Agenda item

In the exercise of its Public Sector Equality Duty, as set out below, the County Council must have full regard to and consider the impact of any proposals in relation to equalities prior to making any decisions and any identified significant risks and mitigating action required.  The overview of the impact assessments for all service areas entitled ‘2020/21 Budget Impact Assessment’ has been circulated separately and is available to all Members of the Council for consideration under this item (alongside any specific equality impact assessments undertaken as part of the budget’s preparation) at https://www.devon.gov.uk/impact/budget-2020-2021/.

 

To receive and approve the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/20/20) together with the Minutes of the Cabinet held on 14th February 2020 relating to the budget and the Scrutiny Budget Resolutions from 28th January 2020, attached.

 

Minutes from the recent Scrutiny Budget meetings (Children’s Scrutiny, Health and Adult Care and Corporate Infrastructure and Regulatory Services) are also attached for the information of Members.

 

The Report of the County Treasurer will follow. The Cabinet Minutes will be available to view at https://democracy.devon.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=133&MId=3435&Ver=4 shortly.

 

 

(Councillor Connett declared a personal interest in this matter by virtue of being a Member of Teignbridge District Council referring to said Council in the debate).

 

(Councillor Parsons declared an interest by virtue of his partner being in receipt of funding for foster caring, although this issue was covered by the general dispensation).

 

All Members of the Council had been granted a dispensation to allow them to speak and vote in any debate on the setting of the Council Tax or Precept or any fees and charges arising therefrom as a consequence of simply being a resident of or a land, business or property owner in the administrative County of Devon or by being a County Council representative on a local authority company or  joint venture or by being a parent or guardian of a child in a school on any matter relating to school meals and school transport, or in relation to being an approved foster parent, providing placements for the Council’s Children in Care or in relation to the setting of members’ allowances or as a parent or a guardian of a child in care or in receipt of statutory sick pay or a pension. 

 

The Council considered the Minutes of the Cabinet meeting (Minute 462 (1-21) of 14^th February 2020), together with the Report of the County Treasurer on the Revenue Budget for 2020/21, Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2023/24 and Capital Strategy 2020/21 to 2024/25, including an assessment of the adequacy of reserves, a range of prudential indicators concerning the financial implications of the capital programme and an assessment that identified risks associated with the budget strategy, together with how the risks would be managed. The budget book contained details of the County Council’s revenue and capital budgets together with associated financial and operational information. There was a requirement to prepare a Capital Strategy in line with the CIPFA Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities 2017 and this was also included.

 

The book contained;

 

·         Revenue Budget Overview;

·         Statement on the Robustness of the Budget Estimates, the Adequacy of Reserves and Affordability of the Capital Strategy;

·         Capital Strategy and Programme Overview 2020/21 - 2024/25;

·         Service Budgets;

·         Fees & Charges;

·         Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020/21 - 2023/24;

·         County Fund Balance and Earmarked Reserves 2020/21;

·         Treasury Management Strategy 2020/21 - 2022/23 and Prudential Indicators 2020/21 - 2024/25;

·         Risk Analysis of Volatile Budgets; and

·         Abbreviations. 

 

The Chairs of the Children’s Scrutiny Committee, Health and Adult Care Scrutiny and Corporate Infrastructure and Regulatory Services Scrutiny having MOVED and it having been duly SECONDED that the Minutes of the budget Scrutiny Committee meetings held on 20^th, 23^rd and 28^th January 2020 relating to the annual estimates be approved, the motion was subsequently put to the vote and declared CARRIED.

 

The Council noted that the Corporate Infrastructure and Regulatory Services Scrutiny Committee had, at its meeting on held 28th January 2020, considered and endorsed the proposed Treasury Management Strategy for 2020/21, prior to determination of the budget for that year.

 

The Council further noted that the Council’s financial plans had been drawn up with reference to the County Council’s major policies and objectives, the County Council’s performance framework, demographic changes occurring within the County; and consultation with local residents, businesses and other stakeholders.

 

The final Local Government financial settlement for 2020/21 represented an increase on 2019/20 of 1.6%. The Final Settlement had been confirmed at £103.2 millions which was an increase of £1.7 millions on 2019/20. 2020/21 was expected to be the start of a new multi-year funding settlement that incorporated the outcome of a new Comprehensive Spending Review, Fairer Funding Review and Business Rate Changes - this had not happened and the settlement for 2020/21 was for one year only and there was no information on what the authority's funding would be for 2021/22 and beyond.

 

The authority was experiencing significant demand and cost pressures within Social Care services, but the most significant concern was within the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Special Educational Needs (SEND). The Council was not able to fund the deficit from elsewhere, therefore had to carry forward a negative figure.

