Issue - meetings

(a)       That the Committee notes the updated budget forecast for the Council as the basis for setting a legal and balanced budget for 2019/20;

(b)       That the Committee notes the total funding uplift which is proposed for schools in 2019/20;

(c)       That the Committee notes that this year the Council will be funding 1% of the teachers’ pay award with schools expected to disappointedly absorb the balance of the cost;

(d)       That the Committee notes that funding proposed for 2019/20 does not include any allowance for the increase in teachers’ pension costs or the teachers’ pay award from September 2019; and

(e)       That the Committee objects to the process of national awarded pay awards not being fully funded by Governments.

The Chief Officer (Education & Youth) presented a report on the latest Education funding position in approaching the closing stage of the budget-setting process for 2019/20.  Whilst there had been some improvement on the original forecast, the Local Government Final Settlement remained inadequate to meet the funding requirements of the Council.

The Finance Manager explained that many Education services were reliant on grant funding which was being eroded year on year.  An extensive review of budgets had identified that there was no scope for further efficiencies beyond those detailed in the report - without significant risk to the resilience of Council services and school standards.  With additional funding from Welsh Government (WG) towards the cost of implementing the national pay award for 2019/20, the Council had made provision for an uplift in base funding to meet 1% as a minimum with schools expected to absorb the remaining balance.  A further cost pressure to schools was expected in September 2019 when a further pay award was due.  In addition, there was no information at this stage as to whether WG would receive supplementary funding to support the increase in teachers’ pensions which posed a further estimated risk of over £2m.

During the budget process, the risk around the impact to services and standards had been raised with Ministers.  There had been extensive engagement with schools and partners on shared responsibilities and this open dialogue had been well received.

Councillor Shotton recalled discussion at the County Council meeting earlier in the week which highlighted the impact of cost pressures on services.  Whilst the increases in pay awards for teachers and non-teaching staff were welcomed, these pressures had not been fully recognised by the UK Government or WG.  To assist schools with these significant in-year cost pressures, a 2.47% uplift to the schools delegated budget was being recommended to County Council.  On the increase in teachers’ pensions, Councillor Shotton suggested that Members may wish to consider engaging with the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA) to seek assurances through the UK Treasury that funding would be forthcoming.

Councillor Heesom welcomed the update in advance of the overall budget discussion at County Council on 19 February.  He commented on the importance of funding to support sixth form provision in the County.  The Chief Officer and Finance Manager advised that there was no information at this stage from WG on grant funding for Post-16 education in 2019/20 and that Education Improvement Grant funding would be allocated through the regional GwE service.  In attending national and regional meetings, officers were continuing to highlight the importance of timely information on funding to enable the Council and schools to plan effectively.

David Hÿtch said that the national pay award imposed by the UK Government did not help with recruitment and retention at schools which was a UK-wide problem.  He welcomed the increase but expressed concerns about the capacity of schools to absorb additional cost pressures, particularly due to the number of secondary schools already in a deficit position.  The point  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36