Agenda item

The Director of Finance submits a report which is the final one in the monitoring cycle for 2018/19, setting out the Council’s financial performance against its revenue budget for the financial year. The Committee is recommended to consider the overall position presented within the report and make any observations it sees fit.

The Director of Finance submitted a report which set out the Council’s financial performance against its revenue budget for the financial year 2018 /19. Members considered the report and raised a number of comments and questions which included the following:      

·      It was noted that there was an underspend in Adult Social Care despite there being an increasing demand for the service. The Director of Finance explained that the Council had invested properly in the service. They tried to forecast demand and a considerable amount of modelling took place. The Strategic Director of Social Care and Education had looked at the modelling and had managed to deliver the savings earlier than anticipated. A concern was raised that a letter had been sent out in March 2018 from the Council in relation to the Adult Social Care Precept, stating that £125m was required for Adult Social Care but the report stated that £104m had been spent. The Director confirmed that by law, all the money raised through the precept had been used for Adult Social Care and she had signed a letter to confirm that.   The City Mayor requested that an explanation of Adult Social Care Revenue Spends to be sent to all Members of the Overview Select Committee.

·      In relation to Education and Children’s Services, a Member commented that the number of children taken into care in Leicester was higher than average and he questioned the reason for this. The City Mayor responded that Leicester was an urban area with issues of deprivation and density problems, which other areas did not experience.

·       It was noted that there had been a considerable reduction in the number of children who needed child protection plans and the reason for this was questioned. The City Mayor commented that the service had dramatically turned the situation around and he suggested that this was something that the Children, Young People and Schools Scrutiny Commission might want to consider. It was agreed that information on the number of Children in Care and the reduction of child protection plans be circulated to Members of the Committee.

·      It was noted that there was an underspend of £246k in public health, which the report stated was partly due to a decline in the take up of sexual health services; an issue that was mirrored nationally. A Member pointed out that reports in the national media indicated that the numbers of Sexually Transmitted Diseases were increasing, and he asked whether it was known why there appeared to be a decline in take up of the services in Leicester. The City Mayor responded that the new centre in the Haymarket had resulted in financial savings but the reason for this decline was unknown. The City Mayor asked for an explanation to be sent to Members.

·      In relation to Crisis Support Grants, a concern was raised that there had been insufficient funds available to help people as they were discharged from the Bradgate Unit. The Director of Finance responded that there was a clear policy in place and it would be illegal for the Council not to support an individual who was eligible for assistance, whether or not the funding was available.

·      A concern was raised about the number of schools carrying a negative balance in their budget. The Director of Finance responded that the Council would support any schools facing a negative budget.  However, this was becoming an increasing problem and issues around negative budgets were difficult to resolve.

AGREED

that the overall position presented within the report be noted and actions taken as detailed below: