Agenda item

[note:  Councillors L. Bowen, B.W. Jones, D. Jones, G. Jones, E. Schiavone and Mrs V. Kenny had earlier declared an interest in this item.]

The Executive Board at its meeting on 19th November 2018 considered the Revenue Budget Strategy 2019/20 to 2021/22 and endorsed the report for consultation purposes.

The Director of Corporate Services provided members with an overview of the Revenue Budget for 2019/20 and indicative figures for the following two years. Members were advised that there was a possibility of a negative settlement, with a 0.5% negative settlement relating to £1.1 million in real terms. In anticipation of the settlement reductions, significant work has been undertaken to identify further service efficiencies/rationalisation.

The Draft Budget takes in to account the effect of the increase in Teachers Pensions Employers Contributions from 16.48% to 23.6%, a cost of £2.75m in 2019/20 and £1.75 in 2020/21. It is likely that this will be funded by a grant from the Welsh Government via Central Government.

A grant of £15m has been made available by the Welsh Government to Local Authorities and it is projected that the share for Carmarthenshire is in the region of £900k, however it has been stipulated that at present the grant must be used for professional training. It is not known whether this may change.

Budget pressures around the Education and Children’s Services are due in the main to school based Early Voluntary Redundancies, Special Educational Needs provision, a shortfall in the Music Service SLA income and Out of County Placements. Overall, the Authority is forecasting a variance of £2.237m at the year-end that will have to be met from General Balances.

The Director of Corporate Services summed up by advising that in previous years school budgets had been semi-protected and receive 1% above the national payment from the Welsh Government. However recent changes have moved the responsibility to the Authority and schools are being asked to manage their own costs within a cash neutral budget (inc pay rises and general costs such as utilities and services). This is not an ideal situation and the £900k offered for professional training would go a considerable way to covering any budget shortfall in this area.

The Director of Education and Children acknowledged that the department is under increasing pressure financially with a standstill budget and identifying areas for reduction was difficult.

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

• The Committee expressed concern at the proposed cuts to the Education Welfare Service (EWS) and asked for these to be reconsidered. It was felt that a reduction in this service would result in additional pressure on schools to manage non-attendance and to deal with issues surrounding non-attendance. The Director of Education and Children advised that the EWS provided a statutory service in dealing with non-attendance therefore the provision would have to continue albeit in a different form. The current non-attendance levels set by Welsh Government are 80% but there is consideration being given to increasing this to 85%, which would increase the workload of the EWS. It was also noted that some schools manage their own non-attendance and are keen to continue to do so. The department is looking at different models for the service, in particular the models used in Denbigh and Conwy and a report is being prepared on options for the future of the service which will be presented to Committee in due course.
• Concern was expressed with regard to the position in relation to teachers’ pensions and officers were asked if the situation is unique to Carmarthenshire. The Committee was advised that it is not only an all-Wales issue it is in fact a national issue as the money is being held by central government and if the money is not received then a corporate decision would have to be made on how to proceed.
• The Committee also shared concerns about proposed reductions in Education and Child Psychology Services and School Counselling Services and an assurance was sought that these reductions would not have an impact on the amount of time children are allocated. The Director of Education and Children advised the Committee that it was not possible to say with any certainty that there would be no impact, however, the proposals include some efficiencies in costs which were not related to a reduction in staff.  He acknowledged that with increasing emphasis on wellbeing and mental health, these proposals may have to be revisited.  The contract for the School Counselling Service will be re-tendered in the future and it was hoped that the Authority could procure a better service at a cheaper cost.

• The Committee noted that some schools were holding reserves above the threshold, and members asked for an explanation on what, if any, plans were in place to work with these schools. The School Funding (Wales) Regulations 2010 requires schools to limit their accumulated reserves at year end to £50,000 for Primary Schools and £100,000 for Secondary and Special Schools or 5% of their budget dependant on what is greater. As at 31st March 2018, 18 primary and 6 secondary schools held surpluses in excess of the thresholds above. The Group Accountant advised that the majority of the Primary Schools were over by a few thousand pounds and that small changes, such as recruitment of a higher band teacher would negate this. Two of the Secondary Schools identified have committed the expenditure to capital projects. Members asked that the most recent figures be circulated.
• Clarification was sought on the locally determined funding formula as members highlighted that it appeared to vary across the Authority. The Director of Education and Children advised that the same formula is used for every school, however some factors such as Free Schools Meals, Looked After Children, Special Units (similar to the unit at Ysgol Bro Banw) etc. can have an effect on the formula allocation.  The Committee was reminded that a finance workshop has been arranged for members of the Committee on the afternoon of the 24^th January 2019 which would include further information on the locally determined formula;

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that

4.1 The 2019/20 - 2021/22 Revenue Budget Strategy Consultation be        

      received;

4.2 The Charging Digest for the Education and Children Department, as

      detailed in Appendix C to the report, be endorsed;

4.3 The Committee’s serious concerns regarding any reduction in the

       Education Welfare Service, Education and Child Psychology Service

      and the School Counselling Service and the serious implications of

      any reduction be relayed to the Executive Board;

4.4 That the Committee’s request that any additional money identified

       Identified across the Authority’s budget should be vired to the

       Education Department be relayed to the Executive Board.