Agenda item

(Report by Mrs S Hohler – Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education and Mrs R Turner – Managing Director, Children, Families and Education)           

(Mr K Abbott, Director of Resources and Planning and Mr G Ward, Director of Capital Programme and Infrastructure were present for this item)

(1)   The Committed debated a report that summarised the 2009/10 financial outturn, together with annual operating plan outturn information, for each of the Service Units within the Children, Families and Education Directorate together with the financial and key activity and performance outcome.

(2)   Chairman asked Mr Abbott then Mr Ward to introduce the report.  Mr Abbott highlighted the key points which included the following:

(3)   The CFE Directorates overall outturn position was a net underspend of £2.238m as set out in appendix 1 of the report.  

(4)   Mr Ward then spoke on the capital programme advising that there was an underspend of £1. 4m, highlighting that the County Council met in February when it had improved its budget and reflected the variations from the position of the budget in January.

(5)   Members of the Committee were given the opportunity to make comments and ask questions which included the following:

(6)   Mr Smith reminded Members that the CFE Budget Informal Member Group (IMG) had been set up with 2 Members from each of the 3 CFE POSCs. The inaugural meeting of the CFE Budget IMG would be held on 30 July 2010 at 10.00 am.  This meeting would cover the rudiments of the CFE budget.  Additional meetings would be set up to discuss the budget to report back to this Committee and the Joint POSC.

(7)   The Chairman advised that the Teacher, Church and Parent Governor Representatives on the Committees were welcome to attend the IMG.

(8)   Mr Vye referred to a drift of expenditure on the Advisory Service, which had been demand lead in the past and how this would be met in the future, Mr Abbott advised that he would report the detail to Mr Vye outside the meeting and added that in primary schools there was a pressure brought to bear in terms of the previous governments timetable on the National Challenge and the local authorities need to respond to it, which may not necessarily exist in the future in the same way.  There were pressures which were addressed in building the budget but had been tied up in where the budget had been directed in reducing the resource through the restructuring.

(9)   In response to a question by Mr Desmoyers-Davies, Mr Ward explained that the ‘poor monitoring information’ referred to on page 73 paragraph 4.3.4 was a refection of judgement on the information provided by the school, it was reflecting information given by the school on where they were on a project in terms of the outturn and their information proved incorrect.

(10)    In a follow up question, Mr Desmoyers-Davies asked what scrutiny had been undertaken on the accuracy of the information provided by schools.  Mr Ward advised that the schools had a budget for projects as they were commissioning the work, the local authority did not have the monitoring regime that provided the resources to check the information.  This was an individual low level scheme that was being managed by a school. 

(11)    RESOLVED that:

(a) the revenue and capital financial outturn for 2009/10 and changes to the capital programme be noted;

(b) the performance outturn for 2009/10 be noted; and

(c) a Budget Informal Member Group (2, 2, 2) (from each of the 3 CFE POSCs) be set up to meet and discuss the 2011/12 budget on a regular basis over the next 6 months in order to get a fuller understanding of the implications of potential budget reductions and report back to the this POSC in November 2010 and January 2011.