Issue - meetings

(a)       That the portfolio budget options be noted, with resilience levels for the Older People’s Services to be changed from Green to Amber; and

(b)       That the portfolio financial pressures be noted.

The Chief Executive introduced the report to set out the current financial forecast position for 2018/19 and seek views on Stage 1 of the Council Fund revenue budget proposals for the Social Services portfolio.  Proposals for other portfolios would be considered by the respective Overview & Scrutiny Committees prior to submission to Cabinet in November/December.  As part of the staged approach to the budget, Members had been advised that the £11.7m gap (currently projected) did not include any modelling for levels of Council Tax.

The Chief Executive did not wish to speculate on the national picture until the forthcoming announcement on the Provisional Local Government Settlement.  It was not known whether any cash reduction to funding would include any reductions in specific grants, and whether additional funding for social care would apply.  It was important to keep under review financial pressures for the portfolio.  Members were encouraged to scrutinise the resilience statements which showed the current state of risk with services.

The Chief Officer (Social Services) gave an overview of the resilience statements.  A number of service areas had been risk-assessed as ‘Amber’ and pressures in the care sector were affecting demand on services.  Increased referrals for safeguarding, and pressures on frontline teams, had never been greater.

The Finance Manager provided information on actions taken to reduce the specific portfolio pressures along with the impact of changes in legislation and eligibility criteria.  Efficiency options for the portfolio totalled £0.450m and included an increase in the domiciliary care charging cap which had been agreed annually with Welsh Government (WG).

In response to a question from the Chair, the Finance Manager advised that emerging pressures reported to Cabinet did not include social care pressures such as out of county placements (approximately £0.700m) which were subject to ongoing review.

Councillor Hilary McGuill questioned the accuracy of projected increases in inflation and was informed that these were based on the latest national intelligence.

In advising the budget timeline for 2018/19, the Finance Manager (Corporate Accounting & Systems) said that detailed analysis of the outcomes from the provisional settlement would determine outcomes linked to the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

The Chief Executive spoke about the need for forward planning to achieve many of the efficiency options.  On specific pressures, although the commitment by WG to protect the Supporting People grant was welcomed, a £0.387m pressure still remained for core services that were not eligible for grant support.  Three areas for negotiation were a strong case to be made for the increase in independent sector fees to be met nationally; revenue from the Intermediate Care Fund to be ring-fenced; and an exemption from the staged increase to domiciliary care charges to maximise income in 2018/19.

The Chief Officer reported that over £8m of savings had been achieved in the portfolio over the past five years - which equated to 13% of the budget - and that this impact was reflected in the risk ratings of those services.

The Chair questioned whether resilience levels for Older People’s Services should  ...  view the full minutes text for item 20