Meeting documents

Cabinet is asked to approve the draft Revenue and Capital Budgets for wider consideration by the Finance, Performance and Resources Select Committee and other interested parties such as the business community and partner agencies in Buckinghamshire.

Mr Tett introduced the Draft Budget item and drew Cabinet’s attention to the following points:

• The draft budget set out a four year plan for the existing County Council.
• Portfolio teams had produced plans taking into account new pressures and opportunities for savings. 
• Residents had been asked for their key priorities and, if approved, the draft budget would then go out to a formal public consultation.
• The Finance, Resources and Performance Select Committee would scrutinise the budget in January and could recommend changes.
• The budget would then come back to Cabinet in February with a final proposal going to Council in February for approval.
• The Council were still awaiting the government settlement so various assumptions had been made in order to prepare the budget.
• There were large budget pressures in Adult Social Care (ASC) and Children’s Services. Due to recent lobbying a range of one off funding arrangements had been provided in order to have contingencies in place to mitigate any new pressures.
• £4.6m additional funding for potholes would be used this financial year and would free up additional money for next year.

Mr R Ambrose, Director of Finance and Procurement attended the meeting to answer any questions from Cabinet.  Mr Ambrose highlighted the following points:

• The draft budget set out the revenue and capital budgets over the next four 4 years.
• Unitary will mean that from April 2021 budgets would need to be aggregated.
• Draft revenue budgets took into account any underlying pressures in the current financial year and expected demands going forward.
• Children’s Social Care budget had an increase of £10.7m on last year’s budget with an increase in ASC of £3.7m
• Funding 2019/20 was the final year of the four year settlement and the draft budget took this into account along with the governments positive announcement in eliminating negative revenue support grants.
• A Spending review would take place in spring 2019 and that would give an indication of government’s funding over the next few years.  There would be a Fair Funding review, changes to business rate retention going from 50% to 75% which would bring additional functions and the Council were also still awaiting a Green Paper on ASC funding.  These unknowns presented a significant financial risk.
• The budget assumed a Council Tax increase of 2.99%.
• The draft Capital Programme included significant investment in primary and secondary school places, property maintenance and the roads programme.
• The outcomes of the budget consultation align with the draft budget particularly those around roads and support to vulnerable clients.
• Risk associated with the budget were set out in the report; demand and complexity of needs, Brexit, future funding, sustainability of providers and income streams.

Cabinet raised and discussed the following points:

• It was highlighted that a large part of the Education and Skills budget covered school transport, £15m of £22m.  Special Needs and Early Help were both overspent and did not take into consideration year on year growth of £2m in special needs.  These increases were to be covered by continuing to make savings.  Mr Ambrose highlighted the risk within special educational need placements.
• There had been significant investment in vulnerable children and Adult Social Care and feedback from the recent budget consultation supported that.
• The Ofsted Improvement Plan remained a top priority.
• There had been a significant increase in the Looked After Children’s placement budget and work to ensure more locally and appropriate placements including BCC owned children’s homes.
• Resources had two areas of financial pressure; income targets not being achieved mainly due to selling services to schools and the impact of multi academy trusts and reactive property maintenance.  Mr Chilver stated that they were confident they would secure additional property income, enhanced income from agricultural estates and new income streams.
• Increased funding in Health and Wellbeing was welcomed and the service was still awaiting the Government Green Paper, the contents of which was still unknown and the implications it may have.
•  It was highlighted that the budget was set before the recent unitary announcement so fundamentally it was a one year budget with the subsequent 3 years to be consolidated.
• There was still a big investment in roads and reactive maintenance to potholes.

Cabinet APPOVED the draft Revenue and Capital Budgets for wider consideration