The budgets to provide respite and day care services for children with disabilities in 2022/23 totalled £1,783,400.

“However, the actual expenditure at the end of March 2023 was £2,474,025 resulting in the budget being overspent by £690,625  - 39 per cent.”

And it added that in November 2023, with just four months left of the 2023-24 budget, the situation was looking even worse: “The 2023/24 budget is £1,453,300 and to date on November 24 127 per cent has been spent rather than an expected 66 per cent.”

The report pointed out that funding breaks for children and their carers is something the council must do: “Local authorities are required to provide breaks from caring for carers of disabled children to support them to continue to care for their children at home and to allow them to do so more effectively.”

But it is critical of the way Swindon council has been managing its service: “There is no evidence that the current provision is based on a clear assessment of local need. Consequently, it is not possible to confirm that provision is appropriate and necessary to meet statutory requirements, which is particularly important given the council’s current financial pressures.

“The budgets set for short breaks for 2023/24 were not based on the most up to date and accurate information available, and when set, the budget pressure and savings identified were not adequately challenged.”

Ms Arthey said: “We found there was a very high number of children using the service, and mostly it was using private sector for overnight stays.”

She said more than 300 children had been using the short breaks a service. And she said there was a wider range of breaks being uses: “We’re using a different definition of respite: using leisure facilities, things like that, to give children and parents and carers a normal break from each other, it might be just a few hours, or it could be longer.”

She told councillors she was confident there was a much “closer grip” on the service and its budgets in response to the report.