Agenda item

Councillor Mark Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the item, making the following points:

·  This document is a holding pattern based on assumptions until the Chancellors statement in October when there may have to be readjustments.

·  The financial position of the Council is sound.

·  Children’s Services continues to present extraordinary challenges.

·  Adult Social Care – we have made the move to bring this back in house.

·  Heritage and Parking Services are performing well.

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Halsall asked if we are going to ask the Government about a tourist tax. The Cabinet Member explained that this was an idea that is being floated.

Councillor Halsall asked if the Cabinet Member believed that the Government recognised that a World Heritage City is in a unique position. The Cabinet Member explained that, being a relatively small authority, we need to emphasise our particular issues.

Councillor Hounsell asked why highways showed an underspend when there is so much work to do. The Executive Director (Operations) explained that the Highways cost centre is a mix of income and expenditure. The figure showing an underspend is showing income rather than a reduced spend. She gave assurance that we are on track in terms of revenue and capital.

Following a question from Councillor Treby, the Cabinet Member explained that he would be surprised if there was an underspend on revenue. Regarding capital expenditure – there may be an underspend as we want to have a better understanding of the work to be delivered. The Executive Director (Sustainable Communities) explained that a more professional delivery function is being developed regarding the capital programme and sometimes there is a proactive decision to delay a capital spend.

Councillor Treby asked if it would be better to budget slightly higher regarding revenue and slightly lower for capital. The Executive Director explained that an underspend is budgeted regarding capital.

Councillor Hughes stated that he was reassured that the issues in Children’s Services are being tackled. He asked if the Heritage Business Plan had been updated to show the latest figures. The Executive Director stated that she would get back to the Panel to explain the discrepancy.

Councillor Hughes stated his concerns about supporting businesses especially in relation to North East Somerset parking charges. The Cabinet Member stated that economic development money is being invested in Midsomer Norton high street regeneration and he disagreed regarding parking charges. Councillor Hughes stated that the bulk of investment in the town is in the Market Square, this was a Heritage Issue. We would not have chosen that. He added that sometimes projects take away money from where it should have been spent. The Cabinet Member stated that he would not characterise this as a misspend. Decisions on where money is spent are not within his portfolio.

Councillor Moss stated that some of the investment in the Somer Valley is reliant on partnerships.

Councillor Hodge asked the following questions. Cabinet Member and officer responses are in italics:

·  What proportion of the budget is transferred to reserves and how much is allocated to the BOB programme? The officer explained that £3m is temporary allocation for potential corrective payments.

·  Is the budget based on the assumption that the Government will limit Council Tax increases to 2%? The Cabinet Member explained that we do not know what the Government will decide.

·  Heritage income generation is in the table – is this year’s budget predicated on this and how confident are we of another increase.  The figures have been agreed with Heritage Services. It is an ambitious business plan following the recovery from Covid. There are projections on the return of the Chinese market and more yield per visitor.

Councillor Halsall asked about Children’s Services and whether we are getting best value when using third parties. He asked if we would save money if we brought SEND services in house. The Cabinet member stated that this would save money as currently it depends on who can meet the needs of a particular child, and it is a market with limited competition by ‘for profit’ companies. The Executive Director explained that the cost drivers are demand and cost per placement. She added that it is a volatile market and the type of child and need it changing. She stated that work can be done around social care such as with fostering families. We can look at the best packages and spend money wisely.

In response to a question from Councillor Treby, The Cabinet Member explained that some assumptions are made in the budget planning around contract inflation (residential places). There is still more work to do.

Councillor Moss referred to the proposed cuts to voluntary sector organisations being spread over 2 years in response to pressure. He stated that help is only starting now rather than at the time the budget was set. He asked if there were any pressures likely to come up in February – he mentioned Housing Revenue Account and Safety Valve.  The Cabinet Member explained that there are discussions around community contracts, but we are not aligned with those organisations on how much engagement they were expecting. The Executive Director explained that there was a meeting with the current providers in May. We are managing the savings this year and will make sure there is no cliff edge. There will be a further two engagement sessions over the next few weeks. We do recognise the message coming back from the sector and we hear it.

Regarding the Housing Revenue Account (point raised by Councillor Moss), the Cabinet Member explained that external advice had been sought. The cost is already being built into the budget for the development of housing. Regarding the Safety Valve – this is an issue for central government to sort out.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Members and Executive Directors.