Issue - meetings

MONTH 9 CORPORATE MONITORING REPORT

Meeting: 20/02/2019 - Cabinet (Item 5)

5 MONTH 9 CORPORATE MONITORING REPORT pdf icon PDF 400 KB

A Report from the Cabinet Member Finance and Housing is attached.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Housing submitted a report which informed Cabinet of the financial position of the Council for the period April 2018 to December 2018 and projects the estimated outturn at the end of 2018/19.   The Report also includes Prudential Indicators in accordance with CIPFAs Code of Practice.

 

Delegated decision:

 

That the financial position of the Council as at 31 December 2018 be noted.

 

Reasons for the decision:

 

Budget Monitoring falls within the appropriate statutory duties and powers and is a requirement of the Council’s Financial Regulations.

 

Other option considered and rejected:

To reject the recommendations.

 


Meeting: 13/02/2019 - Overview and Scrutiny Committee (Item 348)

348 MONTH 9 CORPORATE MONITORING REPORT pdf icon PDF 400 KB

A Report from the Interim Executive Director of Resources and Regulation is attached.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Councillor O’Brien, Cabinet Member for Finance and Housing submitted a report informing the Committee of the Council’s financial position for the period April to December 2018 and projecting the likely outturn at the end of 2018/19.

 

The report included Prudential Indicators in accordance with CIPFA’s Prudential Code.

 

It was reported that the current projected overspend was £2.608m which represented approximately 1.89% of the total net budget of £138.016 and was a reduced figure from the previous quarter.

 

Service specific financial monitoring was included within the report and provided more detailed analysis for each department.

                                               

Questions and comments were invited from the Committee and the following issues were raised:-

 

·         Councillor Hankey referred to the 10 point cost saving plan that was set out within the report and had been in place for a number of years and asked how effective the measures had been.

 

Steve Kenyon explained that it was difficult to attribute figures to the measures as the information isn’t available. It was a healthy exercise to undertake as it challenged and enhanced the approval processes.

 

·         Councillor Hankey stated that the plans produced always contained ambitious cost savings which weren’t always met and seen through to the end of the plan. Councillor Hankey asked if a plan would be seen through.

 

Councillor O’Brien explained that it was quite difficult to work towards objectives that weren’t clearly defined and looking 3 years ahead. There was always an ongoing process of change.

 

·         Councillor Caserta referred to the costs associated by using Independent Fostering Agencies and the amount that the Council paid in house foster carers. Councillor Caserta stated that he was aware that the Council had historically paid less than IFAs and other Councils but had good relationships with Foster Carers. Recently, the amount paid to in house foster carers had increased and Councillor Caserta asked why this was.

 

Karen Dolton explained that there had been improvements in the way that IFAs and other local authorities worked with their foster carers to the point that the Council was no longer seen as the best option and therefore in house foster carers were moving to either IFAs or other local authorities as they paid more. The council needed to retain foster carers so had to be competitive in the amounts paid to them.

 

Karen also reported that it was anticipated that the Council reduce the use of IFAs over the next 3 years.

 

Councillor O’Brien also explained that a lot of work was being done in relation to prevention work which would lead to a reduction of looked after children in the borough.

 

·         Councillor N Jones referred to 3.6.1 in the report and the reference to recruitment freeze and stated that the Council had recently employed a number of directors and assistant directors at a significant cost.

 

Geoff Little, Chief Executive explained that the Council had changed its structure at the top level to bring in new skills that would be required to meet the challenges that it was facing. There was a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 348