[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 24th 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.