Agenda item

The Cabinet considered the 2020/21 Budget and medium-term financial plan update 2020-22. The details were set out in the report and its appendices.

The Leader introduced the report and explained that since Cabinet in December, more information had been received about the Social Care Grant and income had been increased more than expected due to gaining £0.9 million Social Care Grant and £1.3million extra from Council Tax. These increases would mean that money could be added to reserves rather than having to use a small amount of them to cover services. Investment would be made in adults and children’s social care and the priority would be supporting the most vulnerable. Large capital investments would be made in improving roads and pavements and reducing congestion. Consultations had taken place with Parishes, Unions and Scrutiny. He pointed out that in paragraph 3.4 the date of 2021/22 should in fact read ‘in future years’.

During the discussion the following points were made:

·       This budget was seen as great for adult social care as the government had recognised the pressure it was under and allocated more money

·       Despite the increase in the Social Care Grant it was expected that there would be a small budget deficit overall

·       The business rates pilot, with the common pool with the six District Councils and Hereford and Worcestershire Fire Brigade, was welcomed

·       Cabinet Members were pleased that money would be made available for flood mitigation, street lighting, the planting of 150,000 extra trees as well as the continued investment in Children’s Safeguarding

·       It was felt that the investment in highways was one of the highest that highways had ever had. Projects to ease congestion were going on around the County and there would be a massive increase in funding for roads and footways. The bus subsidy would also be increased by over 10% and the overall the bus network was being extended

·       In general, the investment in highways helped with the Council Priority of being Open for Business

·       It was mentioned that caution was required around the amount of Public Health Ring Fenced Grant as the announcement of the final settlement amount had been delayed. If the amount of the grant was increased the extra money could be used for prevention and Get Safe

·       The amount for Home to School Transport including for Special Educational Needs transport was welcomed along with the capital amount being used to improved schools – although it was recognised that even more money could be used in that area

·       Cabinet Members were pleased that the increase in Council Tax had been kept below inflation

·       The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Performance Board (OSPB) thanked Michael Hudson and the Directors who attended Scrutiny meetings for their co-operation and advice. He stated that there had been some frustration trying to reconcile the different information available in December to that available afterwards but explained that the Board had met the previous day and found the proposed budget was economically and legally sound. In future OSPB wished to take a greater part in pre-policy work and in order to be able to do that they supported the continued funding of a 30-hour scrutiny officer post

·       The Vice Chairman of the OSPB acknowledged that there had been an improvement in the information available for scrutiny and believed that in future there should be increased scrutiny of pre-policy information. She had one query: Cabinet Members had mentioned an increase in spending on flooding and development control but the information they had seen showed a decrease in funding in those areas

·       The Leader responded that the issue of the 30-hour scrutiny officer post would be looked at as part of the overall Council re-design and that it would be a matter for the individual Directors. He believed the query about funding was due to complexities caused by teams and areas of responsibilities moving between directorates

·       A Member outside the Cabinet wondered if it would be possible to use more capital for public transport and was concerned that Positive Activities was now within Public Health rather than within the Children’s Directorate

·       The Chairman of the Children’s and Families Scrutiny Panel thanked Worcestershire Children’s First and the Director of CoaCh for the information that they had provided. She felt that Positive Activities could make a difference to young people involved in drugs if £100,000 could be used from the Public Health Ring Fenced Grant. The Cabinet Member for Health and Well-being mentioned a group going into schools to perform a play educating pupils about drugs and the Community Safety Partnership Board were making a bid to help deliver such activities in future

·       The Leader of the Labour Group queried why the reserves that were now not required due to the increase in income, could not be used in areas where there had been cuts in previous years. He also felt that the replacement of the Scrutiny Officer was important. The Leader responded that as there was a chance that there would be an overspend at the end of the financial year, and as social care was a demand led service, then reserves needed to be kept in case they were required in future

·       The Cabinet Member for Adult Services explained that the budget position in Adult Services was still flexible, so it was sensible to have a reserve in case it was needed. He thanked the Overview and Scrutiny Panel for their comments and welcomed their ideas for income generation. He did not agree with their comments that the financial situation was ‘not of our making and that fairer funding was required’, as the Government had given more for the social care precept as well as for potholes. He felt Worcestershire was in a strong position with Council Tax, and business rates. He also disputed that there had been a decrease in the level of services, although savings had been needed to cope with demand. Overall, he conceded it had been a difficult year as there had been a delay in the announcement regarding settlements

·       The Leader confirmed that the fairer funding review was still awaited so it was not yet known what resources would be available for the next three years.

RESOLVED to recommend to Full Council that:

(a)  the budget requirement for 2020/21 be approved at £346.246 million as set out at Appendix 1B of the report, having regard to the proposed Transformation and Reforms programme set out in Appendix 1C of the report;

(b)  the Council Tax Band D equivalent for 2020/21 be set at £1,311.05 which includes £116.04 relating to the ring-fenced Adult Social Care precept, and the Council Tax Requirement be set at £279.130 million, which will increase the Council Tax Precept by 3.99% in relation to two parts:

·       1.99% to provide financial support for the delivery of outcomes in line with the Corporate Plan ‘Shaping Worcestershire's Future’ and the priorities identified by the public and business community

·       2.00% Adult Social Care Precept ring-fenced for Adult Social Care services in order to contribute to existing cost pressures due to Worcestershire's ageing population;

(c)  the Capital Strategy 2020-23 and Capital Programme of £338.594 million be approved as set out at Appendix 1D and 1E and section 9 of the report;

(d)  the earmarked reserves schedule as set out at Appendix 2 to the report be approved;

(e)  the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators set out at Appendix 4 to the report be approved; and

(f)    the Council’s Pay Policy Statement set out at Appendix 5 to the report be approved.

RESOLVED that Cabinet agreed to:

(a) give delegated authority to the Leader of the Council to recommend to Full Council, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer, any further adjustments to the revenue cash limits as a result of Central Government confirming the final Local Government Finance Settlement, Council Tax and Business Rates Income, and associated Specific Grants and income for 2020/21; and

(b) authorise the Strategic Director for People and the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with relevant Cabinet Members with Responsibilities, to approve the agreement for the use of resources between the Council and the Clinical Commissioning Groups under Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006 (the Section 75 Agreement) for 2020/21.