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 February, 2013. 

It was reported that the forecast for the financial year 2012/13 was an underspend of £490,000 against an approved net revenue budget of £71.445M.   

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. 

·         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 together with Winter Pressures funding from Health

·         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 reduced by lower activity on respite care

·         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 reduced by underspend on In-House Day care due to vacant posts

·         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 underspend on Residential Care budget and budget pressure on Direct Payments offset by savings on Community Support Services

·         Minor 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, increase in demand for Direct Payments and forecast overspend on Residential and Nursing Care offset by slippage in developing alternatives to residential provision

·         Vacant posts within Resource Centre and Occupational Therapists

·         Underspend on equipment and minor adaptations plus additional Winter Pressures funding

·         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

·         Additional savings relating to a reduction in actual activity on a number of subsidy contracts

·         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 £375,818 (£2,937 off contract) compared with an actual cost of £308,020 (£1,974 off contract) 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 £354,923 spent up to the end of February, 2013, on non-contractual overtime for Adult Services compared with expenditure of £292,238 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.

Regional benchmarking within the Yorkshire and Humberside region for the 9 month period ending December, 2012, showed that Rotherham remained slightly below average on spend per head in respect of Continuing Health Care.

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

-          Supporting People – the underspend was due to actual performance  of some of the providers being less than agreed budget.

-          Agency and Consultancy – increase in the main due to cover for vacancies and sickness

-          Non-contractual overtime – increase in the main due to cover for vacancies and sickness

-          Any potential underspends should be passed to areas that were struggling to provide services

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