Issue - meetings

35.1     The Chair introduced the report and outlined that the purpose of the report was to allow the Committee to consider the call-in in relation to the decision by Cabinet regarding the proposal to reduce the funding for the Housing-Related Floating Support Service.

35.2     The Committee considered the call-in and the information contained in the report. A summary of the questions raised, and comments made is given below.

·       Use of consultations – Councillor Cross commented that 92% respondents to the public consultation either strongly disagreed or disagreed with the proposal and expressed concern about public engagement in future consultations if residents felt their views had not been heard, which could impact on a future unitary council. In response the Director of ASCH commented that consultation responses had been considered and that the value of the service and potential impacts, including an increase in demand, had been acknowledged and debated by the Scrutiny Committee and by Cabinet.

·       Impact of decisions on district and borough councils– Some Members commented that district and borough housing teams had estimated an additional annual cost to housing authorities of £9m if the service had not been available and sought clarification about conversations with district and borough councils about alternative funding arrangements. Some Members commented that, although they understood that the Housing-Related Floating Support Service was not a statutory responsibility, reducing the funding would have significant financial implications for district and borough councils and, in light of local government reorganisation, that these implications, as well as plans for the transition period, needed further consideration.

In response, the Director noted that, although the £9m cost to district and borough councils was unverified, the impacts had been transparent in the original Cabinet papers and had been considered in detail by the Scrutiny Committee and Cabinet. The Director clarified that ESCC made up approximately 50% of the referrals to the service (although noted that most referrals were housing related), and the remainder came from district and borough councils (approximately 25%), other organisations (approximately 20%) and self-referrals (approximately 5%) and noted that it was currently fully funded by ESCC. The Director clarified that, as well as the consultation, formal and informal conversations had been taking place with district and borough councils since prior to the publication of the proposals and that these were continuing. ESCC had requested funding from district and borough councils to support the service, but as of yet this had not been forthcoming. If the implementation of the decision was delayed for six months, as requested by the districts and boroughs, ESCC would need to identify £1.9m of savings elsewhere. The Director reiterated that, although the implications of reducing the service had been considered by Cabinet, housing and homelessness prevention was not a statutory duty for ESCC.

The Chair noted the discussion at the pre-decision scrutiny board where it was recognised that this proposal would have an impact on the district and borough councils but the Committee, in light of the financial situation, had understood it was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 35

Report by the Director of Adult Social Care and Health

62.1     The Cabinet considered a report by the Director of Adult Social Care and Health.

62.2     Mr David Chaffey, a petition representative and Mr Paul Goddard, the Lead Petitioner for the petition calling on the County Council to protect and retain the East Sussex Floating Support Service, spoke to highlight the changing political landscape in terms of responsibilities at different local government levels, the impact of the proposals on vulnerable residents in East Sussex and proposed an alternative option to reduce the contract value by £2m instead of £3.8m.

62.3     It was RESOLVED to:

1) Agree to reduce the funding for the Housing-Related Floating Support Service from £4.3 million per year to £500,000 per year from October 2025;

2) Agree that the Council serve a contract variation notice on the service provider, BHT Sussex, to give effect to the reduction of funding set out in resolution 1; and

3) Delegate authority to the Director of Adult Social Care and Health to take all necessary actions to give effect to the above resolutions.

Reasons

62.4     The Council is required to set a balanced budget. The ‘State of the County’ report presented to Cabinet in June 2024 set out a projected £55m deficit on the 2025/26 budget. Savings proposals requiring public consultation that would help to close this gap were presented to Cabinet in September 2024.

62.5     The total savings proposals for the Medium-Term Financial Plan for 2025/26-2027/28 set out in November 2024 were £20.628m, across all Council departments. The Adult Social Care and Health (ASCH) contribution to the savings total is £11.455m. In addition to these savings proposals, in order to achieve a balanced budget, the Council is also drawing on its financial reserves.

62.6     The Housing Related Floating Support service is a highly valued service that provides support for people with significant, housing related, support needs. The Council has noted the significant concerns raised through the consultation, the potential impacts for those with protected characteristics identified through the Equality Impact Assessment and the potentially significant additional costs and pressures that will be placed on other parts of the system if the proposed funding reduction for these services is agreed.

62.7     It has not been possible to identify any viable alternative proposals that would achieve the required savings from the ASCH budget. The reduction of funding for the Housing-Related Floating Support Service from £4.3 million per year to £500,000 per year with effect from October 2025 will help to address Council’s funding gap and the need to make savings.

62.8     Cabinet members have read and had regard to the Equalities Impact Assessment when making decisions related to this proposal.