For a second year running a cash-strapped council is on course to spend more than £16million than it can budget for.

Despite Medway Council’s budget increasing to £441 million, the authority is headed for an overspend — largely due to rising costs in children and adult services.

The authority’s first round of revenue budget monitoring for this financial year will be discussed at next week’s cabinet meeting.

Medway Council faced a similar mammoth overspend this time last year, when it was predicted to exceed its budget by £17.3 million.

However it was able to produce a balanced budget in February through cuts to its events programme and free swimming, increasing charges at car parks and attractions, using some of its reserves, and by gaining government permission to borrow £14.8 million to cover running costs.

The now ministry of housing, communities, and local government gave permission at the eleventh hour, but there were conditions, including required efficiency measures, for the exceptional financial support.

The department with the largest predicted overspend is the council’s children and adult services, which is anticipated to exceed its £337million budget by nearly £12million.

Around £800,000 is due to continued reliance on agency staff because of high-caseloads.

However, the authority expects its recruitment schemes for in-house staff and other system efficiencies will reduce the overspends in future budget monitoring rounds.

The education department is predicting a £2.6million overspend due to rising requirements for SEN transport and a need for 10 agency psychology staff.

Medway’s temporary accommodation spend - for people at risk of rough sleeping - has also risen to nearly £3million.

In January, Medway Council agreed to invest £42million into buying properties in order to bring its temporary accommodation costs down, but these savings are not yet being felt in the authority’s books.

This is just the first round of budget monitoring and the council has until February next year to bring spending down to within it’s budget

If it does not it faces the risk of a Section 114 order, an effective declaration of bankruptcy, where central government would take control and limit spending to essential services only.

The latest report will be discussed at the Medway Council’s cabinet meeting next week on July 30.