Agenda item

To receive the initial forecast revenue and capital budget monitoring position for 2016-17.

Cabinet received the first budget monitoring report for 2016-17.

The report reflected the position for each of the Directorates based on the major issues arising from the 2015-16 outturn and presented to Cabinet on 27 June.

The issues had not been addressed in the 2016-17 budget build either  because they came to light after the budget had been agreed or the demand levels on which the budget had been based had increased since the calculations were made.

Andy Wood, Corporate Director of Finance and Procurement spoke to the item:

      i.        He confirmed in response to comments from the Leader that reporting in the future would be streamlined but that key activity data would continue to be reported.  It was intended that the new style of reporting would achieve the following aims:

·         That the time taken to produce quarterly reports to cabinet would be reduced from approximately 70 days to approximately 35-40 days from the end of the relevant period allowing a more responsive approach to budget management.

·         That resources required to prepare and  produce the reports would be reduced

·         That members would be able to more easily identify the key issues for consideration

    ii.        That the first report in the new format would be received by Cabinet in September.

Mr John Simmonds, Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement introduced the item for members; in particular he referred to the following:

      i.        That it was essential to the 2017-18 budget that a balanced, or slightly underspent, 2016-17 budget was delivered.  Therefore he was disappointed to report a £7.9million overspend for the first month. He urged members not to be complacent; he acknowledged that at this time last year the 2015-16 budget was showing an overspend but argued that having already made approximately £0.5billion of savings in recent years delivery of balanced budgets, and identification and realisation of savings had become more difficult.

    ii.        Paragraph 1.4 of the report addressed reporting issues within Directorates, and identified ways in which reporting could help to make forecasting simpler and more accurate.

   iii.        That Specialist Children’s Services continued to experience severe pressures currently reported at £4.5million.  These areas of forecast overspend related largely to the full year effect of increased activity and expenditure experienced in the last half of 2015-16 on residential and fostering and continued pressure on the staffing budgets based on continuing difficulties in recruiting permanent staff. In addition the adoption/permanency budget (principally special guardianship orders) was also experiencing pressure.  Philip Segurola, Director, Specialist Children's Services Social Care, Health and Wellbeing and Peter Oakford, Cabinet Member for Specialist Children’s Services had been invited to attend the Budget Programme Board to further consider how these pressures may be mitigated.

   iv.        Pressures also remained in the following areas:

a.    Unaccompanied asylum seeking children’s budget

b.    Adults Social Care and Health - Learning Disabilities and Mental Health budgets

c.    Growth, Environment and Transport – Young Persons Travel Pass and Waste budgets

    v.        That the Capital Budget was on track with no significant variations to be reported.

He concluded by highlighting the matter for agreement, set out in the report:

      i.        Movement of £110,000 to the GET budget for weed clearance and other such necessary work that had resulted from a mild winter and wet summer and ring-fencing of a similar amount in future years for such activities should they become necessary.

The Leader expressed concern at the forecast overspend and asked that the matter be discussed further at a meeting of Cabinet Members and Directors, Corporate Board, in order to consider possible future actions as it was crucial that action was taken quickly to address the matters raised.

The item was opened for discussion and the following comments were made and responses to questions received:

Mr Graham Gibbens, Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health commented on the Mental Health budget within Adult Social Care.  This area currently showed a forecast overspend of £1.363million.  He reminded members that this overspend was in the context of a total spend on Adults Mental Health of only approximately £24million and reflected the high demand for services being experienced. 

Mr Peter Oakford Cabinet Member for Specialist Children’s Services spoke to the item; he expressed his disappointment that, despite the good work that Philip Segurola and his team had undertaken to control the budget in 2015-16, pressures had continued to emerge owing to a number of factors reported by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement in his introduction.  In particular he mentioned the continued difficulties experienced in recruitment of permanent Social Workers and foster carers and the associated costs created by the use of agency workers and independent fostering agencies respectively.

It was RESOLVED that: