Issue - meetings

  The Leader of the Council will present Wiltshire Council’s Financial Plan for 2014/2015  for approval by Cabinet for onward recommendation to Council on 25 February 2014.

The views of the Special meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee held on 5 February and the Group Leaders’ meeting with Trade Unions on 6 February will be reported.

  The Leader presented the draft Financial Plan for 2014/15 for Cabinet’s consideration, agreement and onward recommendation to Council on 25 February 2014.

The Leader explained that once again, in the face of continued reduction in Government grant, increased demand for services particularly children’s services and adult care and the Council’s commitment to protect front line services as far as possible, it had not been an easy task. She acknowledged that next year was likely to be even more challenging.  The proposed budget included savings from services of £25.540 million. Every effort had been made to optimise efficiency savings internally to minimise the impact on the public and maintain a zero increase in council tax.

Cabinet received a report which provided an assessment of draft proposals

to Council to set a budget for 2014/15 and the impact on Council Tax, rents, fees and charges, the capital programme, school budgets as well as reserves.

Cllr Dick Tonge presented the Financial Plan and guided members through the document and the detailed financial information in the Budget Book.

It was noted that the specific changes to the Financial Plan also reflected decisions that the Council was already progressing and the Plan thus confirmed the commitments to resource the 12 key actions  as detailed in the report presented, in order to ensure delivery.

The budget for 2014/15 would redirect and invest £18.085 million of resources in line with the Business Plan. To date in response to the consultation responses received, investment as set out at Section 7 of the report presented, supported money being directed into the identified priority areas, namely the maintenance of roads, older people and adult social care and affordable housing.

It was noted that £1.994 million net was proposed to safeguard vulnerable Children. Provision was being made for £2.548 million before savings to increase pay by 1%, the first pay rise for staff in five years. The proposals also protected ongoing investment in building more homes and campuses which would help stimulate the local economy. £10.481 million of new capital money would be invested in Highways in 2014/15 and £45 million over the next four years. Aligned to the Business Plan the budget would also safeguard the commitment to Military Civil Integration and creating / protecting jobs.

Cllr Roy While, presented the report of the Special meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee held on 5 February to consider its response to the budget proposals. Cllr While guided Cabinet through the key points raised by the Committee and acknowledge the challenges faced by Cabinet in drawing up a budget in difficult financial circumstances.  

The report also detailed the various forms of consultation undertaken on the budget which included a household survey, details of which were presented; a meeting with trade unions; a meeting with non-domestic rate-payers had been arranged; People’s Voice; a very well attended budget consultation event on 10 February with various sectors and ages of the community and the Wiltshire Council’s Housing Board on 27 January, the minutes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23

A report is attached from the Associate Director of Finance on the Council’s Financial Plan Update for 2014/15. 

Please note that Appendices of the Financial Plan are attached to this agenda as follows:

Appendix 1 –           Cabinet’s Updated Business & Financial plans 2013-15, which includes budget proposals for 2014/15 and budget book

Appendix A – Financial Plan Update

Appendix B – Service Budget summary

Appendix C – Strategic savings

Appendix D – 2014/15 Individual Service Budget Book

Appendix E – Assumptions used to set the budget

Appendix F – Capital Programme

Appendix G – Housing Revenue Account

Appendix H – Fees and Charges

Appendix I   – Public Health Grant planned expenditure

2 –                              Assessment of investment and increased cost pressures                       

3-                                 General Fund Reserves assessment

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Associate Director of Finance will be in attendance to introduce the updated financial plan, explain how it was compiled and to answer questions arising in relation to the context and rationale.

The Chairman of the Committee will then invite questions and comments on the presentation and report. This will be done section by section as follows:

·         Introduction – how the papers flow

·         2013/14 Budget Position (including reference to the key pressure areas identified in budget monitoring, and detailed further in the Associate Director’s report circulated with the budget papers.)

·         How much funding have we got?

·         How much do we need to invest for the Business Plan and are we sure it is enough/ not too much?

·         What has been the process to identify savings? (There will be more detail in the Associate Director’s report particularly relating to strategic savings)

·         Other budgets – fees and charges, Capital, HRA, Schools

·         Reserves

·         What does that mean for Council Tax and has it been calculated correctly?

·         Finally, there will be opportunity to ask any further questions on the budget papers.

The views of the Committee and any findings and agreed recommendations resulting from the meeting will be formerly reported to Cabinet and Council.

The draft Wiltshire Council Financial Plan Update for 2014/15 was presented by the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Risk and the Associate Director (Finance) ahead of its submission to Cabinet on 11 February and Full Council on 25 February 2014.

Details of proposed investments and savings were outlined within the context of reductions in the government revenue support grant to the council and the planned freeze on council tax.

The Committee, along with other members in attendance, discussed the presentation as attached to these minutes as Appendix 1, and sought clarification on several issues as well as commenting upon the proposed budget, with full details contained in the report at Appendix 2 to these minutes.

Areas of discussion included the deliverability of proposed savings, the communication of those savings throughout the council’s management structure, the reduction in the council’s reserves for one year as a result of a technical adjustment, balancing the budget in the face of increased pressures upon vulnerable older person and young person services, and the proposed strategic savings as detailed in the report.

At the conclusion of debate, it was,

Resolved:

1)    To thank all those who attended the meeting and contributed to discussion and, in doing so, to acknowledge the work done by the officer team in drawing the budget documents together and the challenges faced by the Executive in difficult financial circumstances.

2)    To recommend that Council take into account the main points made by the special meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee as outlined within the attached report at Appendix 2 when determining the 2014/15 budget.