Agenda item

Consideration was given to a report, presented by the Finance Manager (Adult Services), which provided a financial forecast for the Adult Services Department within the Neighbourhoods and Adult Services Directorate to the end of March, 2013 based on actual income and expenditure to the end of September, 2012. 

It was reported that the forecast for the financial year 2012/13 was a balanced budget against an approved net revenue budget of £74.124M.

The latest year end forecast showed a number of underlying budget pressures which were being offset by a number of forecast underspends:-

Adults General Management and Training

·        A forecast underspend mainly due to savings on charges for postages, telephones and printing

Older People

·        A forecast overspend on In-House Residential Care, further increase in demand for Direct Payments and In House Transport

·        Offset by underspends within Enabling Care, Independent Sector Home Care, independent residential and nursing care, Intermediate Care, Community Mental Health,  Carers Services and slippage on recruitment to vacant posts within Assessment and Care Management

Learning Disabilities

·        A forecast overspend on Residential Care budgets, independent sector Home Care and increase in Community Support placements

·        Recurrent budget pressure on Day Care Transport, increased demand for Direct Payments

·        High cost placements in Independent Day Care

·        Reduced by underspends within Supported Living Schemes and savings on premises costs and slippage on vacant posts

Mental Health

·        Projected slight overspend on Residential Care budget and budget pressure on Direct Payments

·        Overspends on employees budgets due to unmet vacancy factor

·        Reduced by savings on Community Support Services

Physical and Sensory Disabilities

·        Continued pressure on Independent Sector Domiciliary Care, loss of Continuing Health Care funding for 1 client, increase in demand for Direct Payments and forecast overspend on Residential and Nursing Care

·        Offset by planned slippage in developing alternatives to residential care provision, underspend on Crossroads as clients were redirected to Direct Payments and vacant posts within Resource Centre and Occupational Therapists

·        Forecast savings on contracts with Voluntary Sector providers

Safeguarding

·        Underspend on employee budgets due to vacant post plus additional forecast income from Court of Protection fees

Supporting People

·        Efficiency savings on subsidy contracts offset against Commissioning savings targets not within Adult Services

Total expenditure on Agency staff for Adult Services so far was £125,560 compared with an actual cost of £199,304 for the same period last year.  The main costs were in respect of Residential and Assessment and Care Management staff to cover vacancies and sickness.  There had been no expenditure on consultancy to date.

There had been £171,351 spend up to the end of September, 2012, on non-contractual overtime for Adult Services compared with expenditure of £165,746 for the same period last year.

Careful scrutiny of expenditure and income and close budget monitoring remained essential to ensure equity of Service provision for adults across the Borough within existing budgets particularly where the demand and spend was difficult to predict in a volatile social care market.  A potential risk was the future number and cost of transitional placements from Children’s Services into Learning Disability Services together with any future reductions in Continuing Health Care funding.

Discussion ensued on the report with the following issues raised/clarified:-

-        Attempts were being made to obtain Continuing Health Care funding statistics for Rotherham and incorporated into the next monitoring report

-        Work had been carried out on realigning the budget to take account of some of the Direct Payments; the efficiencies accrued from the review of the Enabling Service still had to be transferred and would be done so for April, 2013 upon conclusion of the review

-        Negotiations had commenced on the uplift for residential care charges for the 2013/14 financial year

-        The services commissioned in the independent sector for carers  were  being reshaped

-        All current budget pressures had been built into the report

Resolved:-  That the latest financial projection against budget for 2012/13 be noted.