The Corporate Director - Resources reported on the impact of budget reductions in the last three years which was £19.776m, equating to 7.75% of its current budget.  Until 2014-15, the level of savings was considered to be largely manageable within services, without wide scale redundancies or reductions in services.  However, in recent years the financial situation had changed and the savings target had increased dramatically.

            The Corporate Director - Resources reported that the savings target for 2014-15 is £11.274m, which includes a number of changes in service delivery, including the transfer of services to the independent sector, policy changes in respect of eligibility for Adult Social Care Services and the introduction of fees and charges for services which were previously provided free of charge or at a subsidised rate.  The Corporate Director - Resources informed the Forum that the Medium Term Financial Strategy was predicated on the assumption that the Council would be required to make savings of £36m over the period 2014-15 to 2017-18.  However, the Council had been advised by the Minister for Local Government and Government Business that it would be advisable for the Council to plan for a cut in funding of -4.5% for each of those years, which equated to a savings target of £50m over the four year period.  This equated to 29.4% of the 2014-15 budget excluding schools.  The Corporate Director - Resources illustrated the savings target required to be made by the Council over the four year period.

            The Corporate Director - Resources reported that the Council was restricted in terms of applying savings targets in a number of areas, namely school budgets; significant legislative and demographic pressures within Adult Social Care, as a result of an ageing population, which restrict the extent to which these services can be reduced and a further 12.2% of the budget funding debt repayment, the Council Tax Reduction Scheme and the transfers of council tax to precepting authorities, all of which were unavoidable.

            The Corporate Director - Resources reported that Directors had been requested to identify additional savings to meet the required revised savings targets, which was the subject of discussion with Cabinet on which savings proposals would go forward for public consultation.  She stated that there was still a gap for both 2015-16 and 2016-17, with very few options proposed for future years and a number of savings proposals were deemed to be at risk of being achieved.  These proposals were inherently difficult to deliver as they affect the level or quality of service the Council will provide.  A number of proposals require periods of consultation, especially where policy changes are proposed which would result in a time lag between consultation and implementation and would also involve changes to the way services were being delivered and the rationalisation of service provision.  Proposals include a transfer of services to third parties, a reduction in provision to the statutory minimum and decisions about whether or not to provide the service at all, where there was no statutory duty to do so.  She stated that Directors were exploring alternative ways of delivering services in order to present the public and service users with different options for meeting their requirements.  The Corporate Director - Resources indicated that there would be a much smaller very different looking Council, with a much greater emphasis on statutory responsibilities and a commissioning approach. 

            The Corporate Director - Resources reported on the challenges facing the Council’s Directorates and outlined the services identified in each Directorate as potential areas where Town and Community Councils may be able to support and work with the Council on meeting the budget reductions and at the same time endeavouring to ensure continuity of provision for residents.

            The Corporate Director - Resources reported that there would be a need to engage with the public and Town and Community Councils to determine whether there are opportunities to support these services either financially or through consideration of alternative management arrangements.  She stated that the Council wanted to fully engage with the public on proposed savings and to identify those areas deemed to be a priority for local communities and that a formal public consultation will take place during October and November with all stakeholder groups.  Methods of engagement would include a consultation document, an on-line budget simulator and the use of social media.  The results of the consultation would inform the draft budget to be presented to Cabinet in December.

            The Corporate Director - Resources informed the Forum that a letter would be sent to all Town and Community Councils on areas where they may want to consider working with the Council to provide services in the future.

            A Member of the Forum questioned whether the Council would consider Town and Community Councils match funding services on a revenue basis as well as a capital basis and that a 5% increase in the precept by Town and Community Councils would generate additional revenue which could be used to match fund services.  The Corporate Director - Resources said that the level of precept was for each TCC, but that if all agreed that they wanted to use an element of their precept to match fund council revenue that she would consider such a proposal from Town and Community Councils.  However she explained that in respect of available Council resources it was a zero sum game so there was no guarantee that match funding could be made available.

            A Member of the Forum questioned that with the possibility of councils merging voluntarily would cuts in services be not so stringent.  The Corporate Director - Resources informed the Forum that the Williams Commission had identified savings from the reorganisation, but that it was important to recognise that the savings quoted were much less than the savings requirement anticipated by the Council over the next four financial years..  She also stated that austerity measures would be in place in the public sector for the foreseeable future

            A Member of the Forum expressed concern at the lack of progress in the transfer of Brackla Community Centre from Bridgend County Borough Council to Brackla Community Council.  The Corporate Director - Communities informed the Forum that the transfer of Brackla Community Centre to Brackla Community Council was being progressed.

            In response to a question from the Forum, the Corporate Director - Resources stated that letters would be sent to all Town and Community Councils prior to precepts being set.  The Corporate Director - Communities stated that officers would commit to meeting with Town and Community Councils before they had set their precepts and that a point of contact for liaising with Town and Community Councils was required. 

            RESOLVED:               That the Forum noted the report.