SOARING costs of children in care and agency social workers have prompted a £3.1million cash crisis at Southend Council.
The Tory-led council will have to take the cash from its emergency reserves to finance the overspend, officers said.
Figures revealed the number of children in care increased from 301 to 317 from the start of this year.
The cost of placing the children in foster homes or special units both in and out of Southend was originally budgeted as £8,912,000 and is now expected to be £11,480,000.
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