Coventry City Council has projected a £12.1m overspend in its budget and warned that service costs are becoming ‘unmanageable’.
The local authority said that the predicted overspend was the result of rising costs and increases in demand for adults and children's social care.
The council spent around 40% of their budget on social care in 2011. In 2023 this figure has increased to almost 70%.
Coventry City Council’s overspend in 2022/23 was £6.7m.
Cllr Richard Brown, cabinet member for Finance said that Coventry City Council, along with other public sector organisations, is heading towards a ‘tipping point’.
‘As well as dealing with greater numbers of vulnerable people who need complex care packages provided by external companies, the cost of all services continues to spiral due to inflation,’ he said.
‘I am planning to write to the Government to request that they step in, otherwise more and more councils will find that they are simply unable to balance their budget.’
