Invitees:

All Cabinet and CMB

The Chief Executive presented the Financial Performance 2018-19 report to committee, the purpose of which was to provide an update on the Council’s financial performance for the year ended 31^st March 2019.  He explained that there are over 600 services provided by the Council, all of which face different challenges along with variances of overspends and underspends. He finished his presentation by thanking fellow colleagues and Members for bringing in a balanced budget in 2018-19.

The Committee thanked Officers for the detailed report and noted that throughout the document there was frequent use of ‘staff vacancies’ and queried whether the Council was working to its full potential and if the Council were struggling to recruit to vacancies.  The Chief Executive explained that some Directorates were having issues with recruiting to posts and provided the Corporate Landlord service as an example.  He further advised Members that although staff vacancies assist with budget savings, it does have an impact on performance with services being provided slower and less efficiently.  He concluded by advising that the Council has a stringent process in place for vacancy management whereby vacancies are not recruited to without a business case to reappoint. 

The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing confirmed that her Directorate had also encountered a delay with recruiting to direct care roles within the Care at Home for Older People service and had several staff vacancies within the Assessment and Care Management service.  The Corporate Director Social Services and Wellbeing then notified the Committee that both services are currently undertaking a structure review, which will resolve these issues.

The Committee discussed Welsh Government funding and the potential difficulties imposed on the Council’s budget setting process from uncommitted funding, one-off grants and funds that are allocated too late in the year.  To mitigate these factors, Members specified that there should be stringent procedures in place that Welsh Government must adhere too.

Members referenced the budget reduction proposals not achieved due to delays and queried whether the reasons for this was due to staff vacancies and staff sickness throughout the Council.  The Deputy Head of Finance advised the Committee that each delay had its own reasoning, such as postponements with an approval process with Welsh Government.

The Committee questioned what impact staff sickness and staff vacancies had on work demands and morale of existing staff.  In response the Cabinet Member Future Generations and Wellbeing quoted statistics derived from the Staff Wellbeing Survey, where 72% of respondents said they were comfortable with the demands placed on them all or most of the time as well as 71% being able to meet the demands of their job either all or most of the time’.

During discussions regarding the non-achievement of the Learner Transport budget reduction proposal, Members questioned whether the lack of a Learning Resource Centre (LRC) unit in Porthcawl effected the budget of transporting children from Porthcawl to the nearest unit.  The Leader responded by explaining that the Council have looked to provide a LRC in Porthcawl in the past and have not ruled out for the future, although the provision would need backing from a school with space to accommodate a unit.

Conclusions

The Committee raised concerns with the lack of commitment for Welsh Government funding to cover the increase in employer’s contribution to teachers’ pensions. Therefore, Members recommend that the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee draft a letter to the Welsh Government Minister with a copy sent to the Secretary of State for Wales outlining the devastating effects the lack of funding would endure on the Council.

During discussions regarding the Home to School Transport overspend, Members noted that Porthcawl has no Learning Resource Centre and highlighted the probable cost implications of transporting children from Porthcawl to the nearest unit.  With that in mind, the Committee recommends that future thought is given to adding the provision to the Porthcawl area, which would also ensure children are close to family and other siblings.

Additional information:

• With reference to the data provided from the Staff Wellbeing Survey:

‘72% of respondents said they were comfortable with the demands placed on them all or most of the time as well as 71% being able to meet the demands of their job either all or most of the time’, Members questioned the response rate for the survey to determine a more accurate representation of the whole Council.