Agenda item

To scrutinise the information before the Cabinet considers approving the Savings Plan in its meeting on February 20th.  

DECISION:

 

·         Reasonable steps, under challenging circumstances, had been taken to draw up the Savings Plan

·         That the savings proposed are reasonable and achievable

·         That the risks and implications of the decision are clear

·         ⁠That the report was adequate to enable the Cabinet to make a decision on the Savings Plan

·         To present observations from the discussion on the report to the Cabinet for their consideration when discussing the 2023/24 Savings at its meeting on 20/2/24

 

Note:

That a clear communication plan is in place.

 

Submitted – the report of Councillor Dyfrig Siencyn, Council Leader, asking the Committee to consider the propriety of the process of identifying the savings, and submit observations to the Cabinet to consider before they reach a decision at their meeting on 20-02-24. It was reported that it was not the Committee's role to express an opinion on what the size of the savings should be, or the merits of individual proposals being recommended as savings, but rather to ensure that the Cabinet was clear about the facts that were presented to them, so that the decision taken was based on robust information.

 

Presenting the background to the work, it was noted that the Council had now been achieving savings continually for 15 years, and the challenge of achieving those savings without harming services to the County's residents was getting more difficult. The Leader reported that the Council was now aware of its level of Revenue Support Grant (RSG) from the Welsh Government for 2024/25 (a 2% increase), and that it would be significantly lower than the inflation level and well below what would be required to maintain the current level of services.           

 

The Chief Executive added that the Council also faced a situation where departments were overspending, mainly due to a continued increase in the demand for their services; it was now impossible for some services such as homelessness, children care services, adults care services and school transport to be able to operate within their current budget. This would lead to overspend this year of around £8m, and since there had been no time to plan in advance for the deficit, they would have to use reserves to cope with the situation. The consequence of providing an increased budget for the departments that cannot cope with their current budget, and the low Revenue Support Grant amount from the Government, was a funding gap this year of £14.9m.        

 

To identify savings, 135 proposals were presented by the Council's Departments. Every proposal had been assessed by the Chief Executive or by one of the Corporate Directors and had been placed in four categories to assist Members to prioritise savings schemes for 2024/25, with an awareness of what the level of risk would be from implementing any individual proposal. During the workshops that were held with the Members, the proposals were all categorised so as to prioritise them from the most 'acceptable' to the least 'acceptable' proposals. It was reported that the general consensus amongst all the members who had participated in the workshops (which included Cabinet Members, Scrutiny Chairs and Group Leaders) was that approximately £5.2m of the proposals could be implemented over the next two to three years.

 

The Leader referred to the two parts of the process – part A included schemes that could be progressed to implementation following the Cabinet's approval, whilst part B reflected schemes that were subject to statutory action or further decisions before they could be confirmed. He reiterated that a legal assessment, equality assessment, efficiency assessment and a high-level financial assessment had been completed on each individual scheme to ensure that they were deliverable, and in the interest of planning prudently, a reasonable risk assumption would be included in the Savings Plan. It was recommended that £0.52m (10%) of the total £5.2m that will need to be found, be designated as an amount "under risk".  

 

The members expressed their gratitude for the report.

 

In response to a question, accepting that a risk assessment had been conducted on the entire savings plan, and therefore had a risk assessment been done for individual schemes, the Chief Executive noted that an equality assessment had been completed, but following the Cabinet's decision (20-02-24) a specific assessment for each scheme would be implemented. He reiterated the possibility that the savings might not be deliverable following a full assessment, therefore there would be a need to consider a contingency provision

 

Observations arising from the ensuing discussion:

·         Accepted that the process had been challenging

·         A detailed, thorough and proper process had been carried out

·         The briefing sessions had been beneficial

·         That the members, when prioritising proposals in future, should have information regarding the costs of each scheme against raising the Council tax

·         Proposals for 'reducing community art activities' and 'reducing children's summer fun activities' – there were opportunities here to reduce costs by working with local Partners / sponsors.

 

⁠In response to a comment regarding the need to ensure that there was a clear communication plan in place so that the County's residents and the Council staff were aware of the changes and that everyone was 'going in the same direction', the Chief Executive noted that several discussions had been held with staff, and that managers' network meetings were held every quarter. He added that they had been cautious before publishing final schemes to prevent causing fear amongst residents and staff, but by now the schemes were public and the information was honest, transparent and fair. He also noted that communication had been undertaken through the press, social media and staff on-line, with an opportunity to share and obtain feedback.  He added that the communication effort was continuous, and when moving to realise savings there would be difficult conversations down the line.

 

In response to a comment regarding the logic why the risk percentage was 10% whereas in the past they had seen a risk percentage of 20%, the Head of Finance stated that should the increase in the provision be higher the gap would be greater, therefore there was a need to ensure balance. He added that work was being done to challenge the schemes to ensure they were realistic, and that consequently the provision reduced; the ideal percentage would be 20%, but 10% was enough this year.

 

In response to a question on whether the increase in the demand on services had been justified / assessed and whether savings could be achieved from these assessments, the Chief Executive noted that every effort had been made to deliver services in an alternative manner, and if the situation persisted, then we had to accept the situation. He added that every scheme was challenged so that public money was used appropriately. He noted, for example, that there had been an unexpected increase in children's services where the demand must be met, and with services for the elderly and homeless, there was no element of choosing not to provide services for them. Although work was being done to assess situations, it was not an option to not provide care – they therefore had to look at other services to seek savings.

 

The Council Leader thanked the Committee for their comments and for the points to consider for 2025/26. He added that they must communicate clearly with the public, and with all Authorities across north Wales in similar positions, he noted that it was aimed to issue a joint statement explaining the situation. He noted that in future, Local Authorities' arrangements would change significantly with increased reliance on volunteers and the third sector.

 

RESOLVED:

 

·         That reasonable steps, under challenging circumstances, had been taken to draw up the Savings Plan

·         That the savings proposed were reasonable and achievable

·         That the risks and implications of the decision were clear

·         ⁠That the report was adequate to enable the Cabinet to make a decision on the Savings Plan

·         To submit observations from the discussion on the report to the Cabinet for their consideration when discussing the 2024/25 Savings Plan at its meeting on 20/2/24

 

Note:

That there is a clear communication plan in place