To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillors CA Gandy and D Summers.  Apologies had also been received from the Leader of the Council, Councillor AW Johnson.

To receive details of any Members nominated to attend the meeting in place of a Member of the Committee.

Councillor EL Holton substituted for Councillor CA Gandy and Councillor EPJ Harvey substituted for Councillor D Summers.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on the Agenda.

No declarations of interest were made.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2015.

The minutes of the previous meeting were received.

RESOLVED:      That the minutes of the meeting held on 22 September 2015 be approved as a correct record.

To note questions received from the public and the items to which they relate.

(Questions are welcomed for consideration at a Scrutiny Committee meeting so long as the question is directly related to an item listed on the agenda.  If you have a question you would like to ask then please submit it no later than two working days before the meeting to the Committee Officer.  This will help to ensure that an answer can be provided at the meeting). 

The Chairman drew attention to the supplement to the agenda and read out the question received from Ms Caith Dye.  The Chairman, noting the response provided by officers, questioned the timescale for the launch of the Wellbeing Information and Signposting for Herefordshire (WISH) service; reference was made to a presentation at the 9 June 2015 meeting that identified August 2015 for the public launch.  The Assistant director commissioning advised that it had been the intention to locate the service in the Hereford Library and Museum but the building had been closed due to asbestos related issues.  It was reported that work was in progress to identify suitable alternative premises before the end of November 2015 and there would be ‘pop-up’ outreach arrangements around the county.  The Chairman requested that local ward members be kept informed about developments.

In response to a query from a committee member, the Chairman advised that there would not be an opportunity for a supplementary question from the public on this occasion.

[Note:  An overall presentation, Financial planning assumptions 16/17 - 19/20, was published in a supplement to the agenda and was given to members of both scrutiny committees at this meeting.  For the purpose of these minutes, the key points have been separated into the relevant agenda items below.]

To seek the views of the committee on those elements of the council’s corporate plan 2016-20 relevant to its own remit in order to inform cabinet’s recommendation to council (specifically the impact on health and social care which are reflected in each of the corporate priorities in the draft corporate plan at appendix A.)

The Deputy Leader advised the committee that the corporate plan 2016-20 set out the overarching policy framework within which decisions would be taken and resources allocated.  The Deputy Leader said that the achievements during the last plan period included: £49m of savings and balanced budgets during times of austerity; significant private sector investment and success with the Old Market development; substantial investment in the county road network; and the adoption of the Herefordshire Local Plan Core Strategy.

The corporate plan key priorities were identified as follows:

•           Enable residents to live safe, healthy and independent lives.

•           Keep children and young people safe and give them a great start in life.

•           Support the growth of our economy and the number of people in work.

•           Secure better services, quality of life and value for money.

The Assistant director commissioning reported that work would continue on the corporate plan, taking into account any comments from the scrutiny committee, and would be considered by Cabinet in January 2016 for onward recommendation to Council in February 2016.  The plan had been informed by the Priorities and budget consultation, the evidence base of Understanding Herefordshire, and the level of available funding.

RESOLVED:  That the draft corporate plan 2016-20 be noted.

To seek the views of the committee on the draft medium term financial strategy (MTFS) 2016-20 and the budget proposals for 2016-17. Specifically the impact of the proposals on health and social care which are detailed in appendix 2

The Director of resources presented slides 1 to 10 of the overall presentation, the principal points in relation to the budget and MTFS included:

1.       The council’s net budget 2015/16 was £142m, with over half of the expenditure would be on adults’ wellbeing (£53.2m) and children’s wellbeing (£22.1m).

2.       It was projected that, as a consequence of the government’s continuing austerity measures,  £32m of further savings would be required to 2019/20.  Whilst the authority could take confidence from the savings achieved to date, the situation was becoming more challenging given the efficiencies already removed from the budget.

3.       The presentation addressed the question ‘why doesn’t spending reduce by the savings target?’, with reference made to inflation arising from the costs of the living wage, pensions costs, national insurance, demographic pressures, and capital financing costs; it was estimated that the base budget would reduce to £128m by 2019/20.

4.       The current savings proposals identified £28m of savings over the next four financial years but there would be a £4m shortfall in 2019/20.  The government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), to be published on 25 November 2015, would provide more detail to inform the projections going forward.

5.       Public consultation during summer 2015 on the savings proposals prioritised the sale of the council’s smallholdings estate and the introduction of on street parking charges, with the least popular option being the reduction of customer services and libraries.  In light of this, savings to customer services and libraries had been adjusted over a longer period and discussions would continue with the public and town and parish councils with a view to maintaining levels of service at a reduced level of subsidy.

The Head of corporate finance presented slides 11 to 18, the key points included:

6.       The presentation addressed the question ‘how did you work out grant reductions?’ by providing a summary of the trends in government funding over the three years 2013/14 to 2015/16.

7.       Reference was made to a graph issued by the Office for Budget Responsibility which showed how the government intended to reduce public spending and, with the protection of NHS, education and international development, illustrated the extent of the pressures on the ‘other’ segment which included local government.

8.       It was reported that the dedicated school grant, whilst ring-fenced in cash terms at £96m, would face increasing inflationary cost pressures, estimated to add at least 15% to school costs over the next five years.

9.       Government departments had provisionally agreed to average cuts of 30% in current funding over the next three years.

10.     It was assumed that government funding would reduce by 12% per annum but the CSR would provide more clarity around the basis of the assumptions.

11.     Further detail was provided about the assumptions made in relation to formula or revenue support grant, locally retained business rates, business rates top up, and new homes bonus grant.

12.     Forecast net budget for the years 2014/15 to 2019/20 showed a reduction from £146m down to £128m, with revenue support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.