Agenda and minutes

The Members had before them:

A.    The Agenda papers (previously circulated); and

B.    The Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2023 (previously circulated).

Cllr Marcus Hart declared an interest on Agenda item 5 as a Non-Executive Director on the WCF Board in a non-remunerated role.

Members of the public wishing to take part should notify the Assistant Director for Legal and Governance in writing or by e-mail indicating both the nature and content of their proposed participation no later than 9.00am on the working day before the meeting (in this case TUESDAY 9 JANUARY 2024).  Further details are available on the Council's website.  Enquiries can also be made through the telephone number/e-mail address listed on the website and in the agenda.

None.

The Minutes of the meeting of 14 December have been previously circulated.

RESOLVED that the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2023 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

The Leader of the Council introduced the report and commented that the 2024/25 draft Budget and Medium-Term Financial Plan 2025-28 was outlined in the report for consultation. All councillors would have the opportunity to comment before the final proposals were brought to the next meeting of Cabinet and then Council. Significant pressures on Council resources had been highlighted in respect of children social care placements, home to school transport, and adult social care.

He added that the total gross overspend (structural deficit) currently forecast for 2023/24 was £35.3m or 8.7% of the net revenue budget. This gross overspend was being partially mitigated by additional business rates income of £4.1 million and planned additional use of reserves of £9 million, giving a net forecast overspend  of £22.2 million (5.5%). The proposed mitigation were one-off measures and therefore the Council needed to ensure that the MTP reflected these cost pressures going forward to 2024/25. The draft budget for 2024/25 was only a forecast at this stage based on the best available information.

He explained further that the Council had received the financial settlement from the Government on 18 December 2023 which represented an increase in 2024/25 by £21 million, however this was not keeping pace with the demand and pressures the Council was currently facing, despite the Council’s efforts to lobby the Government. Taking into account the growth in demand for services, inflationary factors, changes in grants and the reduced flexibility of reserves, the proposed increase in Council Tax for Worcestershire for 2023/24 was 4.99%: 2% for the Adult Social Care Levy, and 2.99% for other Council Services. The Council was examining how it could improve Value for Money and become more effective and efficient.

The Government had suggested that councils use balances and reserves to address funding gaps but that was not a long-term sustainable solution to the budget pressures facing the Council. The Council would be consulting all stakeholders before producing a final budget that was balanced and a true reflection of the Council’s finances.

In the ensuing debate, the following points were made:

·         The Council’s net revenue budget rose each year with the next budget expected to be approximately £430m in total. This demonstrated the amount of money necessary to continue to deliver demand-led services in the county. Unfortunately, Government funding had not been sufficient to meet these pressures and therefore the Council had had to set out sensible proposals to ensure continued service provision. These plans also included a request to increase Council Tax to protect the most vulnerable members of society

·         The continued year-on-year increase in the cost of children social care placements emphasised the importance of continuing the drive to recruit foster carers

·         A member from outside the Cabinet queried how confident the Council was about maintaining its level of reserves for the next few years, how the level of debt would be managed, and the Council’s approach to staff voluntary redundancies and reduced working hours. The Leader of the Council responded that nationally reserves had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2200.

The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Education introduced the report and commented that a full OFSTED inspection of Local Authority Childrens Services had been undertaken with an outcome of Good for overall effectiveness of the services. She thanked everyone involved for their work in achieving this rating. Worcestershire Children First (WCF) had been launched for an initial term of five years from 1 October 2019 with the option for the Council to extend for a further five years from 1 October 2024, or for the contract to end at that date. Having consulted widely, it was considered appropriate to bring the service in-house, provided that the same focus remained on the welfare of children.

The Leader of the Council thanked all the staff involved in the success of Worcestershire Children First, in particular the Board members and Tina Russell who had been undertaking two separate roles. It was appropriate to review the WCF contract after 5 years and he considered that it was right to bring children services in-house.

Cabinet approved:

a)    Not to extend the contract with Worcestershire Children First beyond September 2024 when the contract is currently due to end after the initial five-year term and:

b)   Subject to this approval, authorises the Chief Executive and the Director of Childrens Services, in consultation with the relevant statutory officers, to take appropriate steps on behalf of the council to progress the recommended approach.