An apology for absence was received from Penny Burnside (Co-optee).

The Executive Head of Finance gave a brief presentation to the Board outlining the 2012/13 Budget. The Board heard the context of the 2012/2012 Budget and heard how the Comprehensive Spending Review (2010) carried a headline of 28% reduction in funding, which is an £11m budget gap for the Authority in 2012/13. The Governments autumn statement highlighted ongoing savings were essential throughout the coming financial years 2013/ 2014 and 2014/ 2015 and that the Board should take this into consideration when making decisions and suggested that the Board may wish to put forward alternatives if they do not agree with the savings proposed.

The Executive Head reminded the Board that the elected Mayor announced provisional spending targets at Full Council on 8 December 2011 which outlined the proposed net budget of £122m. Services across the Authority have worked to identify savings (consisting of a mixture of efficiency savings, income generation opportunities and cuts) required to meet the target. The Council’s has carried out public budget consultation which started in September 2011.

The Board were advised that the final settlement is to be confirmed at the end of January by Central Government. With the final Budget Proposals presented to Full Council in February.

The Board questioned how inflation had been applied through the budget setting process and were advised by the Executive Head of Finance that Inflation was kept high on items such as gas, electricity and fuel and kept low on items such as stationary. The Board were advised a further £500,000 of fundingcould be lost in relation to Academy Schools, but this was subject to confirmation from Government which is expected in the next few weeks.

The Board raised concerns around whether the right level of paperwork had been issued in preparation for the scrutiny of the budget proposals 2012/2013. The Board were advised that much of the information relating to business units, business plans and their targets are available on the performance management system SPAR- which all councillors have access to and that the information available on this system may assist with the scrutiny of the budget proposals. The Board were advised that the amount of paperwork issued for the process of scrutinising the budget proposals had attempted to be reduced, without hindering the process, with a view of looking to keep print and paper costs to a minimum. 

The Board discussed the potential benefit of budget building and planning over a number of years rather than the current approach which concentrates on one year at a time.

Resolved:

1)    The current one year approach to budget building and planning for future financial years was discussed - recommending that the Councils give consideration to using 3 or even 4 year Business Plans, to include strategic and operational information.

2)    That for future Overview & Scrutiny meetings consideration should be given that more financial information should be provided, including business plans (where available).

The Board requested details of how many Councillors can access the system SPAR and whether  ...  view the full minutes text for item 466a

To discuss the Revenue Budget 2012/13 Provisional Spending Targets for Children, Schools and Families

The Executive Lead for Children’s, Schools and Families introduced the first agenda item, Children, Schools and Families, and thanked the director of Children’s Services and the wider Children’s Services team for their hard work. Councillor Lewis explained that Children’s Services faced a complex and difficult portfolio of work following a negative inspection and high profile national cases such as ‘Baby P’. The recent “Children’s Service Improvement Plan” is being embedded within Children’s Services and this has included a restructure with strong emphasis being placed on Early Intervention & Safeguarding. The Board that around 290 children are currently on child protection plans and that Children’s Services has a predicted overspend of around £1.9 million this year. The Board were advised that this is a historical over spend and that an additional figure of £1 million has been built into the base budget. The Board heard how savings identified in Children’s Services tried to focus on ‘doing things differently’ without cutting front line service, with the emphasis on putting money into providing services for the most vulnerable children in the Bay.

The Board questioned whether the savings required form 1^st April 2012 can be achieved. The Board were advised by the Director of Children’s Services that he was confident that the savings could be achieved and that the departments within Children’s Services will be working in different ways, and in partnership with others now that the restructure has taken place. The Board were advised that the new “Parkfield” building in Paignton will help to generate income and that a business plan is currently being prepared. 

In response to questioning the Board were advised that budget had been built around the number of children looked after, which currently stands at 251 although the Board were advised of the difficulties of mapping this figure and not knowing just exactly how many children will need care, as the number will change throughout the year. The Director of Children’s Services acknowledged previous promises made to the Board in relation the Children’s Services budget and added that the budget this year is more realistic. He continued to add that similar challenges are likely to be faced in the next financial year (2013/2014).

The Board questioned whether there are any implementation costs associated with the proposals as there are none outlined in the budget papers. The Board were advised that the only additional costs not shown related to redundancy costs, which are usually costed centrally.

The Board were advised that an additional £75k funding to be used to work with troubled families would shortly be made available to the Council, and that this was not recorded in the budget information provided as is a brand new funding stream, and therefore an additional £75k.

The Board asked: In relation to Youth Service savings how will the grant for community and voluntary sector groups be administered and are there any cost the council of administering this? The Board were advised that the Youth Service is speaking to the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 467.