CUTBACKS on social services and education spending plus schemes to boost income from city-centre car parking are being planned by councillors to prevent a £2 million budget overspend.

Specialist foster parents could be recruited as part of the savings drive, to provide special needs respite care currently only available outside the city.

Cut-price offers could be introduced to lure motorists to less popular York car parks, and charges could be introduced for evening parking, as other ways of getting cash into the city coffers.

Councillors on the City of York executive yesterday agreed to consider new proposals to cut spending in the departments expected to overspend this financial year.

Departments of education, planning and transport, resources and social services are all expected to overspend.

Executive members will now return to their departments to try to find further savings.

Education has the highest predicted overspend, an estimated £750,000.

"Our members have agreed to work on these individual tasks with a view to ensuring that by the year end we will not be over-spending on our contingency funds," said council leader Steve Galloway.

Now programmes where departments develop their own services rather than relying on outside bodies are being considered. We need to look very carefully at the demands placed by those customers and users who represent additional demands," said Coun Galloway.

"A lot of pressure is from those needing special accommodation outside the city, or from those with special educational needs.

"We want to look to see if we can deal with things more economically, which will mean looking at establishing more facilities for these people in York itself," he said.

Carol Runciman, executive member for education,said her department was waiting to see what Government school funding would be available before saying what changes would be made.

She said: "One area we are looking at is trying to recruit specialist foster parents who can be trained to look after young people with special needs for respite care within the city, rather than sending them outside York."

Executive members also discussed ways of making up a projected £246,000 car parking income shortfall.

Plans include cheaper rates for less popular car parks, evening charges for busy car parks, additional contract parking allowing residents cheaper parking and offers for Christmas shoppers.

Previously the Liberal Democrats had called for city centre car parking to be kept at its current level.

The group has also suggested charging more to park at the busiest times.

Both positions remained the same, Coun Galloway said today.

Despite the drop in car parking income, he said Park&Ride remained a "very important" part of council policy.

Updated: 11:01 Wednesday, October 08, 2003