Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors D Barnes, M Fayyaz, M Walsh and K Wood.

There were no declarations of interest.

The minutes of the meeting held on 23 February 2023 to be confirmed as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 23^rd February 2023 were agreed as a correct record.

Public Questions is an opportunity for people who live, work or study in Buckinghamshire to put a question to a Select Committee.

The Committee will hear from members of the public who have submitted questions in advance relating to items on the agenda. The Cabinet Member, relevant key partners and responsible officers will be invited to respond.

Further information on how to register can be found here: https://www.buckinghamshire.gov.uk/your-council/get-involved-with-council-decisions/select-committees/

There were no public questions.

To consider the Q3 report as presented to Cabinet on 21 March 2023.

Contributors:

Councillor John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing & Resources

David Skinner, Service Director for Finance (Section 151 Officer)

Paper:

Budget Performance Monitoring Q3

The Chairman welcomed Councillor J Chilver, Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing and Resources, and the officers to the meeting. In the Cabinet Member’s presentation, the following points were highlighted:

·       The report showed the forecast revenue and capital outturn for the end of quarter three. A breakeven position was forecast for the end of the financial year, despite high levels of inflation and continuing pressures on services. This was an improvement on the forecast overspend of £1.8m reported for quarter two.

·       The analysis by portfolio showed an overall overspend of £14.3m, offset by £14.3m of corporate mitigations. The largest areas of overspend were £6.7m in Children’s Services due to placement cost and increased complexity of need; £3.9m in Housing, Homelessness and Regulatory Services due to increases for temporary accommodation; and £3.4m in transport services due to increased fuel costs.

·       The Climate Change & Environment portfolio showed a favourable variance of £3.3m from the sale of electricity at the Energy from Waste plant, due to an increase in electricity price. 97% of target savings were expected to be delivered by the end of the year. £38m in grant funding had been received, with the largest to help Ukrainian refugees. The overall forecast net variance was £30.7m. £33.2m related to slippage, which was 22% of the overall budget. The biggest areas of slippage were major infrastructure and regeneration schemes.

·       The total debt had seen an increase from quarter two of £1.8m, though unsecured debts over 90 days had been reduced. Late payments were marginally below the target of 95% but increased by 3% from the last quarter.

The following points were noted during the Committee’s discussion:

·       At the end of February, the trend data had stabilised which was starting to reflect in Q4. No major fluctuations in the budget were expected. Future financial risks were further mitigated through contingencies and the financial risk reserve. Some of the pressures in children’s services were heightened due to delays in health provision and recruitment, but these were not expected to occur going forward.

·       One of the challenges in budget setting was the lack of certainty from central Government around grant funding. Thus, some of the grants that may become available were not included in the budget. However, an analysis on this issue was currently being conducted.

·       Housing costs had increased quite dramatically, and housing benefit payments had not increased at the same rate. This was a national issue and raised by the LGA. The Council would help contribute information to the overall lobbying position. Temporary accommodation was a key financial risk due to the Council’s obligation to provide housing to people with no alternative means of accommodation, which could mean providing hotel stays. The relationship between income and expenditure was discussed, and this was being monitored. Additionally, both temporary and permanent accommodation options were being considered.

·       There was significant slippage in the Aylesbury electric grid expenditure capital amount. Land was currently being identified as a site for new developments. Discussions were also held with National Grid, with  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Members of the Committee had requested that a report be brought to the Committee regarding wellbeing and absence management.

Contributors:

Councillor John Chilver, Cabinet Member for Accessible Housing & Resources

Councillor Tim Butcher, Deputy Cabinet Member for Resources

Sarah Murphy-Brookman, Corporate Director for Resources

Sarah Keyes, Service Director for HR & OD

Papers:

Update Report

Appendix 1: Local Authority Benchmarking Data

Appendix 2: Historical Sickness Absence

Appendix 3: Further detail on sickness absence costings

Appendix 4: Together Survey Results for Wellbeing and Resilience Index and Engagement Index (April 2020 and November 2022)

Appendix 5: Absence Management Process Workflow

The Chairman invited the Deputy Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor T Butcher, to introduce the report. In the Cabinet Member’s presentation, the following points were highlighted:

·       Most organisations saw a sharp fall in reported sickness absence during the pandemic, followed by increased absence thereafter. There had also been an increase across all sectors in reported absence related to mental health.

·       The Council’s highest sickness rate was 9.78 days of absence per full-time employee in August 2022. By January 2023, this was reduced to 9.12 days against the target of 9 days. The overall cost of absence was estimated to be around £4.54m, or 3.02% of the wage bill.

·       Best practice since the pandemic was to consider employee health and wellbeing as an integral part of absence management. This included greater awareness of mental health, which was the most prevalent cause of absence at the Council, at 25.44%. There was considerable variation in the sickness patterns across the directorates and types of roles carried out. A new occupational health contract with TP Health was launched in April 2023, which was more cost-effective and provided direct service to managers to manage sickness absence.

·       Sickness absence rates in the public sector were higher than in the private sector. This was attributed to the higher number of women, older workers and those with long-term health conditions, as well as care and leisure staff being part of the workforce. The Council’s aim was to recognise that ill health was part of life but reduce sickness absence overall to reach target.

·       A key component of reducing sickness was early intervention and keeping in touch with staff on sick leave, which has been shown to result in faster return to the workplace. A robust sickness absence policy with clear triggers was in place and automated through the IT system. As part of the Council’s Coaching for Performance review, wellness action plans were put in place to gain a holistic understanding of staff as individuals.

The following points were noted during the Committee’s discussion:

·       A number of Members commended the officers on their work on the report and the detail it contained.

·       A Member suggested reducing the target rate to 8 days from the current target of 9 days. The key aim was to reduce overall long-term sickness, which would reduce overall sickness significantly, so it was expected that the target could be reduced in future as a result. Furthermore, comparisons with other councils were not clear-cut; for example county councils did not include waste collection which is an area where sickness was higher.

·       It was noted that sickness varied greatly between historical legacy councils and directorates, with some already performing above the target. Work was currently undertaken to reduce sickness rates in specific directorates, such as Communities. Morale and engagement in the Adult Social Care Directorate was high according to the latest staff survey, indicating no connection between morale and sickness. Sickness rates were higher among junior staff. This was attributed to lower levels of engagement in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

Members are asked to suggest potential items so that they can be considered for the next municipal year’s work programme – these can be emailed to the Chairman and

the scrutiny officer.

A work programme for the next municipal year would be drafted in due course. Members were asked to advise the Chairman and scrutiny officer of items they wish to be considered for the future work programme.

The date is to be confirmed and will be circulated in due course.

The provisional date of the next meeting would be Thursday 20 July 2023 at 2pm.