Agenda item

The Commission considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources which provided an update on the 2018/19 revenue budget and capital programme monitoring position.  A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 8’ is filed with these minutes.

Arising from discussion the following points were raised:-

    (i)          The pressure within the High Needs Block for school funding was a national issue.  There were limited opportunities to move funding from the Dedicated Schools Grant to the High Needs Block as this was capped at 0.5% and required the agreement of the Schools Funding Forum.  Locally, the pressures were being managed through increasing the facilities in the county to keep children in mainstream schools and reduce the reliance on expensive out of county placements.  The Special Educational Needs (SEN) Strategy was currently being revisited in support of this work; as a ‘do nothing’ scenario would result in a £15 million overspend in four years’ time.  Officers in Children and Family Services were also being asked to consider the opportunities for capital investment to increase SEN placement.

   (ii)          It was confirmed that staff employed on Teachers’ terms and conditions worked in specialist roles in Children and Family Services.  Their jobs contained an element of teaching which enabled them to be employed in this way.

  (iii)          Wage pressures were currently a concern for the County Council.  For some specific groups of staff, such as social workers and highways technical specialists, there was a market pressure and market supplements were in place.  The national living wage was also having an impact on the Council’s pay scales due to the large increases required at the bottom of the scale.

 (iv)          There was currently high number of agency staff in adult social care. The Commission was advised that this was not having an impact on staff stress and sickness levels as, although these were above the target for the Council, recent trends had shown a reduction.  There were vacant positions in a number of areas across the department.  It was queried whether this was an unintended consequence of the recent restructure; however, members were assured that the Council had a comprehensive approach to redeployment and vacancy management.

  (v)          Clarity was sought regarding the reason for the reduction in hours offered for the education of children with medical needs, down to five hours instead of ten.  A written response would be provided for members.

 (vi)          Some concern was expressed that there were tensions between the County and District Councils regarding the allocation of funds from the business rates pool.  It was explained that the pool had been established to enable surpluses in the business rates to stay in Leicestershire rather than being returned to the Treasury.  All councils in Leicester and Leicestershire had agreed to pool resources and let the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership determine where they should be spent.  It was decided annually whether the pool should continue.  In two years’ time, it was expected that councils would be able to retain 75% of business rates.  This was likely to end the need for a pooling arrangement.

(vii)          The underspend of £5.5 million in the capital programme for Children and Family Services was not felt to be a concern as it largely related to a contingency which had been held but was not required.

RESOLVED:

(a)  That the report be noted;

(b)  That officers be requested to respond in writing to explain why the offer for the education of children with medical needs had been reduced;

(c)  That officers be requested to include more detail on the Business Rates Pool in the next Revenue Budget and Capital Programme Monitoring Report to be considered by the Commission.