Agenda item

Agenda item

Updated Financial Strategy and Directorate Business Plans 2019-20

Report to 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 item HSC/18/50 the Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive and the City Treasurer that provided an update on the Council’s financial position and set out next steps in the budget process, including scrutiny of the draft budget proposals and Directorate Business Plan reports by this Committee.

 

The Committee was invited to consider and make recommendations to the Executive on the budget proposals which are within the remit of this Committee and to comment on the Directorate Business Plans which had been designed to ensure the Council invests in the services that are valued by its residents, achieving both high quality services and outcomes for residents as well as a balanced budget.

 

The Committee considered the Manchester Health and Care Commissioning - Adult Social Care Business Plan and Pooled Budget contribution 2019/20.

 

The Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing commented that continued austerity and unfair local government funding settlements had a significant detrimental effect on the lives of Manchester residents and the provision of a range services. She said that the Council’s financial planning and investment in the Airport Group had supported the delivery of services and further commented that an assumption and reliance on Council Tax to fund Adult Social Care was fundamentally flawed and was not sustainable long term. 

 

The Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing said that the Council remained committed to protecting vulnerable residents from the worst of these financial cuts and remained committed to improving services. She commented that the increase in the number of people who were homeless and rough sleeping could be linked to the imposition of welfare reform and the introduction of Universal Credit.

 

The Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources said that the funding allocation model was flawed and needed to change to ensure residents of the city received a fair settlement, noting that it did not take into account density or deprivation levels. He said that the budget that had been presented was designed to protect the most vulnerable in the city.

 

Members of the Committee commented that the decade of austerity that had been imposed on Manchester had been very unfair and had impacted on the lives of many Manchester residents. The Committee thanked the Executive Members and the officers for investing what money was available into protecting and improving those services that helped the most vulnerable in the city. Members further commented that government needed to invest appropriate funding into preventative activities and Public Health, in addition to delivering a fair financial settlement for Manchester.

 

Members discussed the need to consider the terms and conditions of those staff who deliver homecare, noting that staff were not paid for travel time. The Executive Member for Adults, Health and Wellbeing said that Manchester City Council had pledged its support to the Ethical Care Charter and would use its influence through the commissioning and procurement process to drive improvements to the terms and conditions of those staff working in the care sector.

 

Decision

 

To note the reports and recommend that the comments of the Committee are submitted to the 13 February 2019 meeting of Executive for consideration.

 

Supporting documents: