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Caerphilly County Borough Council is expected to exceed its social services budget by £1.4 million this year.

A budget monitoring report has projected the overspend, but officers have said it “does not pose a significant risk for the current financial year”.

Councillors are now calling on the Welsh Government for additional funds.

At a social services scrutiny committee meeting, held on Tuesday, September 6, it was agreed that a letter would be sent to ministers asking for more money.

The letter will be written on behalf of the committee by Cllr Elaine Forehead, cabinet member for social services, and Cllr Donna Cushing, chair of the committee.

Independent councillor Kevin  Etheridge proposed the motion to write a letter to put “pressure” on the Welsh Government. Ten members were present at the meeting, and all agreed to approve the motion.

Social services currently has £4.83 million in its reserves, therefore the overspend could be funded by this. But the report notes that a lot of the money in reserves has been earmarked for “existing pressures” on social services.

Mike Jones, interim financial services manager for social services,  said the overspend will make the next financial year “challenging”.

The report states that strategies will be pursued to reduce the council’s reliance on the independent sector when it comes to residential care for children.

Head of social services, Dave Street, said: “This is the first budget report of the year, historically it doesn’t always represent what the next nine months will be.”

Mr Street added that the budget projection doesn’t take into account potential funding from Welsh Government.