Issue - meetings

Report of the County Treasurer (CT/19/87) on the Budget Monitoring Position at Month 4, to follow.

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

The Cabinet considered the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/19/87) circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 on the Budget Monitoring position at Month 4.

This Report outlined the financial position and forecast for the Authority at Month 4 (to the end of July) of the financial year and updated Members on the Chancellor’s Spending Round 2019.

The total projected overspend at Month 4 was £4.3 millions. However, this assumed the projected Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) funding shortfall of £15.8 millions was not dealt with in the current financial year and thus had no impact on the outturn position. It also assumed that planned contributions to reserves of £8 millions were not made this financial year.  Without these two adjustments the projected overspending would be £28.1 millions.

Adult Care and Health Services were forecast to overspend by £6.7 millions, which included £982,000 of management actions yet to be delivered but which were still considered achievable.

Children’s Services were forecasting an overspend of £4.8 millions.  However, this figure took no account of a projected funding shortfall of £15.8 millions on SEND which was explained in sections 3.8 and 3.9 of the Report.

Highways, Infrastructure Development and Waste were forecasting an underspend of £540,000 at Month 4, Communities, Public Health, Environment and Prosperity (COPHEP) a small underspend of £6,000 and Corporate Services an overspend of £2.8 millions.

The approved capital programme for the Council was £147.2 millions which incorporated amounts brought forward from 2018/19 of £29.5 millions, and in year additions of £6.8 millions.  The year-end forecast was £131.7 millions, producing forecast slippage of £15.5 millions, mainly attributable to variations and programme delays in Planning and Transportation (£9.8 millions net slippage) reflecting the complexity of the major schemes within this Service.

In relation to the Spending Round 2019 on 4th September 2019 (the devil being in the detail), the key headlines for the Council were £1.5 billion extra for social care, but it was clear that £0.5 billion of this included the discretionary power to raise up to 2% from Council Tax as a Social Care Precept.  Depending on the formula, the Authority’s portion could be £22-23 millions of which approximately £8 millions would come from a 2% increase in Council tax.

In relation to Schools Funding, there was £7.1 billion extra by 2022/23.  Every secondary school would be allocated a minimum of £5,000 per pupil next year, and every primary school at least £3,750 per pupil increasing to £4,000 per pupil the following year.  This was approximately £20 millions of additional funding for Devon’s schools over the 2 years with £11.7 millions in 2020/21 and a further £9.5 millions in 2021/22. 

There was also additional money for Special Educational Needs and Disabilities with the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 389