To the Committee of the financial position for Adult Social Care and Strategic Housing revenue budgets for the period to 30^th November 2009. The report lists the variations against budget at this stage in the year and a projected outturn for the year.

The Committee received a report on the financial position for Adult Social Care and Strategic Housing revenue budgets for the period to 30 November 2009.

The Principal Accountant reported that the overspend for social care stood at £2.6m an increase from the previous month of 120k.  This had largely been caused by an  increasing demand on homecare within Learning Disabilities and Older People as a result of a combination of additional hours which had been approved at panel following reassessment  as well as increasing client volume and needs. There were still a number of residential voids which were being brought to panel to ensure that those places were filled first.

The Principal Accountant  went on to say that in order to deal  with the financial pressures faced by the Community Equipment Store, a number of small items would be removed from the list of equipment provided by the Store where these could be bought locally at minimal cost.  These items were, on average, under £10.  The Store was in the process of producing an explanatory leaflet which would inform clients where to purchase these small items.  By 1^st April purchase order processing for the Store would go on-line, which would provide managers with more accurate information.

The Principal Accountant went on to say that there were a number of actions within the recovery plan which were currently being worked on.  For example, out of County placements had been reviewed and as a result, Monmouthshire and North Somerset had agreed a one-off backdated payment to the Council of £125k.  Social workers were working with three clients within high cost residential care with a view to moving them into supported accommodation which would have an annual financial saving of £120k.   At this point in the year many of the recovery actions were not likely to have a significant impact on the outturn for 2009/10. However the full year affect is likely to contribute to a more stable position for 2010/11.

Within the Strategic Housing Service, there continued to be a reduction in the number of homeless clients placed within bed and breakfast accommodation.  The number of singles has reduced by 5 due to the transfer of clients into temporary accommodation.

In the ensuing discussion, the following points were made:

·         A Member pointed out that it was important that Social Workers should notify people going into homes that they were liable for residential care fees.  The Associate Director of joint Commissioning added that there would be a more robust process in place in order to ensure that those who were able to pay for their care did in fact pay for it.  The principle was enshrined in UK legislation under the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guide (CRAG) 2009

• In reply to a question from a Member, the Associate Director of Joint Commissioning said that the public would be provided with a leaflet which outlined where the small items that had previously been held in the Community Equipment Store could be purchased.  There would be a target cost of less than £10 for each item.

• In reply to a question from a Member, the Principal Accountant said that she felt almost 100% confident that all the figures for the packages in the report were correct.  The Associate Director of Joint Commissioning added that there a legacy of data was being dealt with that had to be cleaned.  There were a number of staff working to ensure that all payments to Frameworki matched, and that the data was cross referenced.  The Service would be in a much better position in the next financial year.

The Associate Director of Joint Commissioning went on to say that the technology that was being invested in was fit for purpose.   Robust Electronic Home Care monitoring systems and Frameworki should both be in place by the next financial year, and she was looking forward to seeing the Home Care Packages linked to financial services.  Other authorities had put a similar system in place, and it would sit outside the main Council system so that both Council staff and providers would be able to access it.

RESOLVED:

That;

a)      the current and forecast budget overspend be noted with concern and  that the recovery plans to address the situation were supported.

and;

b)     given the demographic profile of the County and high expectations of a quality services from both Central Government and service users, in order to prevent similar overspends in 2010/11, a substantial increase in the base budget was required.