Agenda item

The Head of Finance, Social Care and Health introduced the report.

The report set out the draft revenue budget and capital programme of

Social Services, Health and Housing (SS,H&H) for 2013/14, along with indicative projections for the medium term. Members were informed that the Council was looking to make significant savings of around £12.8m, on top of the £17.7m delivered in 2012/13. It was noted that the final funding settlement for 2013/14 had only just been announced, but not yet fully analysed and so the budget was drafted on the latest estimated position.

It was noted that since the last budget report, the Housing Service with the exception of Housing Benefits had been transferred to the Finance Directorate and the remaining housing services, except for housing support services, had been moved into Residents Services.

Members heard that officers were working with Primary Care Trust colleagues to establish and confirm the value of the contracts that would be novated and the staffing establishment that will be transferred from the PCT to the Authority.

In terms of future challenges, the following areas were noted:

• The transfer of children from education to adult services was an ongoing service pressure.
• The impact of Housing Benefits changes on Temporary Accommodation
• The significant demographic pressure of an ageing population
• The transition of Public Health services to local government

The report recommended that discretionary charges for Social Care and Housing Services were not increased and remained at current levels. The exception being tenant rent which is proposed to increase by 3.1% in line with Government formula.

Points raised by Members were:

• Care and Support Bill – The Committee were pleased to learn that for the first time, this brought carers into the heart of the law and put them on a par with those for whom they cared.
• The ability of the budget to deliver front line services – Officers explained that current strategies had enabled officers to meet residents’ needs. Compared to other Local Authorities, officers in Hillingdon had greater scope to redesign services to address service pressures.
• Increase in Transitional Children due to Demographic Changes – The Committee noted that since 2011/12 the additional costs had averaged approximately £1.2 per annum.
• Out of Borough Packages will be reviewed and part of that review will consider whether or not to relocate them back to Hillingdon – Officers explained that cases were reviewed on a cases by case basis.
• The Public Health Transfer from the PCT to the Authority – Officers reported that there had been a considerable number of representations made by the Council and that the final allocations  represented a good settlement for the Borough.
• Financial Modeling – Officers confirmed that the review of financial models by LG Futures had confirmed that although current models were reliable and robust but being 6 years old were increasingly difficult to respond quickly in a changing environment. The Committee heard that new, more interactive models were being developed for both Adult’s and Children’s Services and when these were completed a complete refresh of the social care demographic pressures would be undertaken.

The Chairman thanked officers for a clear, well laid out report and for

answering Member’s questions. The following comments were made to Cabinet:

The Committee’s comments on the Budget were agreed as follows:

“…“We note the various budget proposals and welcome the work of the Council in this demanding and complex area. We acknowledge the range of charges, costs and other emolument features. We congratulate officers on their market development work, in keeping costs down while monitoring quality and in particular, efforts with regard to residential placements particularly those out of borough. Additionally, we note the successful redesign of services to help people live more independently in the community.

We also note and welcome the work being conducted by the Council to support people to live independently in their own homes”.

Resolved:

1. That the budget projections contained in the report be noted and the comments made by the Committee be submitted to Cabinet.