The Director of Financial Services and Section 151 Officer presented the report which would be taken to council the following week that set out the way to prepare for the February budget for £11 million of savings with a total of £31 million over three years. This was predicated on a 2% Council Tax increase. There was also the new burden relating to the national living wage, which was a cost pressure largely in Adult Social Care amounting to approximately £1.5 million. The government would allow an increase in council tax of a further 2% which could be used for the cost pressures for Adult Social Care. There was a proposed extra £0.5m released from the Spend to Save for business interventions.
A deputation was then made by Councillor Gerald Vernon-Jackson as Leader of the Opposition to express his concern regarding the in-year savings and cuts to the services such as Children's Services and he felt these were based on unrealistic expectations such as fewer children being taken into care. He also felt there was choice being taken away from clients in Adult Social Care. His concerns also related to the cuts to domestic violence, school crossing patrols, children's dental care, community centres, hate crime, town centre management and that union workers support being lessened which he felt was undeliverable and a cost shunt.
Councillor Lynne Stagg then made a deputation expressing her concern regarding the cuts to domestic violence and public health (alcohol abuse) and she felt these would cause knock-on effects on other services.
In response, Councillor Jones, as Leader stated that looking at the combined budget reports in relation to Children's Services budget this had been overspent in eight out of the ten years under the previous administration and they had used money from reserves previously put aside by the Conservative administration. There had also been an inheritance of a £3.8 million deficit for 2014/15 that had already been reduced to £2.2 million with further savings outlined. She therefore thanked Councillor Young and the officers in halving the deficit in a 12 month period. There had also been a shortfall of £1.5 million for Health & Social Care under the previous Administration which would be funded by a one-off reserve and measures were now in place to seek remedy of the previous deficit and there were the further implications of the national living wage to be factored in.
The Leader stated that the Children's Centres were not going to be cut but they would be less running of buildings but more people running services at new satellite centres in the communities. She was pleased that new director Alison Jeffery was joining in January who would look at the numbers of children coming into local authority care. There were plans to redesign the adult respite care service and she was pleased with the close integration with the CCG. Cllr Jones, Cllr Stubbs and the Chief Executive were working closely with the CCG and Ursula Ward of the NHS Hospitals Trust to look at a rejuvenation of Adult Social Care services.
Councillor Jones was disappointed by the recent publicity regarding school crossing patrols and the contact made by Councillor Vernon-Jackson with the headteachers as the appropriate consultation will be started after a decision is made. With regard to libraries the approach was being taken in asking a partner organisation to run one of the libraries and it was not a matter of closing a library. There was also the opportunity to ask the Police Commissioner for funding towards domestic violence as the Chancellor had maintained the police budget so Councillor Rob New would be making this approach. Councillor Jones had had a useful meeting at the Staff Joint Meeting with the unions and stressed that staff would continue to be supported. There would be efficiencies regarding reducing the three different providers to two for alcohol and drug treatment.
Councillor Young, as Cabinet Member for Children & Education emphasised that these the pressures on services were shared nationally and these needed to be addressed in a controlled and measured way. He would looking to see how to reduce costs and was working with providers on 'Positive Activities'. He stressed that with the aspirational reduction in the numbers of looked after children whilst ensuring a supportive and safe environment, working with the families, with children being taken into care as a last resort.
Councillor Rob New as Cabinet Member for Environment & Community Safety shared others concerns regarding the reduction to the domestic violence budget of £230,000 in non-statutory services, but was seeking government funding to help with this and looking at redesigning the domestic abuse service and was grateful for the positive input from the Safer Portsmouth Partnership. He reported on the creation of a cross-Hampshire task force to ask the government for assistance. He also thanked Penny Mordaunt MP and the cross-party strategy with his opposition spokespersons on the provision of drop-in surgeries which they had become involved in. Councillor Donna Jones was also grateful to Penny Mordaunt MP for arranging a funding seminar for managers (taking place the following week) regarding government grants available in non-statutory services.
Councillor Linda Symes, as Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure & Sport was grateful to those who were offering their time to help in the libraries and museums and said that there was no truth in the rumour that the City Museum was planning to be sold off. She was pleased that there had been innovation in seeking funding from sponsorship on the Emirates Spinnaker Tower. Councillor Wemyss, Cabinet Member for Housing felt that the Liberal Democrats should suggest alternatives rather than make criticisms and invited a constructive approach and this was reiterated by Councillor Ellcome. Councillor Donna Jones, as Leader wished to stress that the budget included a third of the items as income generation rather than cuts.
RECOMMENDED(1) that the following be approved:
(a) That the Council's Budget for 2016/17 be prepared on the basis of a 2% Council Tax increase
(b) That in the event that the Council has the ability to increase the level of Council Tax beyond 2% in order to fund Adult Social Care pressures, and if the Council elects to do so, that any additional funding that arises is passported direct to Adult Social Care to provide for those otherwise unfunded cost pressures.
(c) The savings proposals for each Portfolio amounting, in total, to £11m for 2016/17 and continuing into future years as set out in Appendix A to enable appropriate consultation and notice periods to be given to affected parties
(d) That £500,000 be released from the MTRS Reserve to increase the Business Intervention Fund in order to increase the scale and pace of the programme of Service interventions described in paragraphs 10.17 and the funding to be used flexibly across years
(e) That the allocation of the Business Intervention Fund to Service interventions be delegated to the S151 Officer in consultation with the Leader of the Council.
(2) that the following be noted:
(a) The Budget Savings Requirement for 2016/17 of £11m approved by the City Council was based on a Council Tax increase of 2.0%; each 1% change (increase or decrease) in the Council Tax results in a change to the savings requirement of £625,000[1]
(b) The key themes arising from the budget consultation
(c) The indicative savings proposals set out in Appendix B which are provided for the purpose of demonstrating to the Council that the Portfolio savings as recommended in paragraph (1)(c) above are robust and deliverable
(d) The likely impact of savings as set out in Appendix B based on the scale of the Portfolio savings as recommended in paragraph (1)(c)
(e) That the responsibility of the City Council is to approve the overall Budget and the associated cash limits of its Portfolios and Committees; it is not the responsibility of the City Council to approve any individual savings within those Portfolios / Committees
(f) That it is the responsibility of the individual Portfolio Holders (not the City Council) to approve the individual savings proposals and the Portfolio Holder can therefore, in response to any consultation, alter, amend or substitute any of the indicative savings proposal(s) set out in Appendix B with alternative proposal(s) amounting to the same value within their Portfolio
(g) Managers will commence any necessary consultation process or notice process necessary to implement the approved Portfolio / Committee savings
(h) That there is no general provision for Budget Pressures and that it is the responsibility of the Portfolio Holder to manage any Budget Pressures which arise from the overall resources available to the Portfolio (which includes their Portfolio Reserve)
(i) In accordance with the approved financial framework, it is the responsibility of the Portfolio Holder, in consultation with the Director of Finance & Information Services (S151 Officer), to release funds from the Portfolio Reserve in accordance with the provisions set out in paragraph 10.14
(j) The MTRS Reserve held to fund the upfront costs associated with Spend to Save Schemes, Invest to Save Schemes and redundancies currently holds a very modest uncommitted balance of £3.0m and will only be replenished from an approval to the transfer of any non-Portfolio underspends at year end into this reserve.
[1] Tax increases will be subject to Council Tax referendum thresholds which are at this stage unknown