A Felixstowe councillor has called on Suffolk County to create more council run placements after it was revealed a third of the £14.5 million expected overspend its budget for children and young people is down to the cost of supporting children in care.

The findings brought to the county's scrutiny meeting on Tuesday included the average annual cost of £1 million for each child in care with complex mental health needs who is accommodated in a privately-run setting.

Cllr Stuart Bird asked the scrutiny committee to make recommendations to increase emphasis on creating more council-run placements.

Cllr Bird said: "A cost of £1 million per child is not good value for money, no matter how great the need is to get children into these placements.

"Why aren't we setting some sort of target for in-house provision? Even if we have to invest £10 million on this, it won't take long to get that money back."

The findings brought to the county's scrutiny meeting on Tuesday included the average annual cost of £1 million for each child in care with complex mental health needs who is accommodated in a privately-run setting.

Cllr James Reeder, cabinet member for children and young people's services, said: "The extremely limited number of placements causing a national increase in demand over supply has led to an unsustainable overspend.

"Just one young person under the age of 16 needing a solo placement with targeted support outside of registered provision comes at an average annual cost of £1 million per placement.

"The proposed net budget increase in 2023/24 will reduce the cost pressures on the service as it works to provide the best value service for our young people in care.

"But with the high costs of placements, there is always a risk that the net increase in budget proposed may not be sufficient."

Cllr Reeder explained that the numbers of children who need these kinds of placements is low – having recently decreased from five to three children.

The £14.5 million overspend compared to budget was found at the end of September 2022.

Of this, £5.6 million relates to "costs of accommodating a small cohort of children in care under the age of 16 for whom registered accommodation and care is difficult to source given their level of needs, particularly in relation to their emotional wellbeing and mental ill-health," according to the officers' report.

The proposed children and young people's services budget for 2023/24 is £150.9 million, about £13 million higher than the initial budget for the 2022/23 financial year.

Cllr Reeder explained the increase in these costs has been a fairly recent development – starting around May last year – and that a strategy to create these placements was created as a result.

The finalised recommendations from the meeting have not yet been drawn up. They will be published on Suffolk County Council's website on January 20.

Cllr James Reeder, cabinet member for children and young people's services, said: "The extremely limited number of placements causing a national increase in demand over supply has led to an unsustainable overspend.

"Just one young person under the age of 16 needing a solo placement with targeted support outside of registered provision comes at an average annual cost of £1 million per placement.

"The proposed net budget increase in 2023/24 will reduce the cost pressures on the service as it works to provide the best value service for our young people in care.

"But with the high costs of placements, there is always a risk that the net increase in budget proposed may not be sufficient."

Cllr Reeder explained that the numbers of children who need these kinds of placements is low – having recently decreased from five to three children.

The £14.5 million overspend compared to budget was found at the end of September 2022.

Of this, £5.6 million relates to "costs of accommodating a small cohort of children in care under the age of 16 for whom registered accommodation and care is difficult to source given their level of needs, particularly in relation to their emotional wellbeing and mental ill-health," according to the officers' report.

The proposed children and young people's services budget for 2023/24 is £150.9 million, about £13 million higher than the initial budget for the 2022/23 financial year.

Cllr Stuart Bird asked the scrutiny committee to make recommendations to increase emphasis on creating more council-run placements.

Cllr Bird said: "A cost of £1 million per child is not good value for money, no matter how great the need is to get children into these placements.

"Why aren't we setting some sort of target for in-house provision? Even if we have to invest £10 million on this, it won't take long to get that money back."

Cllr Reeder explained the increase in these costs has been a fairly recent development – starting around May last year – and that a strategy to create these placements was created as a result.

The finalised recommendations from the meeting have not yet been drawn up. They will be published on Suffolk County Council's website on January 20.