Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies from Members.

There were no declarations of interest.

Resolved that the minutes of the meeting held on 5 February 2018 are correctly recorded and that they be signed by the Chairman.

(1)       Mr Simmonds (Cabinet Member for Finance) introduced the report which set out the budget monitoring position up to 31 January 2017-18 for both revenue and capital budgets, and an update on key activity data for the highest risk budgets.

(2)       Mr Simmonds said there was a revenue pressure of £3.865 million increasing to £5.479 million when roll-forward requirements were taken into account.  This represented a reduction in the  forecasted pressure since the previous report but did not include the impact of the recent severe weather.  The Emergency Conditions Reserve would be drawn down to cover the cost of gritting and snow clearance but an additional £2 million would be required early in 2018/19 for pot hole repairs.

(3)       Mr Simmonds said it was anticipated that further funding would be received from the Home Office to offset the pressure on costs associated with asylum.  If this funding was received the overall position would reduce from £5.479 million to £2.109 million.  He also said that this compared with a residual pressure reflected in the previous monitoring report of £3.759 million and represented an underlying improvement of £1.650 million on this month.

(4)       Mr Simmonds said there was a variance of -£69.238 million on the 2017-18 capital budget (excluding schools and PFI), most of which, related to timing and re-phasing rather than a substantial change to the underlying position. 

(5)       He concluded by saying that it had been another difficult year, but he was confident that by the end of March the authority would come in on budget. 

(6)       Mr Carter (Leader of the Council) said that Kent MPs lead by Helen Whately (MP for Faversham and Mid-Kent) were lobbying government and making the case that costs associated with asylum should not be borne by local authorities particularly in such austere times.  He also said that, as Chairman of the County Councils’ Network, he was lobbying for cost recovery for councils that would experience a shortfall arising from asylum services.

(7)       Mr Wood (Corporate Director of Finance and Procurement) said a view on the debtor provision of £3.5 million would be taken based on the progress of negotiations with the Home Office.

Richard Fitzgerald (Business Intelligence Manager – Performance) was in attendance for this item

(1)       Cabinet received the quarterly performance report for quarter three providing information about the key areas of performance for the authority.

(2)       Miss Carey (Cabinet Member for Customers, Communications and Performance) introduced the report and said that managing performance was equally as important as managing finances in delivering services. She said the report contained both qualitative and quantitative indicators and provided information about long-term trends.

(3)       Richard Fitzgerald said performance was generally good with most indicators recorded at ‘green’ (target achieved or exceeded) and that the direction of travel was positive.  He went on to draw out important information for Members as follows:

                    i.                  Customer Services

a.    Good performance had been maintained for caller satisfaction although the percentage of calls to the Contact Point which were answered was slightly below target.

                   ii.                  Economic Development & Communities

a.    Long term empty domestic properties turned into active use continued to deliver ahead of target.

b.    Housing delivery, based on energy performing certificates issued, had been sustained at an average of 7,000 new dwellings per year for close to three years.

c.    Library visits and book issues had been within expectations in the quarter.

                 iii.                  Environment and Transport

a.    The impact of the recent severe weather was not reflected in   performance for this quarter and would be reflected in the next report on performance to the Cabinet.

b.    The percentage of municipal waste diverted from landfill, 99%, continued to exceed target.

                 iv.                  Early Help and Specialist Children’s Services

a.    Ofsted inspection results for schools and Early Years settings continued to meet the target with year on year improvement.

b.    Apprenticeship starts for people between aged 16-18 was below target for the last academic year and this reflected trends nationally, however, numbers were increasing for the current academic year.

c.    The number of young people not in education or training had reduced and had achieved the target set.

d.    The percentage of child protection plans which were repeat plans remained within target.

e.    The number of children on child protection plans in Kent was above the national average and at its highest level since 2012.

f.     Demand for Specialist Children’s Services continued to increase with 30% more referrals being accepted in the current year compared with last year.

               v.       Adult Social Care

a.    The number of clients referred to the Enablement Service was on target and the figures now included referrals to an external provider.

b.    The percentage of delayed transfers of care from hospital where social care was considered to be responsible had reduced and was ahead of the local target of 30%.

            vi.        Public Health

a.    The number of Health Checks remained ahead of target.

b.    The number of universal checks delivered by the Health Visiting service had also increased and had moved further ahead of target.

(5)       Mr Fitzgerald concluded by assuring Members that targets not currently being met were all subject to management action and were being closely  ...  view the full minutes text for item 64.

Mr Carter (Leader of the Council) thanked Louise Whitaker (Democratic Services Manager - Executive) for her work over the past six years and wished her every success in her new position.