Issue - meetings

Report by the Chief Executive.

Report by the Chief Executive.

29.1     The Chief Executive introduced the report, which builds on previous RPPR report received by the Committee. It updates the overall Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) with the additional funding announced by central Government for 2020/21, and noted that Cabinet had agreed to plan on the basis the Council will take the option to raise council tax by applying the 2% Adult Social Care (ASC) precept as well as the planned 1.9% increase. The funding announcements will lead to around £6million in one-off funding being available in 2020/21, and the Committee is asked to comment on the use of this funding. The Council does not have to spend all the one-off funding, and there is still an underlying need to make savings in the following financial years. The Council is hoping to get the final details of the local government financial settlement at end of December 2019, but if there is a new Government the Council may not get the settlement details until end of March 2020.

29.2     The options that Officers have developed for the use of the one-off funding are outlined on pages 43-46 of the report. For the services within the remit of the Place Scrutiny Committee the options include a proposal to defer some of the Library Service savings (option S), additional funding for Economic Development (option AB) and additional capital investment for Highway Works Programme Management (option AD). In considering which of these options should be taken forward, the Committee should take into account the principles that apply to the use of the one-off funding outlined in paragraph 5.2 of the Cabinet report. It should be noted that the pressure within Children’s Services (CS) for children’s social care is reflected in the revised MTFP.

29.3     The Committee acknowledged that in taking a whole Council approach, it is right to prioritise the one-off funding for Children’s Services (CS) and Adult Social Care (ASC) where there are pressures on services. However, there is a case for spending some of the funding on services that support the wider community such as those services provided by the Communities, Economy and Transport (CET) department. The spending on ASC and CS services is not as visible, and residents will want to see what services they are getting for the additional Council Tax they will be required to pay.

29.4     The Committee sought clarification on whether the Government is planning to increase funding for road repairs, as the condition of roads in the County is still a concern. The Director of Communities, Economy and Transport outlined that the Council currently receives and bids for roads funding through the Highway Maintenance Challenge Fund and the Pinchpoint Fund. The Department for Transport (DfT) is consulting on a Highways sector deal which is proposing to extend highway maintenance funding to cover a five-year period, rather than the current year by year approach. This is to give more certainty over roads funding and aid investment decision making. It is not clear whether the sector deal will  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29

Report by the Chief Executive.

16.1     The Chief Executive introduced the report. The purpose of the report is to provide the Committee with information on the expenditure and performance plans for services within its remit, the Core Offer, and the current savings plan. Cabinet discussed the State of the County report at the meeting on 16 July 2019 which sets out the financial position for the Council. Subsequent to this, the new Chancellor has announced a spending round, the details of which have been circulated in a briefing note to all Councillors. The additional funding that has been announced in the headline figures is very welcome, but Officers do not know yet how much of this additional funding East Sussex County Council (ESCC) will receive. The announcement also includes the ability set a Council Tax precept for Adult Social Care above the current cap on general Council Tax increases. As the settlement is for the next financial year only, all additional funding announced will be one-off in nature.

16.2     The Scrutiny Committee will be updated when there is more certainty on the funding settlement for ESCC for 2020/21. There is also a commitment to ensure Scrutiny will remain involved in the draft budget proposals.

16.3     The Lead Member for Resources welcomed Scrutiny’s involvement in the RPPR process and looks forward to hearing Scrutiny’s ideas, as there are significant stresses across the services and budget. There is a degree of variability due to changes announced in the financial settlement for Local Government. The next steps for the Council will be to plan the budget in detail once further information is available.

Discussion by the Committee

16.4     The Committee discussed the report and commented that there are a lot of unknowns regarding the budget. The Committee agreed to defer a detailed discussion of the budget until the more detailed figures from the financial settlement are known. It observed that if the more detailed financial information is not available until close to the budget setting meetings, it is more difficult to work up alternatives especially with one-off funding for another year. The Committee also raised the question of how the Council is going to apply the one-off funding and the impact on current savings plans.

16.5     The Chief Executive reassured the Committee that the Council is used to dealing with one-off funding and is careful not to create a continuing revenue commitment from the use of one-off monies. The Committee were invited to contribute any suggestions for areas that may be worth exploring for further savings or investment.

16.6     The Committee discussed forming an RPPR Board to consider the budget proposals in more detail. The Committee agreed to form an RPPR Board comprised of Councillors Bob Bowdler, Godfrey Daniel, John Barnes, Chris Dowling, Pat Rodohan and Stephen Shing. The Democratic Services Adviser is to contact Councillors Martin Clarke and Nigel Enever to see if they wish to take part in the RPPR Board.

16.7     The Committee RESOLVED to agree to:

1) Request further information on how the one-funding,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16