Agenda item

Agenda item

Updated Financial Strategy and Directorate Business Plans 2019-20

Report of the Chief Executive and City Treasurer

 

This report provides an update on the Council’s financial position and sets out next steps in the budget process, including scrutiny of the draft budget proposals and Directorate Business Plan reports by this Committee.

Minutes:

Further to Minute RGSC/18/66, the Committee considered a report of the Chief Executive and the City Treasurer which provided a further update on the Council’s financial position and set out the next steps in the budget process. 

 

The Committee was invited to consider and make recommendations on the budget proposals which were within the remit of the Committee and to comment on the Directorate Business Plans, prior to their submission to the Executive on 13 February 2019.

 

The Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources outlined the context of the reports, in particular the challenges presented by funding reductions from the national government.  The Leader commented that the cuts made to the Council’s budget were now £10million more than when the three year budget was first set in 2017/18, and what was clearly evident was that the impact of austerity was becoming ever more visible, particular in those areas of high deprivation.

 

In relation to the Corporate Core Business plan, some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

 

·                With the uncertainty of Brexit, what would be the impact of the withdrawal of European Regional Development fund to the Council and what were the 3 million of approved grants that the Council currently had access to;

·                Further clarification was requested on the leadership role of the Core in influencing outside of the organisation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve air quality and improve public transport and highways and make them more sustainable;

·                Why had staff absence levels increased within the Core;

·                There was concern that Council average days absence was 12.1 days when compared to the private sector absence average of 6.1 days;

·                Had the Age Friendly Board been involved in the arrangements to ensure residents were supported to live at home for as long as possible;

·                Was there a correlation between staff absence levels and efficiency savings;

·                Was the annual leave purchase scheme working well and if so was there any scope to achieve further savings than the identified £150,000;

·                Was it anticipated that the level of savings through ICT would be achievable; and

·                Reassurance was sought that the savings identified through the deletion of vacant posts was achievable and that these posts were not definitely not required.

 

The City Treasure advised that there had been a lot of work undertaken at a GM level on the impact assessment on the risk of withdrawal of European funding as a result of Brexit.  The removal of this funding would not impact directly on the Council’s core services, however, it would have some impact on programmes of work such as work with other European cities and climate change, were we would have reduced access to funding.  The Leader added that the removal of this funding was a bigger risk at a Greater Manchester than it was to just the Council.  The City Treasurer also agreed to provide a breakdown to Members of the 3million approved grants that was currently received.

 

In terms of the leadership role of the Core, the City Treasurer explained that this referred to work undertaken by the Council’s Policy Unit which provided information and support to these areas both in terms of bringing together the support from within the Council and links to where this work was carried out at a GM level.

 

The City Treasurer advised that sickness absence levels had remained at a similar level over the past one to two years, which reflected a considerable amount of work that had been undertaken to reduce this level and improve performance.

 

The Leader advised that in terms of enabling the MLCO to proactively triage, monitor and respond to residents’ circumstances in order to ensure they were supported to live at home for as long as possible, this was restating what was existing and long term policy, which the Age Friendly Board had been consulted on many times over a long period of time.

 

The Committee was advised that there was no direct correlation between staff absence levels and efficiency savings.  The Leader acknowledged that there would be some impact on the delivery of savings as there had been a 40% reduction in the workforce over the last nine years and Elected Members needed to be conscious of this.

 

The Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources confirmed that the annual leave purchase scheme was working well and had been well received by staff.  He hoped that the policy could be enhanced further in the future.  He also commented the Council had a comprehensive ICT strategy that would help to achieve the identified savings.  In terms of staff vacancies, the Council’s Senior Management Team had reviewed all current vacant posts to identify whether these were still required.

 

In relation to the Strategic Development Business Plan, some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

 

·                It was requested that that the word ‘solutions’, in reference to delivering housing for residents with additional needs, was removed from the Business Plan;

·                More information was needed on how many income generating interests were run by volunteers as part of the Investment Estate and would the strengthening of this performance impact on these organisations;

·                Why had there been a delay in the retendering of the repairs and maintenance contract and had this had any financial impact on the Council;

·                How much funding was contained within the regeneration reserve;

·                Could more be done in terms of the offer to apprentices from within the directorate; and

·                Why was the Adult Education Budget (AEB) being devolved to the GMCA in the 2019/20 financial year.

 

The Deputy Leader agreed to provide Members with more information on the number of income generating interests that were run by volunteers and advised that the Council was looking to increase its income from its commercial arm as opposed to its voluntary arm.  The Leader added that as part of the Council’s Estates rationalisation, where properties had no operational use to the Council, community asset transfers would be supported were possible.

 

The Committee was advised that the delay in retendering of the repairs and maintenance contracts had occurred due to an effort to try and synchronise the renewal of these contracts in order to gain the most efficiency form the contracts and to also see what other organisations could provide.  Existing contracts would continue until the bids for the new contracts had been received and evaluated.  The Leader advised that the extension of existing contracts and the delay in the retendering of these contrast had not incurred any additional costs to the council.

 

The Leader advised that the it was national government who was devolving the funding from the Adult Skills Board to a Greater Manchester level and not Manchester’s Adult Education budget that was being passed up to the GMCA.  He advised that there was approximately £15m in the regeneration reserve, a third of which would be used for revenue purposes, with the remainder to be used for investment in housing purposes.

 

The Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources advised that excluding schools, the Council was exceeding its targets apprenticeship levy targets.  It was acknowledged that more needed to be done with the schools element of the levy and the Council’s social value policy aimed to provide more opportunities for apprentices.

 

Decision

 

The Committee

 

(1)       Notes that this is the final year of a three year budget;

(2)       Requests that the Executive take into account the comments made by the Committee;

(3)       Requests the City Treasurer to provide a briefing note on the €3million European approved grants that the Council currently had access to;

(4)       Agrees that a report is submitted to a future meeting of the HR Sub Group on the management of absence across the Council; and

(5)       Requests that the word ‘solutions’, in reference to delivering housing for residents with additional needs, is removed from the Strategic Development Business Plan

 

Supporting documents: