Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R J Hunter-Clarke and Added Member: Mr C V Miller.

It was noted that the Chief Executive, having received notice under Regulation 13 of the Local Government (Committees and Political Groups) Regulations 1990, had appointed Councillors C E D Mair and L Wootten as replacement members on the Committee in place of Councillors R L Foulkes and Mrs C A Talbot respectively, for this meeting only.

There were no declarations of interests at this stage in the proceedings.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 18 June 2015 be approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(To consider Call-Ins, should any be received)

No Call-Ins had been received.

(To consider proposals for Scrutiny Reviews, should any be received)

There were no proposals for scrutiny reviews.

(To consider Councillor Call for Actions, should any be received)

There were no Councillor Call for Actions received.  

(To receive a report by David Forbes (County Finance Officer), which summarises the financial challenge faced by the Council from April 2016 onwards in light of continuing restraint in government funding. The report also outlines in broad terms the approach being taken to derive a balanced and sustainable budget over the medium term)

Consideration was given to a report by David Forbes (County Finance Officer), which summarised the financial challenge faced by the County Council from April 2016 onwards in light of continuing restraint in government funding.  The report outlined in broad terms the approach being taken to derive a balanced and sustainable budget over the medium term. 

The County Finance Officer provided Members with a detailed presentation, which covered the following areas: -

·       Background;

·       UK Government department budgets and future public spending for 2014 and 2015;

·       Summer Budget 2015;

·       Spending Review 2015;

·       Local Funding Position;

·       The Financial Challenge – June and July 2015;

·       Demand Led Services and The Consequences;

·       Demographics in the County: and

·       The Way Forward.

The County Finance Officer advised the Committee that the County Council faced a significant budgetary shortfall going forward in the light of the reductions in government grant combined with increased demand for certain services.  A process had commenced to identify a sustainable budget for the County Council over the medium term taking into account the service priorities set by the County Council.

Members were advised that the budget set by County Council in February 2015 for 2015/16 had required the use of £22m of the Council's Financial Volatility Reserve.  This would leave a balance of around £31.5m in the Volatility Reserve to meet any future budget shortfall in 2016/17 and beyond.

Members were also advised that the budget projections had been updated and the budget shortfall was now projected as shown in the table below. It was noted that the figures could not be reliably modelled until, at the earliest, the Spending Review was published by Government towards the end of 2015.

Note: The £66.1m represents the additional savings that now had to be found in addition to the £65m already identified through the Council's Fundamental Budget Review.

The £191.1m annual shortfall would be the amount of reserves required to fund the budget deficit over the next 4 years without further savings initiatives being taken.  However, the County Council only had available reserves of 16% of this sum.

It was also noted that in 2016/17 there would be a £49.6m shortfall in that year alone and only a maximum of £31.5m in reserves available.

Members were provided with an opportunity to ask questions, where the following points were noted: -

·       Members were advised that the Government's funding formula, the method to local government, had been frozen until 2020.  Therefore, lobbying for Lincolnshire County Council's funding to be increased was likely to be difficult.  However, the County Council continued to lobby local Members of Parliament to raise awareness.  It was noted that Lincolnshire Police was also disadvantaged, owing to the nationally set funding formula;

·       Members were advised that as part  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

(To consider a report by David Hair (Team Leader – Scrutiny and Member Support), which invites the Committee to consider the content of its own work programme and the work programmes of the Council's other scrutiny committees)

Consideration was given to a report by David Hair (Team Leader – Scrutiny and Member Support), which provided the Committee with an opportunity to consider its work programme and the work programmes of the Council's other Scrutiny Committees.  Copies of the individual work programmes were appended to the report and the following updates were received: -

i)       Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee

It was noted that an update on the Lincolnshire Broadband Programme would be added to the work programme for the meeting on 26 November 2015.

Members were advised that the Scrutiny Review Group was progressing well and a report would be presented to the meeting of the County Council on 18 September 2015.  Further to this, mention was made of the Consultation Meeting taking place on 10 August 2015 for any Councillor wishing to contribute to the review. 

ii)      Adults Scrutiny Committee

The Chairman advised the Committee that an item on 'Adult Care Market Position Statement' had been added to the work programme for 9 September 2015, which the Council was going to prepare to help it fulfil its duties under the Care Act 2014.  The Adult Care Market Position Statement would include information on needs, demand and trends for adult care.  It would also include an indication of current and future resourcing; a summary of supply and demand; and the authority's ambitions for quality improvements and new types of services and innovations.

The Chairman highlighted that the Committee would be considering an item on 9 September 2015 from the Care Quality Commission, an update on Inspections in Lincolnshire. This would provide the Committee with an overview of the outcomes of inspections of residential and care homes in Lincolnshire.

iii)     Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee

The Vice-Chairman advised the Committee that a report on 'The Lincolnshire Safeguarding Children Board's Audit of Early Help Provision' had been added to the agenda for 11 September 2015.

A report on 'Member Feedback from Visits to Children's Social Work Teams' had been added to the agenda for the meeting on 16 October 2015.  It was noted that Committee Members had been visiting different social work teams across the county since February 2015 and this item was to allow Members to feedback from their visits and highlight any issues identified.

It was also noted that Ofsted's Inspections of Schools was changing and a report on those changes would be presented to the meeting on 27 November 2015.

With regards to the Grammar School Transport Task and Finish Group, the membership had now been confirmed and would consist of Councillors R Wootten; C J T H Brewis; Mrs J Brockway; C E D Mair; D C Morgan; Mrs M J Overton MBE; Mrs C A Talbot; W S Webb; and P Wood.  The first meeting of the Task and Finish Group was scheduled to take place on 15 September 2015. 

iv)     Community and Public Safety Scrutiny Committee

The Chairman advised Members that the Committee would be receiving a visit from a local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.