Bedford Borough Council has been left waiting to see whether the NHS will cover some of the cost of supporting children with significant health needs, as the local Integrated Care Board (ICB) has not yet agreed to provide the funding.
Last week, the council’s Budget and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee (11 November) was told that the Bedfordshire, Luton & Milton Keynes ICB had rejected the council’s first request to claim back some of its expenditure earlier this year.
A second letter has since been sent, but the committee heard that the NHS has not confirmed whether it will contribute.
Harmesh Bhogal, executive director for children, education and families, told the committee, “A letter was submitted to the ICB originally, and that was rejected.
“We have followed up with a further letter… and we’ve received a response saying that they will come back to us. As yet we’ve still not received a response.”
Balancing the books
The council is counting on this money to balance its books. In its own budget papers, it says it expects to claim back £600,000 from the local NHS for children in care in 2026/27, on top of the £500,000 it already planned to recover in 2025/26.
Read: Bedford Borough Council faces £58.6m medium-term gap as borrowing rises and savings tighten
If that cash doesn’t come in, the savings could fall apart.
Full council had approved additional spending in children’s services on the basis that the NHS contribution was anticipated. However, Mr Bhogal confirmed that none of that extra spending has occurred.
National data show councils now pay for over 1,500 placements costing £10,000+ per week, up from 120 five years ago, with many of these high-cost cases involving complex health and mental-health needs, putting pressure on shared funding arrangements.
But health commissioners do not automatically meet these costs.
A spokesperson for BLMK ICB said: “The ICB is proud to be working in close partnership with our four Local Authorities on a Board-approved transformation programme focused on Complex Care.
“This programme is designed to explore ways to improve outcomes for children with complex needs.
“While the ICB continues to commission, contract, and fund services in line with statutory requirements, this programme reflects our shared commitment to going further – identifying opportunities to enhance support, coordination, and long-term wellbeing for children and families.
“We remain actively engaged with colleagues at Bedford Borough.”
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
