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Agenda item

Budget Monitoring Report Month 7 - Report for quarterly scrutiny.

Minutes:

The committee were presented with a report on the revenue and capital outturn position at month 7 which outlined capital slippages and the use of reserves to assist the revenue budgetary position.  Officers drew attention to paragraph 2.21 which reported a net revenue forecast of £3.99m deficit and the adjustments to return the budget to a balanced position prior to the end of March 2020. 

 

Officers presented the revenue position and the individual positions for each service area outlined in paragraph 3.2. Members were advised that the key areas of concern are social care for both adults and children’s services.  Members discussed the reasons with the chief officer who explained that services for younger adults with disabilities had contributed toward the budgetary pressure and that the budget position for service area is relatively volatile. She explained that whilst the service area is very committed to supporting young people who need independency through supported living, each case can significantly affect the financial expenditure of the service.

 

Officers drew attention to paragraphs 3.5 and 3.7 and explained the flexible use of capital receipts to offset some pressure in the revenue budget and meet the cost expenditure associated with service reform.  Whilst the use of capital receipts has been welcomed, the committee were advised that this does not eradicate the position for future years and is not regarded as a sustainable budgetary approach.

 

Members heard that the council is anticipating one-off windfalls in respect of VAT recovery from HMRCfrom the implementation of Ealing ruling, an in-year grant contribution from Welsh Government for teacher’s pay costs and some additional funds arising from the capitalisation directive. 

 

Challenge:

 

·           Do we need to spend Integrated Care Fund monies within a specified timescale for the Crick Road redevelopment, because if so, we are concerned about the delays in progress?

We need to spend the ICF monies by the end of next year and we have had some substantial delays which is typical with large capital schemes, but we should be able to spend the ICF monies and the council funding is not time limited. 

 

·           I am concerned about the impact on our own budgets of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) reducing the funding for continuing health care, particularly in terms of support for people with learning disabilities. Is there an opportunity to look at pooling budgets, as I feel the health board needs to consider this given that the act has been in place for 6 years.

We do have a major issue with learning disabilities and we feel that the focus should be on the individual and how as a partnership we can best support them. In terms of pooling budgets, it’s very complex legally, but there is a willingness to look at this.  Officers sit on the Gwent Adult Safeguarding Board and we have had discussions about this and we will continue to express our desire to look at this from a regional perspective, but we do acknowledge it’s difficult and there is a long way to go, but discussions are starting.

 

·         We understand that there are pressures around commissioning in terms of staff vacancies. Are we doing any regional work in terms of commissioning to address the issue?

We are undertaking regional work with the Transformation Team utilising ICF monies, particularly looking at commissioning in the care sector and how we can address the issues associated with recruitment in the care sector, through offering incentives, training and help with registration. We are experiencing particular issues with recruitment in Monmouthshire and there are a variety of reasons, so the ICF monies we have been specifically allocated is assisting us to address this.  Other authorities have different problems, such as a shortage of Occupational Therapists and Reablement staff, which can cause ‘delayed transfers of care’.  Whilst there is a national shortage of Occupational Therapists, we have not had problems recruiting other disciplines.  

 

Outcome and Chair’s Conclusion:

 

The committee notes the pressures on the social care and health budget, some of which are assisted by grants, others assisted by the use of capital receipts. We do not feel that this is a sustainable long term budgetary approach, given the underlying budget deficit and we would have concern in taking money out of this budget when we know there are such pressures. We are reassured that the move from quarterly to monthly budget monitoring is offering officers and the executive a much earlier insight into ‘cause and effect’ so that the situation can be managed as effectively as possible.  The next report on the budget saving proposals will enable us to explore mitigations further.

 

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