Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Mrs Bell and Miss Carey. Mr Love was in attendance virtually and Mr Hills was present.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting on 17 August 2023 were a correct record and that they be signed by the Chair.

Matthew Wagner (Chief Analyst, Strategy, Policy, Relationships & Corporate Assurance) was in attendance for this item.

1)    Mr Wagner outlined the report for Quarter 1 (Q1), April to June 2023 and highlighted the changes as agreed by Cabinet to include the management action against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) rated Red. Mr Wagner said that out of the 38 KPIs contained within the Quarterly Performance Report (QPR), 16 achieved or exceeded target (rated Green), 11 achieved and exceeded the floor standard but did not meet the target (rated Amber), and 11 did not meet floor standard (rated Red).It was noted that in regards to the direction of travel, four indicators showed a positive trend (two more than the previous Quarter), 24 were stable or with no clear trend (remaining the same as in the previous Quarter) and 10 were showing a negative trend (one fewer than the previous Quarter).

2)    Further to comments and questions from Members, it was noted:

·         that thanks and recognition was given to the Developer Contribution (S106) team for their work in securing additional funding for the Council.

·         In response to the percentage of routine pothole repairs completed within 28 days, work had been undertaken to review the contract with Amey to improve their processes and ensure they were operating in the most effective way. A realigned schedule of rates had been agreed, along with a number of additional management actions which received regular attention from senior officers within Amey. Pressures within Highways and Transport were often weather dependent; however, plans were in place to ensure continued and improved delivery of service as the winter season approached.

·         A number of projects were underway to both streamline and improve the response time for Freedom of Information requests and Data Protection Act Subject Requests.

·         There had been an increase in the number of complaints received within the Growth, Environment and Transport Directorate; however, additional staff resourcing had been deployed to support officers in the drafting of responses. Work continued to be done to identify improved models of operational delivery.

·         In response to the percentage of complaints responded to within timescale relating to Special Educational Needs, four additional staff were deployed to help reduce the backlog and the impact of that performance would be reflected in future Quarterly Performance Reports.

·         In response to the number of Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) assessments completed within the 20 week timescale, since September 2022 the number of vacancies within the casework team had reduced from 100 to 10 with further investment being allocated to the retaining and training of our own staff. Additional staffing would positively impact on the backlog of EHCPs, the performance of which would be demonstrated in future Quarterly Performance Reports.

·         Adult Social Care and Public Health continued to face significant challenge in the recruitment of staff, in line with that experienced across the entire Social Care system, resulting in a lower proportion of Care Needs Assessments being delivered in 28 days. This would continue to be prioritised as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Zena Cooke (Corporate Director for Finance), Cath Head (Head of Finance) and Emma Feakins (Chief Accountant) were in attendance for this item.

1)    Mr Oakford, (Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance, Corporate and Traded Services) introduced the report which set out the revenue and capital budget monitoring position as at June 2023-2024.

From the previous financial position that was provided in August 2023, the Council’s revenue position had moved from an overspend of £43.7m to £37.3m before management action and additional grant.

The 2023-24 forecast presented a serious and significant risk to the Council’s financial stability if not addressed as a matter of urgency, with significant forecast overspends in Children, Young People and Education totalling 28.5m and in Adult Social Care and Health totalling £25.8m before management action.

Work continued to be done to identify and implement further management action to be taken immediately in the current year, including one-off savings, and over the medium term. The details of this were contained within the report and in the “Securing Kent’s Future” budget recovery plan.

It was anticipated that the draft 2024-25 budget and Medium-Term plan proposals, due to be published at the end of October 2023, would show a significant gap for 2024-25 between forecast funding and spending. The recovery plan aimed to address this gap and further actions were yet to be finalised.

Mr Oakford advised that progress would be closely monitored throughout the remainder of the year and corrective action would be taken as necessary. It was crucial that the Council continued to limit its actions and focus on essential activity and priorities until the financial position was stabilised.

The outcome of analysis, related actions and progress to date in reducing the forecast overspend was set out in the report; however, Mr Oakford emphasised that the utilisation of analytics and cost drivers was key in curtailing the growth of spend that would flow into the 2024-25 budget.

2)    Mrs Cooke reiterated the need for concerted corrective action in order to achieve a stable financial position and the avoidance of non-essential spend where possible to address the 2024-25 gap.

3)    Mr Watts said that there was a requirement for the Council, through the management action work, to continue to meet its minimum statutory duties.

4)    RESOLVED to agree the recommendations as outlined in the report.

