Agenda item

That the report be noted.

The Corporate Finance Manager introduced a report to provide Members with Revenue Budget Monitoring 2012/13 (Month 11) information for the Council Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) due for submission to Cabinet on 21 May 2013.

It was reported that the projected year end position, as estimated at Month 11, was a net underspend of £2.334m on the Council Fund and a projected net underspend of £0.574m on the HRA.  For Council Fund, the table in 3.01 showed a reduced overspend of £0.590m in Lifelong Learning, which was offset by underspends in other directorates, most notably of £2.564m in Community Services.  Reasons for all the movements from month 10 were detailed in Appendix 1.  The report also included various requests for carrying forward funding as detailed in 3.16 - 3.21 and an update on non-standard inflation which remained unchanged from the previous month.

The Corporate Finance Manager confirmed that the report now included estimates for the additional costs arising from the impact of the severe weather period earlier in the year totalling £1.2m.  The estimate included actual costs arising when the incident occurred (falling in 2012/13) of £0.629m and other estimated costs in relation to the recovery period (majority falling in 2013/14) of £0.621m.

It was reported that the in-year costs had been dealt with in 2 ways.  Firstly, an amount of £0.245m had been drawn down from the Winter Maintenance reserve and secondly it was recommended that the remainder be met from contingency reserves.  Consideration would need to be given on whether to reinstate the Winter Maintenance reserves in full or in part when the final outturn was known.  Costs relating to the recovery period would be approved for the next financial year and officers were exploring the possibility of Welsh Government (WG) support via the Emergency Financial Assistance Scheme (EFAS), however a threshold of £487K would apply to Flintshire for 2012/13.

Whilst costs had been reported for the operational phase of dealing with the impact of severe weather, the Chief Executive spoke of plans for the recovery phase which principally involved repairs to roads.  An application had been made for discretionary support under EFAS and in view of the severity of the weather conditions and arising impact, it was hoped that there would be a positive outcome with costs reinstated into the budget.

On the request for carry forward in Corporate Services to fund improved electronic communications with Members, Councillor C.S. Carver asked if an outcome had already been agreed as a specific figure of £80K was mentioned.  The Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance said that the amount quoted related to the business case which would provide savings to the Council and that this had been shared with Group Leaders.  Responses to questions raised would be brought back to the next meeting with Group Leaders on 6 June 2013 where full support would be required on the business case in order to move forward.  The Head of ICT & Customer Services said that the £80K represented advance investment required for the procurement of hardware, software and support which, as discussed at the Group Leaders’ meeting, would involve iPads.  He added that there would be payback in the first year.  The Chief Executive said that the request for carry forward was not intended to assume a particular outcome.  The Cabinet Member for Corporate Management spoke of the need to demonstrate best use of information technology and modernisation combined with savings.

Councillor P.G. Heesom welcomed the increased level of underspend in Community Services but questioned the reason for this.  He raised concerns about healthcare pressures and asked about the Council’s approach in dealing with this.  The Chief Executive said that a number of increases in underspend were due to changes in practices and management.  He went on to speak of major pressures in social care on UK level which were not financial sustainable and would require greater flexibility by all.  On health care, regional reviews were ongoing which would impact on services.  There was an awareness of changes in the NHS and the medium term future was an issue.

The Leader agreed that a valid point had been made by Councillor Heesom and said that critical work on the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) would take into account any impact from new legislation such as the Social Care Bill.

Councillor Heesom requested early debate on the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to ascertain whether this was the best toolkit to address the pressures faced.  On Social Care, the Chief Executive spoke of positive changes such as success with commissioning on a regional level and the intention for the MTFP to be smarter to improve services.  The Cabinet Member for Corporate Management made reference to the Betsi Cadwaladr public meeting at which a number of Members had raised concerns at changes.  He spoke of the importance of sustaining a level of underspend to offset any increase in costs, for example, from out of county placements.

Councillor A. Woolley remarked on the efforts of the Occupational Therapy team to cope with an increased demand for services and called for additional resources in that area.  The Chief Executive gave reassurance that professional colleagues in Social Care had determined resources needed, which included Occupational Therapists at the core of the team.

Whilst reflecting on the current underspend position in Community Services, Councillor R.G. Hampson referred to proposals to withdraw free transport for people with learning disabilities and pensioners attending day centres.  The Leader said that a cautious approach had been taken in preparing the Council for the challenges ahead, particularly in light of the Chancellor’s recent announcement on cuts to the WG budget which would have implications for Councils.  There was an aspiration to reinstate some of these services, however discussion on the MTFS would need to take into account all projections and pressures.  The Chief Executive understood the sensitive nature of the issue but pointed out that the budget would currently be in deficit if difficult choices had not been made in the previous budget.

Councillor W.P. Shotton praised the work carried out by Streetscene during the severe weather and was hopeful of a positive outcome from WG in the application for costs for the recovery phase, mindful that bids had also been submitted by Wrexham and Denbighshire.

On the variances for Waste Disposal and Waste Collection shown in Appendix 2, Councillor Heesom felt that the explanation provided was not satisfactory.  He also raised concerns about the Youth Service and asked if this could be analysed in more detail.  The Leader referred to previous debate and Members’ concerns about the Leisure service and said that a scoping report was awaited.  He went on to say that questions would need to be asked as to the cost of Leisure to the Authority and that this was a non-discretionary service which was important to communities and Members.  In response to the query on Waste, the Chief Executive said that further information could be sought from officers outside the meeting.

RESOLVED:

That the report be noted.