Agenda item

Report of the County Treasurer (CT/17/20)  on the position at Month 4, attached.

(Councillors Biederman, Connett, Dewhirst and Hannaford attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/17/20) on the financial position at Month 4 outlining areas of specific pressures on budgets, potential under and overspendings in the current financial year and on the management action being taken where individual budget lines were experiencing pressures.  

The Cabinet noted that, overall, an underspend of £1,996,000 was forecast for the year-end acknowledging the need for caution in various service areas over the possible impact of winter pressures.

The forecast for Adult Care and Health indicated an underspend of £3.772m, allowing for £1.936m of management action to be achieved, arising in the main from better contract negotiation and demand management and the recently agreed Promoting Independence policy.  Adult Commissioning and Health was expected to show an underspend of £296,000 from temporary vacancy savings in the commissioning teams. The Learning Disability Service continued to be an area of concern due to increasing numbers of packages and the service still faced other risks such as the impact of the pending HMRC action regarding the National Living Wage compliance for ‘sleep-in’ night shifts and winter pressures.

Children’s Services was forecasting an overspend of £1.643m due again to increasing number of placements within the independent sector and difficulties in securing “step down” from independent residential care through lack of alternative placements. Disabled children’s services were also looking at an overspend of £716,000 on children in need short breaks.  These overspends would be partially offset by vacancy management, lower legal disbursement and other minor variations which with other savings would reduce that current overspend.  The non DSG element of Education and Learning was likely to overspend (on personalised transport and the unplanned Special Educational Needs (SEN) contract cost increases) as was DSG spending on High Needs with a continuing upward trend across SEN provision in numbers and cost. 

The Secretary of State had recently announced increased funding for Education of £1.3 billion which, it was anticipated, would include an increase to High Needs funding.  Further detail on that level of funding should be known in September and it was assumed that any overspend in this area would not therefore impact on the general fund.

Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste services were showing a breakeven position, acknowledging the potential for winter pressures and Communities, Public Health, Environment and Prosperity was showing a forecast overspend of £133,000 and Corporate Services were also forecasting a breakeven position.

In relation to capital expenditure, the approved programme was £154,500,000 with a year-end forecast of £140.5m and slippage of £14m (arising from the projects for Marsh Barton station, Newcourt Station, South Devon Highway and a number of School expansion projects).

The matter having been debated and the options and/or alternatives and other relevant factors set out in the County Treasurer’s Report and/or referred to above having been considered

It was MOVED by Councillor Clatworthy, SECONDED by Councillor Hughes, and

RESOLVED that the position based on Month 4 be noted.