Zena Cooke, (Corporate Director for Finance), David Whittle (Director of Strategy) and Dave Shipton (Head of Finance - Policy, Planning & Strategy) were in attendance for this item.

1)    The Leader introduced the report which set out the Budget Recovery Strategy – Securing Kent’s Future, which was required to address the in-year and future years’ financial pressures faced by the Council. Key areas addressed throughout the report included the specific drivers causing the financial pressure and the specific and broader action that needed to be taken through Securing Kent’s Future to return the council to financial sustainability. The report also identified opportunity areas for further savings, accelerated transformation of the council alongside possible policy choices, all of which provided the scope to deliver significant savings over the next Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP)period.

The Leader addressed the significant financial pressure within Adult Social Care and Children, Young People and Education and the unsustainable cost pressures that particularly reflected flaws in those markets, though also some increases in demand. The report set out the Council’s response in prioritising New Models of Care and Support (within the objectives of Framing Kent’s Future) and how it aimed to deliver this through its statutory Best Value duties. The Leader set out that the New Models of Care and Support did not seek to override the other objectives of Framing Kent’s Future, nor did it seek to privilege certain areas of the business with additional resources whilst depriving others. However, the New Models of Care were central to the challenges faced by the Council and the hard policy decisions that would need to be made. If these failed to be addressed successfully, the Council would not be able to protect or develop its services in other areas. For this reason and for the future stability of the Council, it was the expectation that all council services collectively prioritised delivering New Models of Care and Support.

2)    The Leader highlighted the four strategic objectives of Securing Kent’s Future (as detailed in the report) and invited further comment from Mr Whittle.

Mr Whittle drew Members attention to the error on the paper at paragraph 5.2 and clarified that the wording after 0.3% “for hired transport” was a drafting error.

Mr Whittle commended the work carried out by colleagues in Finance, Analytics and Management Information which identified the specific cost drivers, areas of financial pressure and overspend; all of which supported the development of Securing Kent’s Future and highlighted the value of analytics. 

The driver of costs across overspending services was complex. It was not simply a matter of the council meeting additional demand through an increased number of clients, but rather the significant increase in spending was largely driven by unsustainable increases in costs the council was meeting to secure services from market providers. As a result of the increased placement costs, relatively modest increases in client numbers have had a disproportionate and exponential increase in the costs of securing provision. Financial pressures should be considered structural  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

1.    In Mr Love’s opening statement to Cabinet, Members were remined that Post-16 Transport legislation did not include a legal entitlement for transport in the same way that primary and secondary school aged pupils received it. Instead, Councils were required to make arrangements in line with what the Local Authority deemed necessary to facilitate all persons of sixth form age receiving education or training.

Since 2011 Kent County Council (KCC) had provided this support for a vast majority of post-16 learners including those with Special Educational Needs & Disabilities (SEND) who were able to make use of public transport via the provision of the partially subsidised KCC 16+ Travel Saver pass. The pass provided a 40% subsidy towards the average cost of an equivalent annual bus pass. KCC also provided a 100% subsidy for learners with SEND who received a KCC vehicle over the same period.

In line with Securing Kents Future, the Council was required to move its services into a stable and sustainable position. With a 40% increase in demand and an increase in cost to all post-16 travel, Mr Love confirmed that the current position was not sustainable.

The proposal as set out in the Post 16 Transport Policy Statement was to mirror the £500 cost of the KCC 16+ Travel Saver pass (or a half equivalent price for parents qualifying under the low-income criteria). This would account for the 94% to 97% subsidy for SEN transport for which the average cost of SEN transport was £8,100 per pupil per annum.

2.    Mr Love responded to the queries raised at the Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday 13^th September (as set out under the summary headings provided by Democratic Services for the Scrutiny Officer Report to Cabinet on 5^th October).

2.1  Concerns that no risk analysis had been undertaken to fully understand the impacts that removing free transport would have on young people with SEND who wished to access further education and training

An Equality Impact Assessment was completed as part of the consultation and identified the potential negative impact that would be felt by those affected families.  The proposed changes had been included within the early consultation and mitigations had been introduced as part of the proposed revised Policy due to take effect from September 2024.  The timespan between the taking of the decision and implementing the decision provided sufficient time for families to consider their travel options prior to finalising plans for education.  A higher subsidy option would be made available to families who qualified for low-income support and an instalment plan option would also be provided.  Member-led appeal panels would also be held for exceptional circumstances.

2.2Concerns were raised about the lack of financial detail available to outline what support would be provided to those families on low incomes, other than those who qualify for the reduced price KTS16+ offered to those in receipt of free school meals (FSM), who currently utilised the free transport;

The information was available via the consultation material and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.