Agenda item

RESOLVED:

1.      That the Council’s response to the consultation paper (Annex 1 of the submitted report), be approved.

2.      That the Leader’s covering letter to the Department for Communities and Local Government (Annex 2 of the submitted report) be approved.

Reasons for Decisions

Surrey County Council (SCC) is facing a significant financial challenge in creating a balanced and sustainable budget for 2017/18 and beyond. The methodologies to distribute resources within the Local Government Finance Settlement will have a material impact on the council’s funding.

The Leader of the Council opened the item by welcoming the introduction of a technical consultation by Government. He drew attention to the challenging financial position that SCC was in as a result of the four year funding settlement proposed by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG). He highlighted that the four year funding settlement offered by DCLG would mean that SCC would not only lose its Revenue Services Grant from the Government but would be required to pay £17 million back to the Exchequer annually. This was compounded by a reduction in funding provided to Surrey through the Better Care Fund (BCF) which would fall to £1.5 million by 2019/2020. Furthermore, the 2% increase in the Social Care Precept allowed by Central Government would not be enough to cover the cost of the rising demand for Adult Social Care services in the County. The Leader of the Council also expressed concern about the local government funding formula used to determine the allocation of grant funding to local authorities which is based on deprivation and the ability to raise council tax rather than the numbers of older people, those with learning disabilities and children with special education needs. In order to address the funding gap faced by SCC, the Leader of the Council advised that he has proposed the following solutions to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government:

a)     Enable an additional ASC precept – to allow SCC to increase the precept to meet need – and not impose an arbitrary 2% cap.

b)     Review Improved Better Care Fund allocations so SCC receives the £25m it is entitled to

c)      Agreement that SCC’s Revenue Services Grant will not go negative in 2019/20

Other Cabinet Members made the following comments:

·         reducing Surrey’s share of the Better Care Fund allocation would have an adverse impact on acute hospital trusts whose costs would rise as a result of increased delays in discharging elderly and vulnerable patients from hospital. The CCGs should use their voice to put pressure on the Government not to reduce Surrey’s share of the Better Care Fund.

·         There would be serious implications for SCC if it did not secure a fairer funding settlement from DCLG and may require the Council to reset its budget.  It is vital to continue talking to the Secretary of State as well as Surrey’s MPs to ensure that the County Council receives fair funding from the Government.

·         It was unfair for residents to be funding services in other local authority areas to the tune of £17 million a year.

·         Decreased funding for SCC would lead to reductions in frontline services for residents

·         Surrey suffers from the preconception that it is affluent which masks the fact that poor people and communities still exist in the County and this is exacerbated by the high cost of living.

RESOLVED:

1.      That the Council’s response to the consultation paper (Annex 1 of the submitted report), be approved.

2.      That the Leader’s covering letter to the Department for Communities and Local Government (Annex 2 of the submitted report) be approved.

Reasons for Decisions

Surrey County Council (SCC) is facing a significant financial challenge in creating a balanced and sustainable budget for 2017/18 and beyond. The methodologies to distribute resources within the Local Government Finance Settlement will have a material impact on the council’s funding.