Issue - meetings

Report of the Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services

Recommendations:-

1.    That Cabinet note the forecast General Fund outturn position.

2.    That further actions that are identified to reduce the forecast level of expenditure be reported back to Cabinet.    

3.    That Cabinet note the updated position of the Capital  ...  view the full agenda text for item 56

Consideration was given to the latest report which set out the financial position as at the end of September, 2018 and was based on actual costs and income for the first half of the financial year with forecasts for the remaining six months of 2018/19. Financial performance was a key  ...  view the full minutes text for item 56

Cabinet Portfolio:-                Corporate Services and Finance

Strategic Directorate:-          Finance and Customer Services

Consideration was given to a report which set out the financial position of the Council as at the end of September 2018, which was based on actual costs and income for the first half of the financial year with forecasts for the remaining six months of 2018/19.

It was reported that at September 2018, the Council needed to identify a further £3.1m of cost reduction actions by financial year-end in order to achieve a balanced financial outturn, after taking account of the £10m budget contingency approved within the 2018/19 budget. The overspending against budget in the Children’s and Young People’s Services directorate had continued in the current financial year as a result of demand for services outstripping budget capacity. The number of children in care had continued to increase and the forecast overspend on Children’s Services had increased to £15.7m.

The increased number of Looked after Children also placed significant pressure on Legal Services within the Finance and Customer Services directorate. The forecast overspend for Legal Services was £1.488m. The Finance and Customer Services directorate overall had forecast to outturn within budget after putting into place a range of mitigating actions to compensate for the legal service forecast overspend. The Adult Care, Housing and Public Health directorate remained on track to bring its overspend down to £6.221m. A combination of increased client numbers, the rising cost of care packages, and delays in delivery of savings plans had led to pressure on budgets across all client groups. A recovery plan had been developed to address previously undelivered savings and project plans were being finalised with the expectation that further savings would be identified from that activity. The Regeneration and Environment directorate had forecast a balanced budget, although it was facing challenges from a combination of declining business from the School Meals service and challenges with delivery of budget savings, including transport and property savings.

Members referred to the report stating that initial target levels of children in care not being achieved as planned and sought clarification as to who was monitoring and discussing progress and what was actually taking place. In response, officers explained that this did not mean that activities were not having the correct effect, but there were higher numbers of referrals to the Council. A significant number of senior officers from Finance and Children and Young People’s Services were analysing data and information, whilst the Chief Executive and Cabinet Members were also reviewing this on a regular basis to check that the service is doing what it should do and needs to do and then to check what else was happening beyond that which meant that the cost of the service was not reducing.

Further clarification was sought in respect of the delays in delivering savings from the Regeneration and Environment directorate. In response, it was confirmed that there was a rigorous process to monitor actual and approved savings. Where savings had not been delivered they had been mitigated and alternative actions.

Members queried how many children had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 121