 

The Council heard about the uncertainty faced by Local Government in the absence of a four year settlement and the lack of clarity for financial planning which in turn meant more risk for Local Government finances. In that respect, reserves of £100 millions (minimum) should be kept, a balance that was in line with other like Councils.

 

The targets set for each service area had been subject to different pressures and influences.  Cabinet had noted in January that the target for Adult Care & Health had increased by £7.7 millions, for Children’s Services an increase of £2.5 millions. The increased targets also included £60,000 for additional legal support within Corporate Services and £1 million within Highways, Infrastructure and Waste to help with drainage issues on the Highway network.

 

The Service budgets totalled £541.2 millions, including funding for budget pressures of £50.6 millions that mainly related to additional expenditure to allow for service growth to cater for demographic changes such as increased children and adult service users and unavoidable cost pressures. Savings and income initiatives of £7.5 millions were required to set a balanced budget.

 

The budget for Adult Care & Health was £260,258 millions, a net change of £23,714 millions or 10.0%. For Children’s Services, this was £146,845 millions, the net change being £11,538 millions (8.5%). Community, Public Health, Environment & Prosperity was £39,713 millions, with the net change of £925,000 or 2.4%. For Corporate Services £37,160 millions, a net increase of £2,479 millions (7.1%) and in relation to Highways, Infrastructure Development & Waste £57,508 millions, an increase of £2,790 millions (5.1%).

 

The settlement had set the Council Tax increase that would trigger the need for a referendum at 2% for 2020/21, with social care authorities allowed a 2% social care precept. A Band D Council Tax would, if the proposed budget was approved, increase by 3.99% to £1,439.46. The Council Tax requirement for the Council was £423,095,396.52. 

 

The Council acknowledged that a Budget 2020/21 Impact Assessment had been prepared previously and taken into account by Scrutiny Committees as part of their earlier deliberations together with those specific impact assessments undertaken as part of the budget’s preparation or in relation to service reviews arising therefrom: to ensure all Members had all relevant information in having regard to the responsibilities placed upon the Council to exercise its Public Sector Equality Duty under s149 of the Equality Act 2010 when considering the proposed budget, its impact and any mitigating action required, prior to making a decision. The preparation of Impact Assessments was necessarily a dynamic process and that individual assessments for specific proposals may necessarily have to be developed and updated with time. The Impact Assessment had been made available to all Members of the Council for the purpose of the Scrutiny meetings, the Cabinet meeting on 14th February 2020 and this County Council meeting. A revised version had been was circulated to all Members on 5 February.

 

The Chair of the Council MOVED and it was duly SECONDED that in accordance with Standing Order 30, Standing Order 14(4) be suspended to permit more than one motion or amendment to be debated at the same time.

 

The Motion was put to the vote and declared CARRIED.

 

The Chair then indicated that he would exercise his discretion to enable the Leaders and budget spokespersons of the political groups to speak for longer than 7 minutes, if desired.

 

Councillor Hart MOVED and Councillor Barker SECONDED that Cabinet Minute 462(1-21) setting out the proposed revenue and capital budgets as detailed in Report (CT/20/20) be approved.

 

In commending the proposed budget to the Council, the Leader commented this was a good budget for the people of Devon.

 

Both the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Resources Management paid tribute to and expressed gratitude to the County Treasurer, her staff and all those Officers involved in the preparation, management and monitoring of budgets over previous years and recognised also the exceptionally difficult circumstances of preparing a budget for 2020/21. They also thanked other Members of the Council for their input into the Scrutiny process. Additional thanks were given to those who had participated in the three budget consultation meetings as well as the parish councils attending the Leader’s budget roadshows.

 

Members then formally moved, each duly seconded, amendments as shown below which were subsequently the subject of one debate as agreed above.

 

Councillor Hannaford MOVED and Councillor Whitton SECONDED that Cabinet Minute 162 (1-21) (Revenue Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2020/21 – 2023/24 and Capital Programme 2020/21 – 2024/25) be amended by the addition of the following and all necessary changes be made to the detailed budgets.

 

Highways Department

 

£500,000 – Management and transformation process - To provide additional team capacity to better manage reactive and scheduled work, and generally promote reform and business transformation.

 

Public Health

 

£1,000,000 - Substance abuse prevention – To move from a treatment service, towards early intervention and prevention work.

 

£150,000 - Domestic and Sexual Violence - To help deal with the 24% increase in cases locally, especially focused on supporting children, early intervention work, and promoting behaviour change.

