Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Education and Skills along with the Corporate Director for Finance and Assets submitted a joint report setting out the 2019/20 revenue budget forecast out-turn.

Councillor Holland advised Cabinet that there would be additional financial costs from responding to the virus that would be brought to Members later. While welcoming the £1.6bn of additional funding from central government, he also advised Cabinet that Swindon’s allocation of this had not been determined.

Resolved -  That the 2019/20 revenue budget forecast out-turn for each service area set out in Table 1 and Appendix 1 be noted.

The reasons for the decision and alternative options are as set out in the report to the meeting.

Councillor Russell Holland, the Deputy Leader of the Council and Vice Chair of Cabinet, and the Director of Finance submitted a joint report providing Cabinet with the 2019/20 revenue budget forecast out-turn.  The report also sets out the Corporate Management Team’s ongoing work to mitigate any potential overspend as well as seeking Members’ support for proposed virements.

Councillor Holland thanked officers for their work in reducing the projected year-end overspend but advised Cabinet that more work was required to ensure that the deficit was eliminated by then.

Councillor Wright asked questions relating to the process by which Members would know which posts were being held vacant.  The Deputy Leader responded at the meeting and Councillor Dale Heenan, Cabinet Member for the Town Centre, agreed to respond to any written question from Councillor Wright that referred to specific posts within his portfolio area.

Resolved –

1)   That the 2019/20 revenue budget forecast out-turn for each service area set out in Table 1 of the main report and Appendix 1 be noted;

2)   That the Corporate Management Team’s continued implementation of plans to mitigate the current forecast overspend be noted;

3)   That the update on the Spending Round 2019 be noted; and

4)   That the virements set out in Appendix 2 be approved.

The reasons for the decision and alternative options are as set out in the report to the meeting.

Councillor Russell Holland, Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance, and the Director of Finance, submitted a joint report providing Cabinet with an update on the position in relation to the 2018/19 forecast outturn and setting out the approach for addressing the financial challenge in the period to March 2020.

Councillor Mary Martin, with the Corporate Director, Children’s Services, responded at the meeting to questions put by Councillor Jim Grant, the Leader of the  Opposition, regarding the overspend in relation to Children’s Services provision and, in particular, measures being taken by the Council to (a) reduce social workers’ caseloads and limit reliance on the use of agency social workers, (b) address issues of remuneration disparity between council employed social workers and agency staff, and (c) improve the employment offer available in order to retain Council employed social workers and also to encourage agency staff to consider full time employment by the Council. Councillor Martin also responded to a supplementary question put by Councillor Grant regarding the possibility of utilising land identified in the Council’s Strategic Housing and Economic Land Availability Assessment to provide accommodation that might be utilised to alleviate the budget pressure of out of borough placements for vulnerable people.

Resolved – (1) That the in-year forecast outturn position for 2018/19 and the responding actions in place to manage the projected year-end overspend, be noted.

(2) That the development of the Council’s capital strategy and the approach to delivering a balanced revenue budget for 2019/20 be also noted.

(3) That the virements set out in Appendix 2 to the report be agreed.

The reasons for the decision and alternative options are as set out in the report to the meeting.