Agenda and minutes

None

The minutes of the previous meetings held on 3 November 2020 and 17 November 2020 were accepted as a true and accurate record.

2021-22 Budget and Medium Term Financial Projections (MTFP)

Attendees:

-       Chris Humphrey, Acting Director of Social Services

-       Meirion Rushworth - Head of Finance

-       Sally Jenkins – Head of Children and Young Peoples Services

The Head of Finance gave an overview of the budget position which had followed a similar process to previous years. The budget gap was £4.1 million in September of last year. Officers had then looked at planning savings down to half a million by the time the settlement was brought forward, and so the budget was almost balanced at this point. Grant funding received just before Christmas was £9 million better than expected. Population numbers were used as a large part of this calculation and the numbers being used for Newport historically had been too low. This had now been corrected and so we had received more money this year. Also, rather than it being phased in, the grant was made in full which had made it significantly better for the council this year. The final budget would be set in February following feedback received and considered.

·      A Member asked if any capital money was used to reduce revenue costs, particularly in relation to environmental initiatives in schools.

The Head of Finance replied that the capital programme included a number of energy efficiency schemes including energy saving lights, green roofs, etc. but that much depended on the learning environment in some schools and taking into account the condition of the existing school buildings.

·      A Member asked about projected pension costs.

In response to this question about pension costs, the Head of Finance confirmed that there were 2 relevant pension schemes, the NGAC fund and the Teacher’s fund. The latter had increased last year but the NGAC employer contributions would need to increase next year, and this had been built into future budget requirements.

·      A Member asked what changes to the budget were envisaged as a result of the Covid recovery plan?

     There were continuing discussions regarding the budget due to ongoing increased costs, particularly in the domicillary and residential care budgets. There had been additional financial support available during the pandemic but this funding (hardship fund) was due to cease at the end of March. This meant they would need to look into what the ending of the funding would mean going forward into next year. It could be that a more sustainable model would need to be found going forward. There were also specific challenges in some services due to additional coasts such as PPE which would be a permanent funding issue and there were currently no specific reserves put aside for this.

The Chair thanked the Head of Finance for his report.

Adult and Community Services

Proposal 1 - AS2122/03 – Transformation of Adult Day Services

The Acting Director of Social Services introduced the saving proposal:

The service currently ran a number of day services from the Brynglas site. Over the past few years, the numbers attending the services had significantly reduced  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.