Agenda item

The Chief Financial Officer presented a summary of the 2022/23 draft budget, which highlighted that the proposals included pressures of £44.2m.  Of particular interest was £6.2m of pay inflation, £4m of contract inflation and £28.2m of net service demand.  Within the remit of the Panel, £0.4m was specifically due to service demand within the Directorate of Commercial and Change and Chief Executive’s Unit.  To achieve a balanced budget, the £44.2m pressures were to be funded mainly through Council Tax and Adult Social Care Levy, Settlement Grant and Directorate and Corporate efficiencies.

During the discussion on pressures and efficiencies related to the remit of the Panel, the following points were noted:

Corporate Areas

·                         Investment of £200k in Information Communication Technology (ICT) was required to support key systems affecting Adult and Children’s services and £100k investment for Human Resources (HR) support of the Social Work Academy

·                         To find further service efficiencies, Senior Leaders were challenging Officers on non-essential spend and promoting good housekeeping

·                         It was anticipated that demand and inflation would be mitigated by service efficiencies, including contract savings.  One example was given whereby discussions with the NHS were taking place in relation to discharge into social care

·                         £5.1m of corporate savings related to the continuation of the Organisational Design target set in 2020/21, including the way in which the Council worked were also included

·                         The Panel was concerned about the Council’s proposal for £6.2m for pay inflation given that a resolution on the national pay award had not yet been reached.  Alongside this, recruitment continued to be a concern, especially in specialist roles such as Finance, HR and ICT.  It was reported that London authorities had advertised roles based on remote working, yet included salary based on London weighting.  The Panel was supportive of the Cabinet Member lobbying Government about this concern

·                         The Panel was aware that the Cabinet Member encouraged succession planning across the organisation, including the expansion of Apprenticeship schemes

·                         When asked whether the Council was proactive in bid writing and seeking grants, it was reported that there was a good record of activity, however the Strategic Director acknowledged that more could always be done

·                         There was general concern about the Government funding review, at this stage, parts of the allocation were based upon data going as far back as 2001, and thus any review of this would bring both opportunities but also associated risks.  Likewise, there was concern about the White Paper on Adult Social Care, which proposed that residents who were self-funders would be able to access Local Authority negotiated rates, likely resulting in market rates for care levelling out.

Communities (budget within the People Directorate, remit of the Panel)

·                    Proposals included a £2m investment into the Here2Help scheme

·                    Additional £1m demand relating to pay inflation and general inflation

·                    The savings of £0.9m are as a result of income generation and the continuation of the library strategy e.g. ‘open libraries’ and partner agencies utilising buildings. Also, library use was changing and evolving following the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When asked about the resilience of the draft Budget the Chief Financial Officer was clear that he had a duty to present a robust and deliverable draft Budget and was confident that there should be no surprises due to the rigour of monitoring throughout the year.

The Cabinet Member supported the draft Budget and the Panel agreed with the proposals put forward.