Agenda item

1.            Mr Oakford introduced the report and emphasised that the 2021/22 financial year would most likely be the last in which the County Council would receive Government grants to support its work to manage the covid pandemic. In the 2022/23 financial year, recovery work would still be going on but without the support of covid-specific grant funding. The Chairman thanked Mr Oakford, Ms Cooke and the finance team for monitoring and reporting of the complex information.

2.            Mr Oakford and Ms Cooke responded to comments and questions from the committee, including the following:-  

a)    asked about the underspend figures set out in paras 3.2 and 3.4 of the report and how these related to each other, Mr Oakford advised that some underspend on services which had not been taken up due to changing needs during the pandemic could be rolled forward to future years. Ms Cooke added that some underspend related to ‘receipt in advance’, which included centrally held funds.  She undertook to ensure that listing in the next monitoring report would, set out this increased detail to help readers to understand the fuller picture;

b)    asked if and when there would be future funding to add to the £27m rolled forward, Mr Oakford advised that it was simply not known whether or not there would be further Government funding made available as the recovery phase unfolded. Ms Cooke added that the £27m reserve had been held separately to meet needs arising from the pandemic. Use of it was carefully monitored and the concern was that, should it be needed, it may prove to be insufficient;

c)    asked about the impact of Council Tax discounts. Ms Cooke advised that a decision had been taken by the Leader and Cabinet in 2020 to allocate additional funding to support Council Tax discounts and hardship payments for households most affected financially by the pandemic, and the outcome of that had been estimated in the report.  An update on collection rates would be included in the next regular report to the committee; and

d)    asked if the overspend on school budgets would affect the County Council’s own schools rather than academies, and how schools were expected to recover from this burden, Ms Cooke advised that this was an area of risk for councils nationwide.  A Government review of the issue was expected but had been delayed and may be published in autumn 2021.  The Children, Young People and Education directorate was working on a plan to manage this issue locally.  Mr Oakford added that the County Council and many other Local Education Authorities were lobbying Government to address this issue nationally and for advice on how they were expected to deal with it locally.  Ms Cooke added that the County Council’s own schools, which were the ones affected, formed a part of its overall estate.  The situation would be closely monitored.

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3.            It was RESOLVED that the information set out in the report and given in response to comments and questions be noted, with thanks.