Agenda item

Agenda item

Global Revenue Budget Monitoring to the end of May 2019 (formally titled In year budget position and delivery of savings and investment proposals on main agenda)

Report of the City Treasurer (Deputy Chief Executive) attached

 

This report outlines the projected outturn position for 2019/20, based on spend as at the end of May 2019 and future projections. 

Minutes:

The Committee considered a report of the City Treasurer (Deputy Chief Executive), which outlined the projected outturn position for 2019/20, based in spend as at the end of May 2019 and future projections. 

 

The Deputy City Treasurer gave a very brief introduction to the report. Some of the main points and themes within the report included:-

 

·                The forecast for 2019/20 at the end of May 2019 is an overspend of £3.495m;

·                The main differences between the 2019/20 original and revised budget were:-

·                £5.084m for the annual pay inflation award which was included in the original Corporate Budgets and allocated across Directorates (Adults Social Care pooled budget was allocated £1.002m in the original budget);

·                £2.7m Youth Services budget transfer from Children’s Services to Neighbourhoods and Highways;

·                £0.983m Decriminalised Parking Enforcement and Bus Lane income budget from Neighbourhoods and Highways to Corporate Services; and

·                £279k Winter Pressures grant transfer from Adults Social Care to Homelessness;

·                The HRA was forecasting a £1.333m favourable variance;

·                Budgets still to be allocated on the assessment of individual business cases;

·                The drawdown request from the Transformational Challenge Reserve to champion Manchester Fair Trade status;

·                The proposed virements for a revised 2019/20 budget that required either Executive or Council approval;

·                The savings target for 2019/20 was £14.798m, which included an additional £5.776m of recovery plan savings; and

·                As assessment of risk against the delivery of approved savings for 2019/20.

 

The report was also to be considered by the Executive at its meeting on 24 July 2019.

 

Some of the key points that arose from the Committees discussions were:-

 

·                Assurance was sought that the £2.7m Youth Services budget transfer from Children’s Services to Neighbourhoods and Highways was still going to be spent on Youth Services;

·                What work was being done to address the £374k overspend due to un-achievement of cross cutting savings in relation to the HR policies;

·                Was the forecasted underspend of £373k on Community Safety and Compliance, City Centre Management, Licensing and the Out of Hours Team for the full year and where did the vacancies in these services exist as the Council had already invested significantly into community safety and compliance and it appeared that the Council was struggling to spend this additional investment;

·                Did the Council have a policy for paying “out of hours” premiums to staff;

·                Who were Redgate Holdings, what service did they provide on behalf of the Council and why was it proposed to pay them a further £355k; and

·                What scrutiny had, or was planned to take place, on the identified savings of £0.775m from Mental Health assessments.

 

The Head of Finance assured the Committee that the £2.7m Youth Services budget transfer from Children’s Services to Neighbourhoods and Highways would still be spent on Youth Services.  He also advised that the £3474 overspend in relation to HR policies was more of a delay in savings being reported due to part year implementation of some of the already agreed saving proposals, some of which would be implemented from September 2019 onwards.  These included a change to how additional voluntary contributions were managed which gave the Council benefits from an income tax perspective, and the staff annual leave purchase scheme which commenced in April 2019.

 

The Deputy City Treasurer also advised that in terms of the underspend in Community Safety and Compliance, this was the projected full year underspend.  The Head of Finance explained that the money that had previously been invested into the service had been centred around the city centre and out of hour’s support, which had been an area that had been difficult to recruit to and retain staff.  An investment pan was in place and was being monitored and evaluated.  The City Treasurer (Deputy Chief Executive) commented that the Council did have a policy for out of hours working but it would not be appropriate to comment on any additional payment of out of hours premiums without reviewing the existing policy first.

 

The Deputy City Treasurer explained that Redgate Holdings provided facilities for non residential waste disposal for the Council.  It was explained that the way that the Council budgeted for inflation, meant that companies that provided services to the Council were entitled to seek inflation under the contract that had been agreed.  However, the Council did not allocate inflation to the budget until the case for it had been reviewed and the amount agreed was appropriate.  In response to concerns that the amount of inflation proposed appeared to be quite substantial, the Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources advised the Committee that inflation payments were included in all of the Council’s contracts and in comparison to other contracts, the amount proposed was not deemed an unreasonable amount.  He agreed to provide Members with details of the contract between Redgate Holdings and the Council.

 

The Deputy City Treasurer advised that the proposed savings from mental health assessments would have or would be included as part of the business planning process that would go to the relevant scrutiny committees each year regarding planned changes to Council budgets.

 

 

Decision

 

The Committee:-

 

(1)       Notes the recommendations asked of the Executive, these being:-

 

·             The Executive is requested to:

·             Recommend that the Council approve the proposed virements over £0.5m in paragraph 61;

·             Approve the use of budgets to be allocated in paragraph 58;

·             Approve the use of reserves in Paragraph 59;

·             Approve the use of grants in addition to that already planned, as detailed in paragraph 60; and

·             Approve the proposed virements under £0.5m in paragraph 61;

 

(2)       Recommends that Officers review the Council’s recruitment strategy and attractiveness of roles within the Community Safety and Compliance service;

(3)       Recommends that as part of the HR Sub Group’s Work Programme, it considers the challenges experienced in recruiting and retaining staff within the Out of Hours Service as part of a wider report on the Council’s recruitment policy and process;

(4)       Requests that the Executive Member for Finance and Human Resources provides Members with details of the contract between Redgate Holdings and the Council in respect of in-year allocations; and

(5)       Recommends that Chair of Health Scrutiny consider whether he wishes Health Scrutiny Committee to consider scrutinising the planned savings of £0.775m from Mental Health assessments in more detail.

Supporting documents: