Agenda item

Further to Minute 31 (7 October 2014), the Cabinet Member for Finance presented a report on the Council’s budget position for 2015/16 and beyond and, in particular, the budget savings options for 2015/16 and 2016/17 which had been subject to public consultation and Select Committee scrutiny in recent months.

The Cabinet Member advised that the Government’s public spending cuts had forced the Council to make in excess of £90m of savings over the previous four years.  The latest Local Government Finance Settlement meant that the Council had to make further savings of £38m over the next two years to achieve a balanced budget position and Members commented on the impact that the Government’s programme of cuts was having on the Council’s ability to maintain front-line services.

It was noted that the extensive consultation on the savings options considered at the meeting on 7 October 2014 had resulted in a number of proposals being revised or withdrawn.  As a consequence, the original savings total of £18.9m for 2015/16 and 2016/17 had reduced by £3.1m to £15.7m, which the Cabinet Member for Finance explained would have to be met from reserves alongside the £4.1m shortfall that was already anticipated.  With regard to the savings options that had been revised or withdrawn as a result of the public consultation and Select Committee scrutiny, Members made specific reference to the green waste garden collection service and driver pre-start payments within the Environmental Services division and also the borough’s Youth Service.  In respect of the latter, the Cabinet Member for Children’s Social Care referred to the positive engagement from the BAD Youth Forum which had been instrumental in the decision to reduce the proposed cut in funding from £600,000 from 2015/16 to £100,000 in 2015/16 and £200,000 in 2016/17.

The Cabinet Member for Finance reported that in addition to the Government’s reduction in central grants, the Welfare Provision Grant was to end.  The Council’s allocation for 2014/15 of £915,000 had been used to maintain the Local Emergency Support Scheme, which provided crisis payments and community care support payments for eligible residents to help ease severe financial pressures, provide emergency travel payments and prevent serious risk to the health and safety.  Members spoke on the importance of the scheme to the most vulnerable in the community and asked officers to report to a future meeting on the options for retaining a scheme.

The Cabinet Member for Finance referred to the cumulative effect of the funding changes and final savings proposals on the Council’s overall budget position, which would reduce reserves by approximately £9.4m to leave a General Fund reserve level of £23.8m.  It was noted that although that was above the prudent reserve threshold of £15m, the Council could not sustain a continued use of reserves to achieve a balanced budget position in the future.  Members commented that the way forward was to achieve future growth and a fairer settlement from the Government to reflect the pressures brought about by unprecedented population growth and other demographic issues affecting Barking and Dagenham.

Cabinet resolved to:

(i)  Note the amendments to the consulted savings proposals as set out at Appendix A to the report;

(ii)  Approve the revised saving proposals that have been through consultation as set out in Appendix B to the report;

(iii)  Approve the additional saving proposals for management implementation as set out in Appendix C to the report;

(iv)  Approve the additional saving proposals that were presented to the Public Accounts and Audit Select Committee on 2 December as set out in Appendix D to the report;

(v)  Approve the draw down from reserves required to deliver a balanced budget in 2015/16 and 2016/17;

(vi)  Approve the draw down from reserves required to fund the investment needed to deliver the savings proposals, as detailed in paragraph 4.7 of the report; and

(vii)  Agree that officers should report further on options to continue a Local Emergency Support Scheme from 2015/16 in the light of the withdrawal of Central Government funding for the service with effect from 31 March 2015.