Agenda Item No. 7

The Vale of Glamorgan Council

 

Scrutiny Committee (Social Care and Health): 4th January 2016

 

Report of the Director of Social Services

 

Revenue and Capital Monitoring for the period 1st April to 30th  November 2015

 

Purpose of the Report

1. To bring to the attention of this Scrutiny Committee, the position in respect of revenue and capital expenditure for the period 1st April to 30th November 2015 regarding those revenue and capital budgets which form this Committee's remit.
2. To update Scrutiny Committee on the progress made in delivering the Social Services Budget Programme.

Recommendations

It is recommended that:-

1. The position with regard to the 2015/16 revenue and capital monitoring is noted.
2. The progress made in delivering the Social Services Budget Programme is noted and be referred to Cabinet for information.

Reasons for the Recommendations

1. That Members are aware of the position with regard to the 2015/16 revenue and capital monitoring relevant to this Scrutiny Committee. 
2. That Members are aware of the progress made to date on the Social Services Budget Programme. 

Background

3. On 16th November 2015, Cabinet approved the Amended Revenue and Capital Budgets for 2015/16 (minute no C2975 and C2974 respectively). Reports monitoring expenditure are brought to this Committee on a regular basis.
4. In setting the Social Services budget for 2015/16, the use of £2.075m from the Social Services Fund was also approved.

Relevant Issues and Options

Revenue

5. The current forecast for Social Services at year end is an overspend of £300k. In addition to increased demand for services, there is pressure on the Directorate to achieve its savings targets for 2015/16 onwards.
6. A table and graph setting out the variance between profiled budget and actual expenditure to date and the projected position at year end are attached at Appendix 1.
7. Children and Young People's Services - This service is anticipated to outturn £450k under budget at year end. The key issue for this service continues to be managing the demand for the Joint Budget for Residential Placements for Looked After Children, however, currently it is forecast to outturn with a £250k underspend at year end. Work has been ongoing to ensure that children are placed in the most appropriate and cost effective placements, however, it should be noted that due to the potential high cost of each placement, the outturn position could fluctuate with a change in the number of looked after children. There are potential underspends elsewhere in Children's Services of £65k on staffing budgets and £135k on alternative means of provision and accommodation costs required for the current cohort of children.  
8. Adult Services - This service is currently anticipated to outturn £750k over budget at year end which remains at the same level as projected last month. This overspend is due to a projected overspend on Community Care Packages of £950k as a result of continuing demand for services, particularly for frail older clients. There is continued pressure on this area of the service to manage demand, not only to avoid a further increase in the overspend, but also to reduce the overspend. Whilst every effort will be made to improve this position, it cannot be guaranteed that this position will not deteriorate further by year end as this budget is extremely volatile and there is a continued demand for services, which may increase over the winter months. The annual deferred income budget for 2015/16 has been set at £739k and as at 30th  November 2015 income received to date was £112k under-recovered. It is currently being projected that this budget will outturn at £100k over budget by year-end and this adverse variance is included as part of the projected overspend for care packages. It is anticipated that there will be underspends of £200k elsewhere in the budget which can offset part of this overspend with £165k from staffing, £20k from Transport and £15k from premises.

Capital

9. Appendix 2 details financial progress on the Capital Programme as at 30th  November 2015.
10. Flying Start Grant - Emergency Powers have been used to approve the inclusion into the 2015/16 Capital Programme of a £9.5k grant from Welsh Government for works at the Flying Start Butterflies Playgroup.  The works will consist of significant refurbishment to the toilets and food preparation areas. 
11. Appendix 3 provides non-financial information on capital construction schemes.
12. For all schemes where it is evident that the full year's budget will not be spent during the year, the relevant officers are required to provide an explanation for the shortfall and this shall be taken to the earliest available Cabinet.

2015/16 Budget Programme

13. The Directorate is currently required to find savings totalling £3.568m by the end of 2019/20 and this target is analysed by year in the following table. The surplus shown and the savings brought forward figures are as a result of the foster carer recruitment project, which is being developed in addition to the required savings targets. This surplus can be used to mitigate any increase in savings to be found in future years.

Year	Savings Required £000	Savings Identified £000	In Year Surplus/ (Shortfall) £000	Cumulative Surplus/ (Shortfall) £000
Savings Brought Forward		34	34	34
2015/16	1,465	1,541	76	110
2016/17	1,133	1,209	76	186
2017/18	320	320	0	186
2018/19	320	320	0	186
2019/20	330	330	0	186
TOTAL	3,568	3,754

14. Appendix 4 provides an update on the individual areas of saving.
15. In order to respond to the level of savings required as a result of the projected reductions in funding from Welsh Government, the Council has instigated its Reshaping Services change programme. A report to Cabinet on 26th January 2015, acknowledged that the Social Services Directorate already has two major initiatives underway - the Collaborative Working Programme and the Budget Programme. These programmes already contain projects which are progressing the opportunities identified as part of the Reshaping Services Programme. The Reshaping Services logo has been shown against specific projects, included in Appendix 4, which have a specific alignment with the objectives of the Reshaping Services strategy. The whole of the Social Services Budget Programme will be reporting into the Reshaping Services governance arrangements.
16. The level of savings required to be made by the Directorate should be appreciated in light of a variety of increasing cost pressures facing the service in future years. The Social Services and Wellbeing (Wales) Act 2014 comes into effect from 1st April 2016 and sets a whole range of new challenges and service user entitlements. With no additional resources from the Welsh Government, apart from the transitional/ transformational funding, there will be increased financial pressure on the service. In addition, the introduction of the National Living Wage, also from 1st April 2016, will have a major impact on the commissioning of domiciliary care at a time when this service is under severe pressure from increased demand. Further work will be undertaken between now and the end of this financial year to assess the full impact of these and other financial pressures on the budget.
17. However, the Social Services Directorate remains committed to achieving a balanced budget. The corporate programme board and project teams overseeing the plan will continue to monitor and ensure its delivery. As in previous years, ongoing progress updates will to be reported to Committee as part of the overall financial monitoring report for the Directorate.

Resource Implications (Financial and Employment)

18. As detailed in the body of the report. Changes in future service provision may have an impact upon staffing levels and due consideration will be given to the Council's employment policies and procedures.

Sustainability and Climate Change Implications

19. There are no direct implications arising from this report.

Legal Implications (to Include Human Rights Implications)

20. There are no legal implications.

Crime and Disorder Implications

21. There are no crime and disorder implications.

Equal Opportunities Implications (to include Welsh Language issues)

22. There are no equal opportunity implications.

Corporate/Service Objectives

23. Effective monitoring assists in the provision of accurate and timely information to officers and Members and, in particular, allows services to better manage their resources.

Policy Framework and Budget

24. The report is in accordance with the Policy Framework and Budget.

Consultation (including Ward Member Consultation)

25. The appropriate Chief Officer has been consulted. This report does not require Ward Member consultation.

Background Papers

None

Contact Officer

Carolyn Michael (Operational Manager - Accountancy) (01446 709778)

Officers Consulted

Heads of Services, Social Services

Responsible Officer

Phil Evans, Director of Social Services