 

Economic Resilience

 

£100,000 – Trading Standards – To provide additional support to local businesses, farmers, the fishing industry, food producers, and others, in terms of import and export activity through the BREXIT transition period.

 

Climate Emergency – Green Industrial Revolution

 

£500,000 - Energy Smart Grants – A trial project to work with small to medium-sized businesses, to receive an energy efficiency audit, and operate a small grants scheme. The aim would be to help businesses introduce energy-saving measures in areas including lighting, equipment, heating, insulation and the installation of renewable energy, such as solar panels. Furthermore driving down costs, improving productivity, and securing carbon reductions for Devon.

 

Schools and Learning

 

£1,000,000 – Schools maintenance backlog – To speed up the scheduled maintenance programme, especially boiler replacements to avoid potential closures in small rural schools.

 

£250,000 – Educational inclusion work – To expand current initiatives to prevent and reduce school exclusions specifically in primary schools.

 

Community Resilience

 

£350,000 – Community Health Initiatives – To provide help and support for third sector groups, charities, and Community Interest Companies, working in the community on health and social care related issues, including social prescribing. 

 

£200,000 - Promoting Play – To trial a Play Ranger initiative with a local CIC, based in local communities, to encourage children to be more active, through delivering a range of outdoor based activities, including during the holidays or term times, and linking outdoor sessions to the school curriculum.

 

£200,000 – Older people with memory loss - To provide help and support for third sector groups, charities, and Community Interest Companies, working in the community with older people that are experiencing memory loss, including memory cafes, social events, and singing groups. 

 

£500,000 – Youth Work Best Practice – To roll out best practice models across Devon, based on community and voluntary solutions, with training and development support, to include inclusive non targeted work in a place based setting.

 

Children’s Services

 

£300,000 – Family Workers – To commission a trial project for evaluation with Action For Children, to promote better support and early help for vulnerable families.

 

£250,000 – Autism and Medical Absences – To provide additional capacity to manage these expanding areas of work, including automatic diagnosis and self-assessment.

 

£700,000 – Care Leavers – To improve the support given to our care leavers, including the ongoing issues around contact rates , to achieve a higher levels , with better outcomes.

 

£1,000,0000 – Children’s Social Worker Offer – To improve the terms, conditions, training, and development opportunities for our children’s social workers. Specifically to ensure that our core offer is more robust and competitive, in terms of recruitment and retention, in the context of our neighbouring authorities, on an invest to save basis, that works to reduce agency staff.

 

That the total cost for 2020/21 of £7.0 millions be funded from the Budget Management Reserve.

 

Councillor Connett MOVED and Councillor Brazil SECONDED that Cabinet Minute 462 (1-21) (Revenue Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2020/21 – 2023/24 and Capital Programme 2020/21 – 2024/25) be amended by the addition of the following and all necessary changes be made to the detailed budgets.

 

Cabinet Minute (462) (1-21) (Revenue Budget 2020 – 2021, Medium Term Financial Strategy to 2023 / 2024, and Capital Strategy 2020 / 2021 to 2024 / 2025) be amended by the addition of the following and all necessary changes be made to the detailed budgets.

 

Devon County Council must no longer turn its head to avoid the dreadful impacts on residents of flooding and damage caused by the cuts to Highway drainage services and regular maintenance.

 

Scrapping the Highway Lengthsmen service and the routine and regular maintenance it provided has proved a folly and a dreadful false economy.

 

This Liberal Democrat budget amendment proposes:

 

1. Investing an immediate and additional £4.5 million during 2020-21 in our highways to clear drains, improve highway drainage and repaint absent and faded road and junction markings.  We will invest £4 million in highways drainage improvements and £500,000 to renew and replace white lines and junction markings, helping to make our roads safer.

 

2. Creating 20mph zones and speed limits around Devon’s schools and other high priority areas with an investment of £400,000 in 2020/21.

 

3. Launching a ‘Green Devon’ scheme to support environmental projects such as bee corridors, wild flower meadows and verges, tree planting and helping local communities deliver their own environmental improvements. We will fund this with a minimum £50,000 by ending the wasteful ‘essential user allowances’ for staff driving less than 1,000 miles year (19 miles a week) on council business

 

1. We will fund the £4.5 million road drainage and safety priorities by:

Drawing on the Council’s £18.1 million Emergency Reserve, set aside to deal with the impact of flooding and other events. This ‘stitch in time’ approach to clear drains and renew road markings is an ‘invest to save’ measure – saving not only on damaging flood costs but also the misery caused to Devon residents and householders.

