Minutes:
Councillor Hebb introduced the
report and stated that this was a ‘rear view’ look at
the Council’s finances in 2019/20, which was mostly in a
pre-COVID19 world. He stated that although the Council would be
placed under financial pressure because of COVID-19, the balanced
budget and reserves could help ease these pressures. He stated that
during 2019/20 reserves had been increased by 131%, and the Council
had received £4.7m in funding from central government to help
tackle COVID-19 pressures. He moved onto looking at the different
department’s budgets during 2019/20 and started by
congratulating the Adults, Housing and Health team for ensuring
their service balanced their budget with in-year mitigation. He
felt that this department experienced numerous pressures throughout
the year and thanked the team for their hard work in balancing the
budget. He stated that for the 2020/21 financial year, Adults,
Housing and Health would experience very significant pressures due
to COVID-19, particularly relating to the care market.
Councillor Hebb moved onto talk about the Housing General Fund,
which also covered the homelessness budget. He stated that although
the number of people presenting as homeless to the Council had
increased last year, the team had still managed to deliver all
aspects of the Homelessness Reduction Act, and had reviewed staff
structures to ensure the budget had been balanced, with a one-off
surplus injection.
Councillor Hebb congratulated the Children’s Services team
for also balancing their budget, as well as their
‘good’ OFSTED rating. He stated that cash from the
surplus had been invested in the team, and they had continued to
reform and make positive changes. He discussed the in-house foster
care arrangements, and mentioned that lots of work was ongoing to
bring the team back in-house. He felt that this would benefit
looked after children by offering stability, as well as reducing
the cost of the service. He stated that the team still had issues
surrounding attracting and retaining staff members, but the team
was working hard to find qualified people for vacant positions.
Councillor Hebb then thanked Councillors Maney and Watkins for
their hard work in balancing the budget for the Environment and
Highways team, as well as their recent success on the good KBT
scores. Councillor Hebb understood how variable the waste contracts
could be, but felt happy to see the balanced budget. He also
thanked the HR team for bringing their department in under budget,
and the Finance, Governance and Property team for balancing their
budget, even with significant spend on conditions surveys.
Councillor Hebb then discussed the Place directorate who had
balanced their budget with in-year mitigation. He stated that the
team had had to increase money spent on consultants due to the
Local Plan, as well as the lack of pantomime ticket sales at the
Thameside Theatre, which had meant they were unable to break even.
Councillor Hebb then discussed the Dedicated Schools Grant, which
had nationally been a problem regarding the High Needs Block, and
had also seen a spend increase in 2018/19. He stated that the
capital programme had spent roughly £101m on projects in
2019/20, such as the A13 widening scheme and the Stanford-le-Hope
Interchange project. He stated that the 2019/20 financial year had
only included two months of COVID-19 pressures, but that next year
would be more financially difficult because of the pandemic.
Councillor Halden stated that he had attended numerous overview and
scrutiny meetings, and had received lots of questions regarding the
reserves in social care. He confirmed that reserves would not be
depleted, but the Council were unsure of how the market would
change due to the pandemic, and the revenue position was always
being analysed. He stated that reserves could only provide a
one-off cash injection into a department, but felt that the
administration should work with the opposition during the upcoming
financial difficulties, so work could be scrutinised and options
discussed.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Noted that the General Fund net expenditure has been met within
the overall budget envelope and the General Fund Balance has been
maintained at £11.000m
2. Noted that the balance on the Housing Revenue Account Reserve
has been maintained at £2.175m
3. Noted that there was a total of £101.398m in capital
expenditure and some of the key projects has been set out in
section 5.
Supporting documents: