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 January, 2013. 

It was reported that the forecast for the financial year 2012/13 was an underspend of £352,000 against an approved net revenue budget of £71.445M.   

It was noted that the net budget had reduced to reflect the realignment of procurement savings and associated costs.  Non-recurrent winter pressures funding had also been received from Health which had increased the overall underspend.

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 slight underspend mainly due to savings on postages and telephone charges

Older People

·         A forecast overspend on In-House Residential Care, further increase in demand for Direct Payments and In House Transport.  There was now a forecast overspend on Independent Sector Home Care due to increased activity over the last few months

·         Offset by underspends within Enabling Care, independent Residential and Nursing Care, Community Mental Health, Carers’ Services and slippage on Assistive Technology and recruitment to vacant posts within Assessment and Care Management

·         Savings now being realised from the Review of Day Care Provision

·         Overall underspend on Rothercare due to slippage in Service Review including options for replacement of alarms

·         General savings on premises and supplies and services due to moratorium on non-essential spend

Learning Disabilities

·         A forecast overspend on independent sector Residential Care budgets due to increase in clients and average cost of care packages plus loss of income from Health

·         Underspend within Supported Living Schemes due to Continuing Health Care income, use of one-off grant funding and vacant posts

·         Recurrent budget pressure on Day Care Transport

·         Increase in demand for Direct Payment over and above budget

·         Forecast overspend in independent sector Home Care

·         3 new high cost placements in Independent Day Care

·         Increase in Community Support placements

·         Saving on premises costs and supplies and services as a result of the moratorium

Mental Health

·         Projected slight overspend on Residential Care budget and budget pressure on Direct Payments offset by savings on Community Support Services

·         Overspends on employees’ budgets due to unmet vacancy factor and use of agency staff

Physical and Sensory Disabilities

·         Continued pressure on Independent Sector Domiciliary Care, loss of Continuing Health Care funding for one client being challenged, increase in demand for Direct Payments and forecast overspend on Residential and Nursing Care offset by slippage in developing alternatives to residential provision

·         Underspend by independent domiciliary provider as clients were redirected to Direct Payments

·         Vacant posts within Resource Centre and Occupational Therapists

·         Underspend on Equipment budget and savings due to vacant part-time post at Grafton House

·         Review of contracts with independent Day Care providers

·         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 reported within Adult Services

Total expenditure on Agency staff for Adult Services to the end of January 2013 was £307,394 compared with an actual cost of £287,674 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 £329,783 spent up to the end of January, 2013, on non-contractual overtime for Adult Services compared with expenditure of £266,295 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 and clarified:-

-          Successful outcome of the CHC funding challenge

-          8 vacancies in Social Work Team had resulted in agency staff being used on a short term basis.  Positions now recruited to

-          Increase in the number of staff in Assistive Technology in order to promote preventative services, including joint working with Health.

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