Agenda item

The Lead Member for Resources has been invited to attend for this item.

The Commission considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources, the purpose of which was to present the provisional revenue and capital outturn for 2023/24.  A copy of the report marked ‘Agenda Item 10’ is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed Mr L. Breckon CC, Lead Member for Resources, to the meeting for this item.  In introducing the item, Mr Breckon said that the Outturn position was to be welcomed.  Before Christmas, it had been expected that the Council would need to use its reserves to balance the budget.  Fortunately, however, due to steps taken this had not been necessary and he thanked officers for their hard work during this period.  Mr Breckon highlighted that significant challenges still lay ahead as the Council continued to have a £33m funding gap in 2025/26 and there was much uncertainty regarding future Government funding.

Arising from discussion, the following points were made:

(i)               The additional income received matched exactly the Net Overspend.  The income had come from a mixture of additional business rates and other government income.  The Director confirmed that the income did not come the Council’s reserves.

(ii)             A Member raised concern that the overspend in Childrens Social Care Services was a year-on-year occurrence.  A Member highlighted that the number of children requiring a high level of care at a very high cost were few and resulted from them having very complex needs and therefore requiring 24-hour care.  This was not reflective of the average cost of a SEND placement.

(iii)            The Council had been seeking for some time to build its own provision and to reduce reliance on the private sector.  However, this took time and there were still issues around recruitment which were having an impact.

(iv)           As part of the budget process for 2024/25 a rigorous review of the Childrens Social Care Services budget has been undertaken to ensure demand pressures were captured and forecasted as accurately as possible. However, this was a difficult process as demand related to not only the number of children requiring support, but also the level of support needed.  There were also a number of factors outside the control of the Council.

(v)             A number of transformation workstreams were in progress within the Children and Family Services Department intended to manage demand pressures.  These included the Transforming SEND in Leicestershire Programme, work around Commissioning and looking at how best to meet need (reducing reliance on private sector provision) through the Social Care Investment Programme.  Members noted that progress in the delivery of these programmes was monitored regularly by the Children and Family Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
 

(vi)           A Member highlighted that the Council had statutory responsibilities to look after children and young people up to the age of 25.  This responsibility was imposed without any additional funding being provided by the Government.  The Department was also required to support an increased number of unaccompanied asylum seeking children, again with insufficient resources being provided by the Government to support this work.

(vii)          It was recognised that the pressures on SEND services was a national issue and a Member questioned if councils were seeking to join together to find a geographical solution.  The Director confirmed that the Council engaged with neighbouring authorities regularly on a range of SEND matters, particularly as they were often competing for the same resources. Councils were also joining together to lobby the Government for legislative change and additional funding.

(viii)        The school meals service was expected to see a return to profitability next year.  An action plan had been put in pace which was in progress.

(ix)           It was questioned whether the Council had considered if there was potential to generate income from green waste disposal.  The Director undertook to raise this with the Environment and Transport Department.

RESOLVED:

That the provisional revenue and capital outturn for 2023/24 be noted.