To invite cabinet members to consider performance for the first ten months of 2016/17 and the projected budget outturn for the year.

The cabinet member for economy and corporate services introduced the report. He highlighted a number of key points:

·         a projected £250k underspend for 2016/17;

·         continued reduction in headcount in economy, communities and corporate directorate;

·         standards maintained despite pressure;

·         successful bids for cyber security centre project and for development of the university;

·         city link road project behind schedule due to bad weather in December but now catching up; and

·         energy from waste plant live.

The directorate services team leader spoke on the report. He noted that almost 70% of indicators showed a positive shift in performance.

A group leader commented that underspend in the economy, communities and corporate directorate was being used to cover overspends elsewhere. She felt that it was difficult to understand the exact position as it was presented in net form. She further commented that it was difficult to see where income went within the directorates and what specific income was spent on.

The cabinet member for health and wellbeing responded that the projected overspend in the adults and wellbeing directorate was very small compared to the gross budget. The quality of services was being maintained despite the pressures and Herefordshire Council was one of the top performers in the country.

The cabinet member for young people and children’s wellbeing stated that the council should be viewed as a whole and that the structure that had been put in place meant that one directorate was responsible for gaining income and the two others focused on providing services that were needed in the best way possible. While the council had clear savings targets there would always be a need to react to urgent situations, especially when dealing with the most vulnerable members of the community.

It was noted that some council income streams were difficult to predict and this presented a challenge when setting budgets. For example, a number of grants had been announced or confirmed since the 2017/18 budget had been set and the outcome of contract negotiations for services could not be guaranteed.

The chairman of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee commented that overspend in the adults and wellbeing budget was much reduced from previous years and that the control of the budget deserved praise. The chairman of the General Overview and Scrutiny Committee commented that the standards in the children’s wellbeing directorate were much improved, having been graded inadequate only a few years before.

Resolved that:

a)    performance for the first ten months of 2016/17 was reviewed and no further actions to secure improved performance were determined.