Rutland's unitary council is currently spending as it had planned for the financial year, but the special education overspend is still hanging over the authority. 

At the cabinet meeting last week (August 14), Rutland County Council received a report from the chief financial officer which said at the end of the first quarter of this financial year, the authority is predicted to underspend by £600,000 on its £58.1m budget. 

Leader Gale Waller (Lib Dem), who this month saw off a leadership challenge from the Conservatives about her handling of the impending local government reorganisation, said the situation was 'quite encouraging'. 

The predicted underspend is being delivered by extra savings in highways, and the authority is also receiving additional interest on money set aside for capital works which have not happened yet, so the money has remained in the bank. The highways department is currently running at £749,000 less than the £15.7m budgeted, with £522,000 of that due to savings in commissioned transport, which includes home to school transport. 

Cllr Waller said: "I do appreciate we have some overspends, particularly in demand led services, which is unsurprising." 

The authority is predicting it will spend £3.8m more than the £10.9m in the overall school's budget, which will bring the overall deficit accumulated in special education to £9.8m by the end of this financial year. 

The government has intimated that is going to push back the repayment date for two years to 2027, with many councils across the country massively overspend on special needs due to rising costs of support and more need. 

Finance boss Kirsty Nutton said the overspend in the school's budget was getting worse. 

She said: "The deficit continues to build at an increasing rate. It is a national worry and it is one that we as a council need to be aware of in terms of our strategic direction and what that means for our finances. Because ultimately that money has been spent and it needs to be funded at some stage." 

Cabinet member for children's services Tim Smith (Lib Dem) said: "It's a national issue and it's reckoned 50 per cent of councils will go under if it continues." 

He said the council currently had 387 children with educational health care plans (which set out the additional support children are entitled to by law) and the council is hoping through its building better belonging programme to reduce the demand on services.