Agenda item

(a)       That the Community and Enterprise Business Plans cost pressures and proposed efficiencies for 2017/18 be noted; and

(b)       That the Committee accepts the evidence presented, that the Council cannot go beyond the current business plans without putting services at risk.

The Chief Executive introduced the report which provided an update on the financial forecast for the 2017/18 financial year together with the budget pressures and the proposed efficiencies for the Community and Enterprise portfolio in the third and final year of the current business planning cycle.

The Chief Executive provided background information and context.  He  referred to a forecast ‘gap’ of £14.4M between anticipated income and cost pressures, and the current working ‘gap’ of £8.1M between the forecast ‘gap’ and combined total of working corporate and service portfolio efficiency proposals of £6.3M.  He explained that the Authority was in a position where it had exhausted all the opportunities for further savings through organisational change and efficiencies and was now seeking to commence negotiation at a national level to outline the concern that the Authority could not provide the statutory services within its budget allocation.

The Chief Executive invited the Chief Officer (Community and Enterprise) to give a presentation on the 2017/18 Council Fund Budget pressures and efficiencies for the Community and Enterprise portfolio.  The Chief Officer advised that the purpose of the presentation was to explain the proposals for the Community and Enterprise portfolio and the ongoing work on Community and Enterprise Financial Planning and Stewardship.  The main points of the presentation were:

·         Local context

·         Current plans

·         Community & Enterprise - Business plan efficiencies and pressures

o   Enterprise, Regeneration and Strategic Housing - Business plan efficiencies 2017/18 and resilience statement

·         Customer Business Plan 

o   Revenues service efficiencies 2017/18, and resilience statement

o   Benefits Service efficiencies 2017/18, and resilience statement

o   Benefits cost pressure

o   Customer Services efficiencies 2017/18, and resilience statement

The Chair thanked the Chief Executive and the Chief Officer for their presentation and invited Members to raise questions.

Councillor Ian Dunbar referred to the provision of bed and breakfast accommodation for homeless people and asked what alternatives had been considered to reduce the cost.  He also commented on the scope to achieve savings through collaborative working with neighbouring councils and asked if  collaboration with services was currently working between Flintshire and other local authorities.  The Service Manager - Customer Support advised that property leasing was being extended to minimise bed and breakfast but there was concern about the lack of affordable accommodation for under 35s.  The Chief Officer reported on the collaborative work which was undertaken with Denbighshire County Council and said consideration was also being given to collaboration with other larger projects and cited revenue services and benefits services as examples.  The Chief Executive referred to discussion at national and regional level concerning what could be done on a combined authority level and commented that although it was complex and took time it generally worked well.

In response to a question from Cllr Rosetta Dolphin around whether the Council’s own Bailiff Service could be used to address law enforcement matters concerning traveller communities, the Service Manager - Housing Programmes agreed to explore this further following the meeting.

In response to the concerns expressed by Councillor David Healey concerning the ‘risk’ to provision of services, the Chief Executive reiterated the need for a strong evidenced case to be put forward for engagement with the Welsh Government.

Councillor Paul Cunningham raised a query concerning the proposed changes to the Welfare Rights Team.  The Service Manager - Customer Support agreed to provide the Committee with an update report on the commissioning of Citizen’s Advice for Welfare Rights services.  Councillor Cunningham commented on the need for the Authority to be mindful of the welfare of its employees who may have taken on additional workloads as a result of a reduced workforce.  Councillor Hilary Isherwood sought assurance that those people who required a home visit because they were not able to visit the Citizen’s Advice in person would still be able to receive support from a member of the staff visiting them at home.

During discussion, the Chief Officer and Revenues Manager responded to the questions raised by the Chair concerning the Universal Credit payment and the single person discount benefit for Council tax.

RESOLVED:

 (a)      That the Community and Enterprise Business Plans cost pressures and proposed efficiencies for 2017/18 be noted; and

(b)       That the Committee accepts the evidence presented, that the Council cannot go beyond the current business plans without putting services at risk.