Meeting documents

To consider this report.

The Committee considered this report that summarised the key messages from the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) (2019-22) report presented to the Cabinet last December so the Committee could consider relevant service areas ahead of the more detailed budget report being presented to Cabinet and Full Council in February.

It was reported that the Council recognised the on-going financial challenges confronting it and the importance of setting a robust budget for 2019/20 as well as laying foundations for the financial plans for 2020/20 and 2021/22. It was confirmed that all the known funding and service demand pressures had been reflected in the budget alongside proposals for reducing spend and hence producing a balanced budget for 2019/20. This produces indicative budgets for each service and this report focuses on those services for Children’s Services.

Overall it was reported that against a gross revenue budget of more than £800m annually, and a net revenue budget need for 2019/20 of £338m, (as reported in December 2018), the MTFP Strategy paper showed that funding would fall short of spending need by £28m across the next three years. This meant the Council must consider what it would deliver and how in order to reduce spending in line with funding.

As noted earlier the budget proposals for Children’s Services had been informed by the PeopleToo review and working with the Service a three-year programme of savings based on a statutory children’s service offer and the continuing transformation of services had been developed. Significant elements of the three-year programme had been approved at Cabinet in September 2018 based on a statutory Children’s Service offer.

The work with PeopleToo had allowed for a rebasing of the Authority part of the Children’s Services budget and this ensured that from 2019/20 (and indeed from the later part of 2018/19) managers had budgets for which they could be held to account allowing for more effective budget monitoring.

There was further discussion about:

·       The need for more fostering places to alleviate demand on residential places

·       Reminder to councillors to support fostering and adoption campaigns and promote in their divisions

·       Reduction in senior managers in Children’s Services and move to establish permanent social workers in the county

·       Proposed realignment of social work services within the county around an east-west split

·       Plans to increase number of childminders in areas where there are shortages of early years places and further information about this could be discussed at a future meeting

·       Proposal to hold a number of children’s staffing vacancies and for how long.

·       Consultation with parents about school transport and aim to encourage more local school provision for children

·       Concern about staffing levels in young carers team and support for this provision for the future

·       Better monitoring of spending in Children’s Services

It was agreed that the consultation exercise with voluntary sector regarding meeting the needs of young carers would be be brought back for consideration by the committee in summer with recommendations.

It was also agreed that regular financial monitoring reports regarding Children’s Services would be taken to meetings starting in the new financial year.