Invitees:

Councillor Huw David – Leader of Council

Councillor Jane Gebbie - Deputy Leader of Council and Cabinet Member for Social Services and Early Help

Councillor Hywel Williams - Cabinet Member for Resources 

Councillor John Spanswick – Cabinet Member for Communities

Councillor Jon-Paul Blundell - Cabinet Member for Education

Councillor Neelo Farr - Cabinet Member for Regeneration

Councillor Rhys Goode - Cabinet Member for Future Generations and Wellbeing

Mark Shephard - Chief Executive

Carys Lord - Chief Officer Finance, Performance and Change

Kelly Watson - Chief Officer Legal and Regulatory Services, HR & Corporate Policy

Lindsay Harvey - Corporate Director - Education and Family Support

Claire Marchant - Corporate Director - Social Services and Wellbeing

Janine Nightingale - Corporate Director - Communities

The Chief Officer Finance Performance and Change presented a report providing the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee with an update on the Council’s revenue financial position as at 31 December 2022.

The Chair thanked the Chief Officer Finance, Performance and Change and Members discussed the following:

• The Deputy Head of Finance provided further detail in relation to the projected over/under spend column in table 1 of the report.
• That there was no obvious correlation between an increase in Council Tax and a decrease in collection rates. Members also discussed Council Tax support and other support for people struggling to pay. 
• The balance of the Hardship Fund supporting free car parking for the town centres, how much this was costing the authority each month and if this had been successful in bringing people back to the town centres.
• That no further external financial support from Welsh Government was anticipated in relation to COVID-19, although there could be cost of living related schemes.
• The budget reduction proposal relating to letting a wing of Ravens Court, delayed because of the uncertainty of the new hybrid working policy and the demand for office space and when the savings would be achieved.
• Budget reduction proposals that were delayed or not achievable and what alternative proposals had been identified.
• Detail of what was entailed in the supplies and services budgets, with reference to paragraph 4.2.6 of the report, that there had been ‘a review of the budgets within the Education and Family Support Directorate during quarter 3 with replacement savings identified from supplies and services budgets’. The Corporate Director for Education and Family Support agreed to provide a breakdown to the committee.
• The number of primary and secondary schools that would have a deficit balance at the end of the financial year, the impact of a 2% decrease in budgets on schools and methods to mitigate the impact of the cuts. Members also discussed the budget narrative, whether or not this was a cut as the schools would be receiving more money than the previous year and all pay increases to teaching staff would be covered and the issues resulting from the Published Admission Number (PAN).
• Whilst acknowledging that the PSVAR Regulations prevented commercial places on school transport, Members suggested that the prospect of commercial places should be at the forefront of discussions with new providers due to the rising number of frustrated parents prepared to pay for transport.
• The outcome of the WG review of Home to School Transport and if it was likely to impact on schools within the next financial year.
• The pressures within the Social Services and Wellbeing Directorate, the £15.35 million swing, the sufficiency of the budget proposed and if the area had been underfunded previously, managing risk, an exponential increase in demand, reduced grants from Welsh Government and an increased risk base.
• Issues with workforce, demand and complexity of need and supply. In particular Members discussed the need for agency workers, the shift in the social work workforce, an increase of 127.9% in assessments in year to date compared to the previous year, the highest ever number of children on the Child Protection Register in the history of Bridgend and an increase in the numbers of care experienced children.
• Learning disabilities and the ongoing review, the challenges of older people in Day Services and that this was common to all local authorities.
• Concerns regarding the risk and a request to have sight of the risk register relating to the significant shift of £15.352 million due to the Social Services Directorate projecting an overspend of £9.421 million at year end compared to the 2021-22 outturn position of a £5.931 underspend.
• Concerns that the budget was not sufficient to deal with patients discharged from hospital without care packages in place and insufficient numbers of staff to deliver the packages. 
• With reference to the table showing the projected variances in the three service areas in Children’s Social Care, Members requested sight of the budget allocated to each.
• All national legislative commitments needed to be fully funded.
• The overspend on the Fleet Services budget, when the review of the service would be completed, training for electric vehicles and possibly hydrogen in the future and the impact on the budget of taxis using other facilities.
• Issues relating to the significant number of vacancies across the Communities Directorate, particularly during the summer months and difficulties recruiting surveyors and highway engineers resulting in an underspend. 
• Alternative ways of delivering the service, health and safety priorities and the visual amenity and working with the Probation Service to support staff.  
• The significant decrease in taxi drivers post covid, safeguarding concerns within the Borough and this issue being exacerbated by taxi drivers being forced to use a particular facility and the review that was being carried out in this area. 
• Initial savings from Streetlighting being used to offset overspends in other areas, leading to an eventual overspend in Streetlighting, due to essential maintenance because of road traffic collisions.  
• High printing costs within the ICT budget as a result of being locked into fixed rental fees for the printers.
• Frustrations with Welsh Government grant funding and not knowing if it would continue in future years, conversations across Wales around adding funding for homelessness to the revenue budget so that it could be considered as part of the wider round. 
• The balance in the Council fund to the 31st of December 2022 (£10.1 million) as reported when the accounts were closed. At this stage there were no plans to draw down on that reserve in the current financial year.

Following detailed consideration and discussions with Officers and Cabinet Members, the Committee made the following Recommendations:

1. Whilst acknowledging that the PSVAR Regulations prevented commercial places on school transport, that the prospect of commercial places be at the forefront of discussions with new providers due to the rising number of frustrated parents prepared to pay for transport.

2. All national legislative commitments needed to be fully funded.

Additional Information

Following detailed consideration and discussions with Officers and Cabinet Members, the Committee requested:

3. Detail of what was entailed in the supplies and services budgets, with reference to paragraph 4.2.6 of the report, that there had been ‘a review of the budgets within the Education and Family Support Directorate took place during quarter 3 with replacement savings identified from supplies and services budgets’.

4. Sight of the risk register relating to the significant shift of £15.352 million due to the Social Services Directorate projecting an overspend of £9.421 million at year end compared to compared to the 2021-22 outturn position of a £5.931 underspend.

5. With reference to the table showing the projected variances in the three service areas in Children’s Social Care, the budget allocated to each.