A ‘challenging environment’ means Bracknell Forest Council is on course to spend £3.5 million more than it planned to this year, its top boss has said.

The authority spent some £440,000 more than it planned to between the beginning of April and the end of June – the first three months of the 2024-25 financial year. When added to expected pressures on council coffers, the total overspend by April next year could be £3.5 million.

Council chief executive Susan Halliwell said this was mostly down to the increases in demand for social care services and the costs of providing them.

She told councillors: “We are seeing pressures particularly around children and adults budget, so you will see in that report that we are forecasting at this stage, quite early on in the financial year a challenging position.”

A report to councillors said the council would likely have to bring in tighter spending controls in all of its departments to rein in the budget.

This comes after Bracknell Forest Council reported an overspend of £1.25 million last year – much of which was also spent on education and learning and adult social care.

The report said the new overspend was ‘unexpected’ as it hoped that many of the pressures that led to last year’s overspend had been allowed for this year.

But it said the increase in demand and costs of social care services were affecting councils across the country.