To receive and consider the recommendations of the Cabinet (Minute 239(c)) as an amendment to the following Notice of Motion submitted previously to the Council by Councillor Whitton and referred thereto in accordance with Standing Order 8(2), namely
This Council
· Notes the National Audit Office figures show central Government funding for local authorities in England has been cut by 52.3 percent overall in real terms between 2010-11 and 2020-21; in Devon County Council it has been closer to 75%.
· Believes the Government must address the financial challenges arising from this decade of underinvestment together with the additional financial pressures local authorities now face because of such factors as increasing fuel and staffing costs, increased social care referrals, high vacancy rates across frontline services and other challenges associated with covid-19, and loss of income.
· Notes recent Local Government Association analysis that social care-providing authorities are spending more than 60 percent of their outgoings on these essential care services.
· Believes we need locally led initiatives to improve equality, sustainability and resilience, including providing genuinely affordable, energy efficient homes, supporting socially necessary bus services, providing adult and child social care, support for older people, looked-after children, care leavers, people with disabilities or special educational needs, survivors of domestic violence and low-income families in crisis.
· Believes the government must take action to ensure the financial stability of local government and its ability to plan, sustain and improve community and essential frontline services.
· Believes the need for the government to address the financial pressures on local authorities and their ability to deliver frontline services is urgent and immediate.
This Council resolves
To call on the Government to develop a national funding strategy that will provide Devon and other local authorities with the funds required to protect and restore spending on social care, community and frontline services to sustainable levels and reset local economies in the autumn budget.
Having had regard to the aforementioned, any factual briefing/position statement on the matter set out in Report (CSO/22/16) and other suggestions or alternatives considered at that meeting the Cabinet subsequently resolved:
(a) that the County Council supports the LGA and CCN in calling for the earliest possible resumption of the Government’s Fair Funding Review to ensure that the true costs of delivering public services particularly in rural areas are properly funded and the needs of all our communities – rural, coastal and urban – are met;
(b) that the County Council supports the LGA and CCN in calling on Government to ensure this year’s Local Government Settlement recognises the unprecedented pressures on the sector so that Councils are adequately funded to protect public services;
(c) that the County Council calls on Government to delay the charging reforms to adult social care services, and to reinvest funding earmarked for these proposals in local government to help ease the pressures on social care;
(d) that the County Council calls on Government to rebalance funding between health and social care, by allocating more of the £13bn committed to tackling the NHS backlog to Councils who can work with NHS partners to invest in preventative social care and help ease the pressure on our hospitals; and;
(e) that the County Council calls on Government to urgently approve the Council’s Safety Valve Intervention Fund proposal or provide temporary respite by rolling the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit forward a further year.
Decision:
(Councillor Roome declared a personal interest in this matter by virtue of being an employee of the NHS)
Councillor Hart MOVED and Councillor McInnes SECONDED that the Cabinet’s advice be accepted and that the County Council;
(a) supports the LGA and CCN in calling for the earliest possible resumption of the Government’s Fair Funding Review to ensure that the true costs of delivering public services particularly in rural areas are properly funded and the needs of all our communities – rural, coastal and urban – are met;
(b) supports the LGA and CCN in calling on Government to ensure this year’s Local Government Settlement recognises the unprecedented pressures on the sector so that Councils are adequately funded to protect public services;
(c) calls on Government to delay the charging reforms to adult social care services, and to reinvest funding earmarked for these proposals in local government to help ease the pressures on social care;
(d) calls on Government to rebalance funding between health and social care, by allocating more of the £13bn committed to tackling the NHS backlog to Councils who can work with NHS partners to invest in preventative social care and help ease the pressure on our hospitals; and;
(e) calls on Government to urgently approve the Council’s Safety Valve Intervention Fund proposal or provide temporary respite by rolling the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit forward a further year.
The amendment in the name of Councillor Hart was then put to the vote and declared CARRIED and subsequently thereafter also CARRIED as the substantive motion.
Minutes:
(Councillor Roome declared a personal interest in this matter by virtue of being an employee of the NHS)
Pursuant to County Council Minute 147 of 6 October 2022 relating to the Notice of Motion set out below as previously submitted and formally moved and seconded by Councillor Whitton that:
This Council
· Notes the National Audit Office figures show central Government funding for local authorities in England has been cut by 52.3 percent overall in real terms between 2010-11 and 2020-21; in Devon County Council it has been closer to 75%.
· Believes the Government must address the financial challenges arising from this decade of underinvestment together with the additional financial pressures local authorities now face because of such factors as increasing fuel and staffing costs, increased social care referrals, high vacancy rates across frontline services and other challenges associated with covid-19, and loss of income.
· Notes recent Local Government Association analysis that social care-providing authorities are spending more than 60 percent of their outgoings on these essential care services.
· Believes we need locally led initiatives to improve equality, sustainability and resilience, including providing genuinely affordable, energy efficient homes, supporting socially necessary bus services, providing adult and child social care, support for older people, looked-after children, care leavers, people with disabilities or special educational needs, survivors of domestic violence and low-income families in crisis.
· Believes the government must take action to ensure the financial stability of local government and its ability to plan, sustain and improve community and essential frontline services.
· Believes the need for the government to address the financial pressures on local authorities and their ability to deliver frontline services is urgent and immediate.
This Council resolves
To call on the Government to develop a national funding strategy that will provide Devon and other local authorities with the funds required to protect and restore spending on social care, community and frontline services to sustainable levels and reset local economies in the autumn budget.
and having had regard to the advice of the Cabinet set out in Minute 239(c) of 9 November 2022:
Councillor Hart MOVED and Councillor McInnes SECONDED that the Cabinet’s advice be accepted and that the County Council;
(a) supports the LGA and CCN in calling for the earliest possible resumption of the Government’s Fair Funding Review to ensure that the true costs of delivering public services particularly in rural areas are properly funded and the needs of all our communities – rural, coastal and urban – are met;
(b) supports the LGA and CCN in calling on Government to ensure this year’s Local Government Settlement recognises the unprecedented pressures on the sector so that Councils are adequately funded to protect public services;
(c) calls on Government to delay the charging reforms to adult social care services, and to reinvest funding earmarked for these proposals in local government to help ease the pressures on social care;
(d) calls on Government to rebalance funding between health and social care, by allocating more of the £13bn committed to tackling the NHS backlog to Councils who can work with NHS partners to invest in preventative social care and help ease the pressure on our hospitals; and;
(e) calls on Government to urgently approve the Council’s Safety Valve Intervention Fund proposal or provide temporary respite by rolling the Dedicated Schools Grant deficit forward a further year.
The amendment in the name of Councillor Hart was then put to the vote and declared CARRIED and subsequently thereafter also CARRIED as the substantive motion.