Minutes:
(Mr N J D Chard, Cabinet Member for Finance, was present for this item).
(Miss M Goldsmith, Directorate Finance Manager, was in attendance for this and the following two items)
(1) Mr Leidecker and Miss Goldsmith introduced a series of slides which set out the timetable and process for setting and monitoring the KASS budget. (The slides used in this presentation are attached to these Minutes as Appendix 1). Mr Lynes, Mr Chard and Mr Mills also responded to questions from Members. Arising from the presentation, and in response to questions put by Members, the following points were highlighted:-
(a) The Budget Book had been presented in a different way from previous years. Specific grants, of which there were now very few, were shown differently. More detail on services was presented this year than in previous years, which meant that the changes in spending which would inevitably emerge over the year would also have to be shown and explained in ongoing monitoring.
(b) Area Based Grants would ceased to be ring-fenced, so there was no guarantee they would keep pace with inflation. Under Local Area Agreements (LAAs) agencies would work together to achieve better outcomes from the money invested. KCC was the accountable body for the allocation of funds. Services being delivered under Area Based Grants must be assumed to continue but there was no guarantee that they would all be able to be funded in the future. The majority of grants related to the delivery of key indicators for KASS.
(c) Members expressed the concern that continued “movement of the goalposts” meant that it was very difficult to compare like with like with each year’s budget. Changes this year reflected questions raised in previous years, but there were also changes this year in the way grants were allocated. KASS tried to present its budget consistently as far as possible but this year was the first year of three year comprehensive spending review. Monitoring of the budget was done month by month by cross checking forecasts against activity, and needed to keep step with the corporate financial timetable.
(d) KASS had to balance service needs with a very limited budget and faced some stark choices – limit the number of service recipients, change the method of service delivery or reduce the quality of service delivered. This choice presented an ongoing challenge.
(e) Under year one of the LAA, KASS was confident there would still be some level of flexibility to offset any underspends against overspends. There would always be a need for flexibility to make the most sensible use of the funds available and to minimise risk. Funding under the area based grant system was already mostly committed.
(f) A good workforce was vital for good service delivery, especially with the move towards personalised services. KCC would always prioritise the provision of a quality workforce out of the money available, and impress upon other partners in the LAA the need to do the same.
(g) KASS operated a complex, well-tested and generally very accurate forecast and allocation process in its Business Plan. It was always difficult to predict expenditure over a long period of time, so changes in spend patterns, in response to changing needs, would inevitably emerge as the year progressed. The Committee would be kept updated on variances in spending against forecast by means of the quarterly budget monitoring report.
(2) Mr Chard added that officers had done an outstanding job this year in controlling and monitoring the budget. Other local authorities had not contained their Adult Social Services budgets half as well as Kent had. Mr Lynes emphasised that the CSCI annual report had highlighted that other local authorities had raised their eligibility criteria while Kent had maintained theirs as moderate. Kent Adult Social Services had an excellent staff team, which is why it performed so well and on budget. However, so much of future demand for service simply could not be predicted, and in addition to this, funding mechanisms were also changing year on year.
(3) RESOLVED that the presentation on the budget setting process be noted, with thanks.