Agenda item

The Committee considered the Revenue Budget Strategy 2018/19 to 2020/21 (Appendix A) which had been endorsed by the Executive Board for consultation purposes at its meeting on 27^th November 2017.  The report provided Members with the current view of the Revenue Budget for 2018/2019 together with indicative figures for the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 financial years. The report was based on officers’ projections of spending need and took into account the provisional settlement issued by Welsh Government on 10th October 2017.

The Group Accountant advised that although the announced provisional settlement of -0.5% was significantly better than the anticipated -2%, it still meant the authority had to identify efficiency savings for 2018/19 of £8.544m, compared to the initial £12.527m, and would continue to have a negative impact on the Council’s resources.

In summary, the budget proposals would assume full delivery of the £25.6m identified savings over the plan period. Furthermore, the budget proposals assumed a Council tax increase of 4.12% for 2018/19 and that a 1% movement in council tax levels equated to +/-£820k.

The Committee considered the following detailed budget information appended to the Strategy relevant to its remit:

·       Appendix A(i) – Efficiency summary for the Social Care and Health Service;

·       Appendix A(ii) – Growth Pressures summary for the Social Care and Health Service;

·       Appendix B – Budget extracts for the Social Care and Health Service;

·       Appendix C – Charging Digest for the Social Care and Health Service.

The following questions/issues were raised on the report:-

·        Reference was made to the £1.75m of growth bids awarded to the Communities Department within the Strategy and clarification sought on how much of that allocation would be spent within Social Services.

The Group Accountant advised that whilst the Communities Department’s indicative allocation was £1.75m, that was set against a total Departmental bid of £3.779m. As the level of indicative allocation was 50% less than the total growth bid, the Department would need to examine its bids and prioritise where the additional allocation should be directed.

·        Reference was made to the reduction of the Council’s earmarked reserves over the Strategy Period from £74.132m in March 2017 to £17.233m in March 2020. Clarification was sought on whether the reduction could impact on the viability of schemes within the capital programme.

The Group Accountant confirmed the majority of the earmarked reserves were set aside to fund capital projects, all of which would be utilised.

The Committee was further advised that the Authority was examining its use of reserves, with an emphasis being placed on maintaining a general reserve of 3%.

·        In response to a question on the impact of the Releasing Time to Care Project for Domiciliary Care Packages, the Head of Integrated Services advised that related to the initiative introduced by the Authority two years previously to reduce the percentage of care provision packages involving double handling from 21% to match the performance of other best performing authorities where the level was 13%. The Authority now assessed requests for care packages in terms of whether there was a need for double handling and if the same or, improved level of care could be provided in alternative ways for example, the use of specific equipment. It was confirmed the purpose of the initiative, which was on-going, was not to reduce, but improve the level of care provision.

·        Reference was made to the level of consultation being undertaken as part of the Budget Strategy and to whether that involved specific organisations such as MIND and Age Cymru and also with service users if there were any proposed reductions to be made to the existing level of service provision.

The Committee was advised that the consultations being undertaken related solely to the Council’s Budget Strategy for 2018/19 – 2020/21. If any consultations were required to be undertaken on changes to service delivery, they would be managed by the respective Council Department.

·        Reference was made to the table in item 4.1 relating to the current financial outlook and the provision for a general inflation rate of 2.2%. As inflation was currently running at 3.1%, a view was expressed on the accuracy of the figures within the table and that they would need to be amended to reflect both the current inflation levels and any further efficiency savings which may be required as a consequence of that higher rate.

The Committee was advised that whilst it was recognised inflation was higher than provided for within the original outlook, the final budget proposals to be presented to Council in February would take account of inflation trends as appropriate.

·        Reference was made to the Domiciliary Care’s in-house service and the need to arrange cover for staff absenteeism. Clarification was sought on whether an analysis had been undertaken on the nature of those absences and if any were stress related.

The Head of Integrated Services confirmed the department closely monitored sickness levels and whilst stress was a factor in absenteeism levels, musco-skeletal injuries also featured highly on the reasons for absence, as would be expected by the very nature of the service provision. Work was being undertaking on analysing the reasons for sickness, be they work or personal, and support was available to all employees via the Council’s HR policies

The Committee was also advised that a planned upgrade, in January 2018, to the Council’s Resource Link software would enable a more detailed analysis to be undertaken on staff absences and whether they related to work or personal issues. It was also confirmed that a pilot study on stress related absence would be undertaken in the near future and the Council was examining ways of becoming more pro-active in preventing sickness occurring wherever possible. 

·        The Head of Integrated Services, in response to the efficiency proposal to halve the numbers of small care packages by 2020, advised that the proposal sought to embrace the principle of assisting people to live as independently as possible within their home environment. That could for example, if a person’s need was physical as opposed to functional, be achieved via the provision of physiotherapy and occupational health services. The ethos therefore revolved around the principle of providing the right level of package which, might not necessarily be care related.

·        Reference was made to the opportunities for the development of intergenerational services in partnership with adult services within Coleshill and Manor Road and to vacate the day premises at Crosshands. Clarification was sought on whether there was sufficient capacity within Coleshill and Manor Road to accommodate the change.

The Head of Mental Health and Learning Disabilities confirmed that sufficient accommodation was available and the proposal revolved around the principle of making more efficient use of existing buildings.

·       The Group Accountant confirmed the budget allocation for Care-line within Appendix B to the report did not reflect any proposed changes to its provision or the proposals for the establishment of an Arms-Length Company.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that:

Councillor A. Davies requested that the minutes of the meeting record that he did not accept the Current Financial Outlook table detailed in item 4.1 of the Budget Strategy as he considered the figures detailed therein to be inaccurate in view of the increased inflation rate.