 

2. We will make 20mph zones for schools a priority with an investment of £400,000 in the 2020/21 council year, funded by:

Cutting the budget for consultants and stand-in managers by £200,000 and cutting £200,000 from the media, public relations and advertising budget.

  

3. We will fund ‘Green Devon’ projects by:

Ending wasteful payments requiring staff to bring cars to work which are then rarely used on council business. 

We note that 108 staff this year have been paid, in total, up to £50,000 and none have driven more than 1 mile a week for business use.

The Liberal Democrats believe it is time for a thorough review of all ‘essential’ car use to deliver savings and identify cleaner, greener, cheaper ways to help staff travel, when necessary.

 

Other financial steps:

Devon County Council to lobby government to end the switch from Council Tax to Business Rates loophole used by some second home owners and to allow local councils the power to charge up to 200% Council Tax on second/holiday homes. Such measures would, it is believed, raise in the region of £10 million for Devon County Council from South Hams alone. Across the county, it is suggested the income could be in excess of £20 million.

 

We note the people of Devon continue to be short changed by Government:

·         Loss of £180 million in core funding since 2010

·         Each Devon school child still underfunded by approx. £294 a year

·         £45 million deficit by end of March 2021 for Special Educational Needs

 

The amendment in the name of Councillor Connett was then put to the vote and declared LOST.

 

(NOTE: In accordance with Standing Order 32(5) and any vote relating to the setting of the Council Tax or level of precept, Councillors voted as for, against or in abstention to the aforementioned Motion/Amendment as follows):

 

For the amendment; Councillors Ackland, Asvachin, Atkinson, Aves, Biederman, Brazil, Connett, Dewhirst, Greenslade, Hannaford, Hodgson, G Hook, J Hook, Shaw, Sheldon, Way, Whitton and Wright: (Total: 18)

 

Against the amendment; Councillors Ball, Barker, Bloxham, Brook, Channon, Chubb, Chugg, Clatworthy, Colthorpe, Crabb, Croad, Davis, Eastman, Edgell, Gilbert, Gribble, Hall, Hart, Hawkins, Hellyer, Hosking, Hughes, Leadbetter, McInnes, Parsons, Peart, Prowse, Radford, Randall Johnson, Russell, Sanders, Saywell, Scott, Sellis, Slade, Squires, Trail, Twiss and Yabsley: (Total: 39)

 

The amendment in the name of Councillor Hannaford was then put to the vote and declared LOST.

 

(NOTE: In accordance with Standing Order 32(5) and any vote relating to the setting of the Council Tax or level of precept, Councillors voted as for, against or in abstention to the aforementioned Motion/Amendment as follows):

 

For the amendment; Councillors Ackland, Asvachin, Atkinson, Aves, Biederman, Brazil, Connett, Dewhirst, Greenslade, Hannaford, Hodgson, G Hook, J Hook, Shaw, Sheldon, Way, Whitton and Wright: (Total: 18)

 

Against the amendment; Councillors Ball, Barker, Bloxham, Brook, Channon, Chubb, Chugg, Clatworthy, Colthorpe, Crabb, Croad, Davis, Eastman, Edgell, Gilbert, Gribble, Hall, Hart, Hawkins, Hellyer, Hosking, Hughes, Leadbetter, McInnes, Parsons, Peart, Radford, Randall Johnson, Russell, Sanders, Saywell, Scott, Sellis, Slade, Squires, Trail, Twiss and Yabsley: (Total: 38)

 

Abstained from Voting; Councillor Prowse (1)

 

The motion in the name of Councillor Hart was then put to the vote and declared CARRIED.

 

(NOTE: In accordance with Standing Order 32(5) and any vote relating to the setting of the Council Tax or level of precept, Councillors voted as for, against or in abstention to the aforementioned Motion/Amendment as follows):

 

For the Motion; Councillors Ackland, Asvachin, Atkinson, Aves, Ball, Barker, Bloxham, Brook, Channon, Chubb, Chugg, Clatworthy, Colthorpe, Crabb, Croad, Davis, Eastman, Edgell, Gilbert, Gribble, Hall, Hannaford, Hart, Hawkins, Hellyer, Hodgson, Hosking, Hughes, Leadbetter, McInnes, Parsons, Peart, Prowse, Radford, Randall Johnson, Russell, Sanders, Saywell, Scott, Sellis, Sheldon, Slade, Squires, Trail, Twiss, Whitton and Yabsley: (Total: 47)

 

Against the Motion; Councillors Biederman, Brazil, Connett, Dewhirst, G Hook, J Hook, Shaw, Way and Wright(Total: 9)

 

Abstained from Voting; Councillor Greenslade (1)