Increased Funding for Rising Social Care Costs Proposed in Council Budget

THE Council is again proposing to direct significant additional funds into social care in response to the rising demand and the increasing cost of providing these essential services.

In common with other local authorities, demand for services relied on by vulnerable children, adults and families in Reading continues to rise, alongside the costs of operating them. The Council’s proposed budget for 2026/27 includes:

• £4.7 million extra for Adult Social Care Services to cover an increase in the number of service users, in addition to the number of complex care packages and increasing contract inflation
• £3.8 million extra for Children’s Services to manage increasing demand on services, increasing complexity of need, a reducing numbers of foster carers and a shortage of adequate residential placements driving an over-reliance on private sector providers

The combined cost of caring for vulnerable children, young people and adults accounts for more than 70% of the Council’s proposed net service expenditure budget for next year.

The extra funding for social care is in addition to other budget pressures which have existed for several years. These include the increasing cost of providing support and education for pupils with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) and providing temporary accommodation for households who would otherwise be homeless.

Reading Borough Council’s proposed budget for 2026/27 has been balanced through £10.745 million of savings, efficiencies and increased income, and the use of £7.302m earmarked reserves.

The Council is proposing a Council Tax increase of 4.99% for 2026/27, which includes a 2.00% precept for adult social care. Around 70% of properties in Reading are band C or below, with only 16% of households in band D, making the usual band D comparison less relevant in the town. The proposed Council Tax increase for a band C household works out as £1.80 per week, excluding police and fire precepts.

The proposed budget will initially go to a meeting of Policy Committee on Monday 16 February, and will then be debated at a meeting of Council on Tuesday 24 February. The Council's Medium Term Financial Strategy report can be found at: https://democracy.reading.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=138&MId=5767

Councillor Liz Terry, Reading Borough Council Leader, said:

“This is the first year in more than a decade where councils have received a multi-year settlement from Government, which is welcome and something we have lobbied for. This allows us to better plan for the next three years, rather than the hand-to-mouth approach of previous Governments where one-year settlements were the norm. The Government’s Fairer Funding review is also welcome and has resulted in extra funding for Reading over the next three years - the second largest amount in Berkshire. You only have to look at the additional money being budgeted for in social care next year however, to see where it will go.

“Cost pressures in both children’s and adult social care continue to rise and account for around 70% of all net service expenditure, which leaves the Council with little option but to continue to direct more of its resources into these essential services, and having to find more savings and income to make up the shortfall.

“I don’t think anybody is saying councils should not be caring for vulnerable children and adults. These are the fundamentals of what councils do. In basic terms however, the increasing demand for social care and the rising costs of providing those services mean there is less money to pay for the universal services most residents’ use.

“A total of 30 local councils received Exceptional Financial Support from Government this year, including three out of the six Berkshire Councils, and an estimated 74 are expected to apply for that same support in the financial year to come. Reading is not in that position thanks to its financial planning over a number of years, but we also know that the upward trend in costs and the continued use of reserves to balance the budget is unsustainable in the long term.” 

The Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy includes a five-year draft capital programme of investment in better facilities for residents totalling £140.858 million. It is funded from a combination of successful bids for grants, revenue contributions, external borrowing, developer contributions, infrastructure funding and capital receipts. It is different from the money the Council uses to run day to day services and cannot be used to balance the Council’s revenue budget.

Some of the schemes the Council is investing in include: the construction of the Hexagon’s new Studio Theatre; new facilities for vulnerable adults and older people; new children’s homes to reduce reliance on expensive private sector providers; works to increase the number of SEND school places in Reading; sustainable transport initiatives; road safety measures; bridges, streetlighting and traffic management measures; the purchase of vehicles to enable increased recycling;  the restoration of historic walls at Caversham Court Gardens; and structural conservation works at Cemetery Arch.

Reading has cut its carbon emissions by 54% since 2005 and the Council has cut its own carbon footprint by 73% in since 2008. The Council’s proposed Capital Programme also includes investment of £1.557m in 2026/27 for solar installations under the Corporate Solar Programme scheme and further investment in energy saving and decarbonisation infrastructure. Other capital investments, in offices, housing, transport and waste, will also contribute to the Council’s carbon reduction ambitions.

Also forming part of the budget discussions is the Council’s Housing Revenue Account, which has a capital programme totalling £232.141m over the next five years. Between 2026 and 2029 the Council is proposing to invest an additional £61.625 million in existing housing stock, creating better homes for tenants, more energy efficient homes and better facilities. The Council is also proposing to continue with its major investment in new council homes. Since 2014 it has built 421 new council homes, with firm plans for a further 362 before the end of 2029.