Issue - meetings

Purpose of report: To provide details of the budget for scrutiny prior to Cabinet and Council meetings.

Witnesses:

Julie Iles, Cabinet Member for All-Age Learning

Mary Lewis, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families

Rachel Wigley, Director of Financial Insight

Daniel Peattie, Strategic Finance Business Partner

Dave Hill, Executive Director for Children, Families, Lifelong Learning and Culture

Key points raised during the discussion:

Peter Martin declared a personal interest – grandchild applying for an Education, Health & Care Plan (EHCP) in Surrey.

1. The Director of Financial Insight gave an overview of the council’s budgetary position and strategy. They stated the budget was in the consultation phase and that comments and observations from each of the Select Committees would be communicated back to the Resources and Performance Select Committee ahead of Cabinet. Cabinet would then decide whether to recommend the budget to council on February 42020. The budget was underpinned by the concept of financial envelopes for each directorate. Service strategies and proposals had been developed to ensure costs were contained within these financial envelopes.

[Amanda Boote arrived at the meeting at 10.08]

2.    The Director stated that the financial strategy set out how resources would be directed to deliver on both the organisation strategy and the transformation and ambitions of the council. Significant progress had been made as an organisation from financial recovery towards financial stability, whilst continuing the journey of improvement. The Director stated that two years previously the council had been relying on reserves to balance the budget however, the budget for 2020/21 would be based on sustainability and investment. The Transformation Programme would continue to deliver efficiencies, providing offset against continuing demand for services. For the council’s picture as a whole, in terms of revenue, there was £78m worth of demand pressure from services which were partly offset by £38m in proposed efficiencies. Therefore, the council’s net budget increased from £928m to £968m in 20/21. The £40m increase was from additional funding from central government. The Capital Programme proposed over the coming years was £1.4bn. The Director highlighted that the cost of borrowing had been included in the council’s budget.

[Peter Martin arrived at the meeting 10.10]

3. The Strategic Finance Business Partner highlighted placements, Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND), the High Needs Block (HNB) and transport as being key areas of financial risk for the directorate. The number of children with SEND being transported by the council had been increasing year on year as was the use of taxis, both of which had exerted great financial pressure on the council. Education had previously been picking up costs that they were not statutorily required to. Members were informed that one of the main areas of commissioning activity over the next few months would be Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), which would be out for tender imminently.

[Yvonna Lay arrived at the meeting at 10.20]

4. The Strategic Finance Business Partner stated that the Directorate’s 2020/1 budget for HNB is a £24 million budgeted overspend in SEND including £13m of additional funding and requiring efficiencies of £14m to manage demand pressures and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5