Hertfordshire County Council overspent by £2m on the delivery of services in 2023/24, latest data shows.

In the last financial year the council had budgeted to spend £1.1bn on services – that include education, social care, highways and public health.

But according to a report presented to the latest meeting of the cabinet the council ended the 23/24 year with a £2m overspend.

And that's in addition to the £10m that had already set aside as a contingency as part of the budget.

Nevertheless after a "very challenging year" coming within £2m of a balanced budget – equivalent to 0.2 per cent overall – was welcomed.

At one point – halfway through the year – an overspend of £15.7m had been forecast.

Executive member for resources and performance Cllr Bob Deering told councillors that to all intents and the had delivered a "balanced budget".

And he said to have overspent by "only £2m" – which he stressed was about 0.2 percent of the overall budget – was a "very very good outcome".

He highlighted the work of council officers to achieve balanced budgets and to deliver the best services they could.

And he said they had delivered 97 per cent of the council's own savings target of £28m.

Meanwhile leader of the council Cllr Richard Roberts said they should not underestimate how hard it was financially last year – pointing to the impact of inflation and energy costs.

He said there was no doubt that it had been a "challenging year" – and that coming within £2m of a balanced budget was "excellent".

At the meeting it was reported to councillors that service costs had escalated due to increased demand, complexity of need and the impact of inflation.

Actions taken to "mitigate" costs, it was reported, had included the "recruitment prioritisation" – freezing recruitment to all but essential roles – and the "children's action plan".

But councillors heard that there had also been under-spends in non social care departments – including waste management and back office support services.

Overall the department to have recorded the largest overspend – of £17.1m – was children's services.

Community protection recorded an overspemd of £900k. And adult care services an overspend of £800k.

Responding to the budget out-turn, Cllr Roberts highlighted the particular financial pressures on children's services – highlighting a £7.5m overspend in schools.

And he said: "We took the view that we were going to put children first and money second.

"We virtually had no option. We couldn't hold the budget any longer.

"There is not enough money going in to the high needs block as part of the schools funding that comes from government and we cannot hold it back.

"Like many upper tier authorities managing this budget with and for schools and school children there is not enough money in it.

"So last year that budget overspent by £7.5m. And I think this year we're looking at something like £17m overspend in that area.

"It is unsustainable. And parents and children need to be reassured that there is funding and support available for children with special educational needs in schools – as well as all of the other provision that we provide.

"That is one of the big challenges, I think, for us and by inference our relationship with government on this issue."

Meanwhile, at the meeting, councillors agreed to reprogramme £33.9m of capital funding from 2023/4.

And despite carrying over the funding Cllr Deering told the cabinet that in 23/24 the council had achieved "the biggest capital programme we have ever done – to the order of £280m".

Looking forward to 2024/25 it was also reported to the meeting that financial pressures on revenue spending were expected to continue.

"There are real concerns that the 2024/25 financial year will be another challenging year financially," says the report presented to the cabinet.

"As part of the budget preparation for 2024/25, £98m was invested in service budgets to address some of these concerns, but early forecasts suggest demand and average costs will continue to escalate without additional demand management interventions."

The budget report was presented to the latest meeting of the council's cabinet, on 9 July.