Agenda item

This report sets out the budget proposals for Children’s Services and provides an update on changes to fees and charges.

Hitesh Jolapara (Strategic Finance Director) introduced the report that set out the budget proposals for the services covered by the Committee. He gave a presentation that showed the context of the scale of the challenge facing local government in recent years. H&F’s general government grant had reduced from £160m in 2010/11 to £90m by 2018/19. He noted that the 2018/19 budget assumed a continued freeze in council tax and no increase in fees and charges in Children’s Services, Adult Social Care, and Housing Services.

Dave McNamara (Director for Finance & Resources in Children’s Services) then gave a presentation on the Children’s Services budget – noting the following:

·         Spending was moving towards prevention in the early years which was both better for families and saved money over time as fewer children entered care.

·         The service had successfully bid for growth funding of £1.8m to build a Disabled Children’s Resource Centre, improve SEN passenger transport, set up a new improved SEN service, and support Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children.

·         The key risk areas were around potential increases in entrants to care and high placement costs.

Councillor Marcus Ginn asked how Section 106 funding was being used – and if it was being used for any ongoing revenue costs. Hitesh Jolapara noted that Section 106 funding came with specific rules and regulations around how it could be used. The Council was using the flexible elements of funding to support the revenue budget.

Councillor Marcus Ginn noted that the Moving On programme (H&F coming out of the tri-borough arrangements with Kensington and Westminster Councils) involved 14 redundancies and asked if this reduction in staff was necessitated by the budget. Steve Miley clarified that there were now just 5 members of staff at risk of redundancy in Children’s Services and all were on the Council’s internal redeployment register.

Councillor Ginn asked if the service was spending more money on early intervention work than last year. Steve Miley said that was the ambition but it was complicated by rapid changes in the residential care market – the costliest area for the service. It had become very difficult to source appropriate placements and unit costs have gone up significantly. In the last six months the service had created two bespoke children’s home for very challenging young people at a high cost to the Council, simply because there was no appropriate provision available. Councillor Sue Macmillan (Cabinet Member for Children and Education) added that this was one of the central reasons for creation of IFSS - an independent service that could work more closely with health services and bring in funding through grants and traded services.

Nandini Ganesh (Parentsactive representative) asked what the high needs block (funding for SEND provision) position was. Dave McNamara explained that H&F received the lowest funding from the Government for the high needs block out of all London boroughs. Officers were in discussion with the Department for Education about this but were not expecting any more money coming in until the spending review next Autumn.

Councillor Alan De’Ath said it was great to see the Council putting more money into SEND – particularly with the creation of the new Disabled Children’s Resource Centre.

Councillor De’Ath asked what the impact of the business rates review was. Hitesh Jolapara said the pilot modelling suggested no Council would be any worse off and H&F could get an increase in the range of £2.6m. Councillor De’Ath said he had concerns about increases in business rates – particularly the impact it would have on small businesses.

RESOLVED

That the Committee considered the budget proposals.