Agenda item
Quarter 2 Financial Report
Minutes:
Councillor Hebb introduced the
report and highlighted the three main points. He stated that the
first point was the financial health of Thurrock was strong, as
there was currently a surplus. He stated that the second point was
Thurrock’s handling of the economy
which meant that a modest 1.49% rise in Council Tax was needed to
maintain services such as weekly bin collections and the timely
fixing of potholes. He commented that the third main point was
Thurrock’s commitment to delivering funding for new police
officers in town centres and communities across the borough.
He stated that this report looked back at the financial health of
Thurrock since the last budget had been
agreed in February 2019, and there were currently pressures
within some services, although the budget as a whole was forecast
to be balanced. He stated that one of the main directorates that
was experiencing financial pressure was adult social care, as
pressures were external and outside of the councils control. He
commented that this was due to a few high-need, high-cost
placements, which could push the budget envelope. He added that
this was the first time in many years that the service would
experience overspend, and the budget was being
handled well despite external pressures, and the fragility of the
domiciliary care market. He felt that the most important factor for
adult social care was that good quality care was provided, and the financial budget had to be a
secondary concern.
Councillor Hebb then moved onto discussing the pressures within
children’s social care, which although was overspending by
£900,000 had reduced their
overspend compared to previous years. He felt that this
directorate was very fluid, as a few high-need placements could
again push the cost envelope. He congratulated the team on their
‘good’ OFSTED rating, and felt that the investment in
the system highlighted in the report would help to sustain this
level of achievement and help to achieve the
‘excellent’ rating in the future. He added that lots of
investment had also occurred in the environment directorate, such
as for street cleaning and parks, but was still under-budget and
thanked the team in the hard work dealing with market pressures.
Councillor Hebb added that due to the Homelessness Reduction Act,
Thurrock had seen an increase in the number of people presenting as
homeless, but Thurrock were working hard to tackle this in line
with the central government strategy.
Councillor Hebb stated that Thurrock were predicting a surplus for
the next three years, and if this occurred, it would mean a
balanced budget for a total of seven years. He elaborated that this
was due to reform of services, as well as investment, and this led
to the ability for a one-off spend on more policing. He added that
corporate projects totalled £112million spending for new
infrastructure and projects that were
outlined in appendix 2 of the report, and included the
regeneration of Purfleet and Grays, A13
east-facing slips, 21st century care homes and new
schools. He added that he had met with the Leaders of opposition
parties to discuss surplus spending and they had agreed on the
majority of ideas, findings of which would be
published next month. He added that to facilitate necessary
elderly care, the report proposed a 2% rise for the adult social
care precept. He summarised and stated that pressures were being managed to ensure the budget was balanced
and there was a surplus to spend on projects such as additional
police officers. He clarified that the 1.49% council tax rise would
be ring-fenced spending. He finally thanked those departments which
were under-budget as these helped to support the councils wider
goals.
Councillor Halden felt that it was good to see a balanced budget
and surplus, and stated that the proposed council tax rise was
still below inflation. He also stated that there had been no
council tax rise in 2018/19 and no maximum increase the year
before, which only 5% of councils had managed to achieve. He
highlighted the pressures within the Dedicated Schools Grant, and
stated that this was because there had been a 35% increase in
requests for Education, Health and Care Plans, and a 24% increase
in requests for placements in special schools. He felt that
although there were many pressures, the team were trying hard to
reduce the debt. He added that all special schools across the
borough had maintained their ‘excellent’ OFSTED rating
even with new, tougher criteria. Councillor Halden added that there
were plans to build a new special school called Treetops 2, as well
as the infrastructure to support this in Blackshots. He stated that 2020 was the ‘Year
of Inclusion’ and this scheme was being launched soon, which
would involve more investment in schools, to ensure more rigorous standards and more timely processes
for requests. He stated that statutory guidance for processing
education requests was 20 weeks, but Thurrock wanted to cut this in
half to stem late crisis referrals and build a more responsive
system.
Councillor Watkins thanked the Deputy Leader for his report, and
stated that the environment directorate had increased their revenue
compared to the last administration, which he felt had been
understaffed and underfunded. He
commented that the KBT scores needed to be improved, but the team
had worked hard for worthwhile investment, such as new street
sweepers. He added that officers were being taught about KBT
scoring systems, so they could self-monitor as part of the
‘Think 4 5’ Strategy. Councillor Watkins summarised and
stated that there were overall market pressures in waste disposal
that the team were aware of and working to mitigate, as well as
working closely with partners and the Waste Management Working
Group to look at the future of waste in Thurrock.
The Leader welcomed the report and the ring-fencing of the proposed
council tax increase for the three strategic priorities, as many
residents often asked where their council tax went, and now
Councillors could give a clear answer. He was also pleased to hear
that there was alignment between the Cabinet and opposition
leaders, as they had many of the same ideas and could work together
for maximum impact. He stated that areas of overspend were being
worked on, but this could prove difficult in pressure-led
directorates. He summarised and felt that Thurrock were in a good
position compared to other councils, and felt it was good to see
tax-payers money being used to invest in services across the
borough.
RESOLVED: That Cabinet:
1. Noted the revenue forecast outturn
position for 2019/20 and that further mitigation is required to
outturn within the agreed budget envelope
2. Noted the proposed updates to the Medium Term Financial
Strategy
3. Noted that the updated Medium Term Financial Strategy forms the
basis of the 2020/21 Budget and asks Corporate Overview and
Scrutiny Committee to comment and make recommendations back to
Cabinet in February ahead of Full Council
4. Following Cabinet’s decision in December 2018 to allocate
funding for additional police officers that the Director of
Environment and Highways, in consultation with the Corporate
Director of Finance, Governance and Property and the Leader, be
authorised to enter into a four year contract (with the right to
renew for another 4 years)
5. Noted the results of Treasury Management activities undertaken
in the first half of 2019/20
6. Noted the capital forecast outturn
position and the overall position on the approved
proposal.
Reason for decision: as outlined in the report
This decision is subject to
call-in
Supporting documents:
- Quarter 2 Financial Report, item 58. PDF 210 KB
- Quarter 2 Financial Report - Appendix 1, item 58. PDF 192 KB
- Quarter 2 Financial Report - Appendix 2, item 58. PDF 66 KB
- Quarter 2 Financial Report - Appendix 3, item 58. PDF 68 KB