To submit the report of the Head of Finance.
Minutes:
The report was submitted by the Senior
Finance Manager, noting that the report highlighted some signs of difficulties
with achieving savings. It was stated that some departments were overspending
and these were discussed individually.
Adults, Health and Well-being Department - it
was stated that latest forecasts suggested over £1.8 million of overspend by
the department. It was added that overspend would be partly alleviated to £658k
following the receipt of a grant and use of one-off funding.
Children and Supporting Families Department -
it was noted that the level of overspend in the department had intensified
further to £3.2 million with £2.6 million in the field of placements, with a
substantial proportion of overspend resulting from out-of-county placements. It
was added that a Budget Taskforce had been established to address financial
issues in the department, and it was stated that an additional £1.8 million
would be available for the Children's Department in order to meet additional
pressures.
Highways Department - it was stated that
overspend continued in the area of waste collection and disposal this year,
noting that transitional costs before moving to new arrangements had led to the
overspend.
Attention was drawn to corporate underspend
with favourable forecasts of additional Council Tax yield and Council Tax
Premium yield. Despite this, it was highlighted that there was a continued
trend of back-dating transfers from Council Tax to Non-domestic Rates. It was
also emphasised that the number claiming Council Tax reductions was at its
lowest level for the fourth year in succession. The Cabinet's decision was
noted as follows:
Resolved to:
· Accept the report
on the end of November 2019 review of the Revenue Budget, and consider the
latest financial situation regarding the budgets of each department/service.
· Note that there
is significant overspend by the Adults, Health and Well-being Department this
year, as complex details need to be clarified in Adult care, the Chief
Executive has already called a meeting of the relevant officers and
commissioned work to obtain a better understanding and a clear response
programme. To try and address overspend in future, an additional resource has
been allocated as part of the bidding process for the 2020/21 budget.
· Note that a
Children's Budget Taskforce has been commissioned by the Chief Executive to
address the complex financial issues of the Children and Families Department in
order to get to the root of the overspend, with the intention of presenting a
report to the Cabinet which will detail the response plan. To try and address
overspend in future, an additional resource has been allocated as part of the
bidding process for the 2020/21 budget.
·
On Corporate budgets,
that:
¾
(£198k) yield on Council
Tax Premium added to the £2.7 million that has already been allocated in
2019/20 is considered for the Housing Strategy.
¾
(£75k) relating to
capital costs be allocated to the capital programme fund.
¾
(£500k) of Corporate
underspend be allocated to fund the lack of grant in the area of sustainable
social services.
¾
(£312k) be used to fund
one-off bids that have been presented by the Departments for the purpose of
2020/21 expenditure.
¾
The balance of (£502k)
goes to the Council's general balances.
Members were given an opportunity to ask questions
and offer observations. During the discussion, the following main points were
highlighted:
· In terms of
School Transport in the Education Department, it was asked whether or not the
department was examining the reasons for the overspend. The Chief Executive
noted that there were many reasons for the overspend which included children
not settling in schools and resulting in them attending other schools. It was
emphasised that the conclusions of the review highlighted the need for the
department to be more challenging and to consider different methods of offering
transport and it was stated that the Chief Executive had asked two departments
to consider joining forces to see whether it would be possible to come to a
conclusion and to undertake the work efficiently. It was asked whether a review
had been undertaken and it was stated that some contracts were expensive but
that the department was examining each case on an individual basis.
·
When examining the overspend
of the Children and Supporting Families Department, it was asked whether a
discussion was being held with other counties as out-of-county problems were
common across north Wales. It was stated that an internal taskforce had been
set up due to the lack of systems and the overspend which had resulted from a
lack of savings schemes. Due to the nature of the service, it was added that
there was a need to examine what would be possible and regional solutions were
part of the schemes and that out-of-county placements had initiated
collaboration.
· It was stated that the
care field was an annual problem and that the solution was not easy. It was
added that Councils across Wales faced these problems and that there were
serious cases within communities. It was emphasised that matters were not being
discussed seriously on a national level and that there was a need to accept
that demand in the care field was increasing annually. It was emphasised that
it was not possible to cut these services but instead there was a need to
ensure that the fields were working effectively.
RESOLVED to accept the report.
Supporting documents: