Agenda, decisions and minutes

A apology for absence was received from Glen Garrod, Executive Director for Adult Care and Community Wellbeing.  It was noted that Derek Ward, Director of Public Health, was in attendance in his place.

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

There were no announcements by the Leader, Executive Councillors or Executive Directors.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting held on 6 December 2022 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(To receive a report by the Executive Director – Resources which seeks approval for the proposals on the Council Budget for 2023/24, as set out in the report, for internal and external consultation)

1.    That the following elements of the budget for 2023/24 be approved as the Executive’s initial proposals subject to further consultation and scrutiny:-

a)    The budget requirement pre-use of reserves as set out in Table D;

b)    The budget savings and cost pressures covering the 2023/24 financial year, as set out in Appendix A of the report;

c)    The draft capital programme 2023/24 onwards set out in Appendix B of the report.

2.    That the advice of the Executive Director for Resources as s151 Officer at paragraphs 1.5 to 1.11 of the report be noted.

3.    That the options for the setting of a precept and use of reserves relating to the initial proposals for the 2023/24 budget set out below be noted:

-       Option A (based on a 2% Adult Social Care (ASC) precept and a 0.99% general precept making a total precept for 2023/24 of 2.99% and £10.3m use of reserves)

-       Option B (based on a 2% Adult Social Care precept and 1.99% general precept making a total precept for 2023/24 of 3.99% and £6.9m use of reserves)

-       Option C (based on a 2% Adult Social Care precept and 2.99% general precept making a total precept for 2023/24 of 4.99% and £3.4m use of reserves.

As set out in Table F of the report.

4.    That the Executive reserves its position in relation to the above options for the setting of a precept and use of reserves for the 2023/24 budget pending further consultation, scrutiny and final funding announcements.

5.    That the carrying out of consultation and scrutiny on the Executive’s initial proposals as set out in paragraph (1) together with all of the options referred to in paragraph (3), be approved.

A report on the Council’s Budget for 2023/24 was presented by Andrew Crookham, Executive Director – Resources, and Michelle Grady, Assistant Director – Finance.  The proposals, which would be subject to consultation, had been based on the provisional local government settlement for 2023/24 which had been issued on 19 December 2022.  The announcement of the final settlement was expected in February 2023, and this was anticipated to be in line with the provisional settlement.

Further budgetary information was awaited from the Lincolnshire district councils on likely council tax and business rates income for 2023/24. 

The report set out a number of options for consultation, but reserves would need to be used in order to provide a balanced budget.  The budget had been brought together following announcements from government in the Autumn Statement, and the provisional local government settlement.  It was noted that the latter had provided slightly more funding than originally anticipated, but the high costs of energy were having an impact.  The government had set out its plans for 2024/25 but had only provided a one-year settlement.

Paragraphs 1.18 to 1.30 of the report set out some of the key points from the Autumn Statement and the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement.  The key point to highlight was in relation to the change to the referendum limit for setting council tax, with the maximum increase now being set at 5% which included the 2% Adult Social Care precept.

In terms of the budget process, it was highlighted that with the assumptions made in relation to the cost pressures, the Council would have a deficit position of over £10m for 2024/25. The full details of all services and cost pressures were set out in Appendix A to the report.  Some of the key areas of cost pressures were pay and cost inflation, as well as Adult Social Care pressures, energy costs and streetlighting, highways maintenance and school transport.  In relation to the risk around costs for school transport, a review was currently being undertaken by the service area and it was likely that the final costs would be known by the time the final budget proposals are reported to the Executive in February.

Due to the late announcement around the change to the referendum limit for council tax, a number of options were included in the report, which were increases of 2.99%, 3.99% and 4.99% which all included the 2% Adult Social Care precept.  All options would require the use of reserves to balance the budget.  The financial risks were also set out in the report, of which the main one was the uncertainty around funding beyond 2024/25, there was also a risk around council tax collection, but officers were working closely with the district councils to manage this.

Details of the Council’s reserves were also set out in the report, and a review of the existing earmarked reserves had identified that there were some which were no longer required for their original purpose and so could be used to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

(To receive a report by the Executive Director – Resources which invites the Executive to consider the re-commissioning of the social care client information system)

1.    That the re-commissioning of the Mosaic social care client information system, via a direct contract award with Access Group, using the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) DAS framework agreement, be approved, to commence February 2023 for five years initially, with an option to extend for up to two years.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director – Resources, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Resources, Communication and Commissioning, to take all decisions necessary to conduct the procurement process up to and including the award and entering into of the contract.

The Head of Corporate Systems introduced a report on Recommissioning of the Social Care Client Information System which detailed the need for the Council to re-commission its social care client case management system contract and recommended the continuation of the existing Mosaic system.  It was noted that the current contract for Mosaic ran until 5 January 2024, with the maximum permitted number of annual extensions already exhausted.  Current contract costs for Mosaic were c£0.352m per annum, including Licensing, hosting, and support.

The Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board was in attendance to present the comments of the Board followings its consideration of this item at its meeting on 15 December 2022.  The Board had noted that the marketplace had been explored and that the costings were relatively reasonable, and therefore supported the recommendations to the Executive.

During discussion by the Executive, the following points were highlighted:

·       In relation to expected savings, it was noted that the support was being reviewed, including how better forms could be utilised and exploring ongoing efficiencies.

·       This system was used primarily for social care records, but it was starting to include more and more data such as education, which helped to develop a single record for each service user.

·       There was a need for reassurance that the best use was being made of this system and it was suggested that this was added into the work programme for the relevant scrutiny committee and reported on as part of the digital strategy and transformation programme.

RESOLVED

1.    That the re-commissioning of the Mosaic social care client information system, via a direct contract award with Access Group, using the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) DAS framework agreement, be approved, to commence February 2023 for five years initially, with an option to extend for up to two years.

2.    That authority be delegated to the Deputy Chief Executive & Executive Director – Resources, in consultation with the Executive Councillor for Resources, Communication and Commissioning, to take all decisions necessary to conduct the procurement process up to and including the award and entering into of the contract.

(To receive the Director of Public Health’s Annual Report 2022, which examines the diverse communities of Greater Lincolnshire, and for the Executive to consider approving the publication of this document to Lincolnshire County Council’s website)

That the contents of the Annual DPH Report be noted and the publication to Lincolnshire County Council’s website be approved.

The Director of Public Health presented his annual report entitled The Diverse Communities of Greater Lincolnshire, which had analysed local data and identified four types of community across Greater Lincolnshire – urban centres, urban industrial centres, costal communities and rural and market towns.  The report described the four types of community and highlighted the key challenges and opportunities for health and wellbeing, that varied across different places.  It was hoped this fresh perspective would add value to the work of those supporting health and wellbeing and delivering health and care services across Greater Lincolnshire.

It was highlighted that the Director of Public Health had a statutory responsibility to write this report, and the Council had a statutory responsibility to publish it.  this was the first year that the report had been written to cover the three areas in Greater Lincolnshire.  It was noted that this report would be shared with health and care partners and discussed with the Chief Executives of health services.

During discussion of this report, the following was raised by the Executive:

·       It was commented that this was a fascinating report, particularly in relation to the breakdown of different communities and their needs.

·       It was queried whether data had been compared with that of areas like Norfolk, as that was also a very rural area, and whether similar health issues were experienced.  This was not something which had been done at this time, however the Director of Public Health could raise this issue with the Association of Directors of Public Health.  It was noted that Norfolk was a more affluent area, particularly on the coast.  However, as more people were able to work from home more often there was the opportunity to attract inward investment as people moved to the coast from more urban areas.

·       The issue of poor air quality was raised, and it was queried whether this was something that the Council should be concerned about, particularly in relation to agricultural areas, and whether there was a need for additional monitoring stations.  The Director of Public Health advised that this was something that DEFRA was aware of, particularly in large rural counties.  If it was found that there were particular challenges around air quality in Lincolnshire, there was some mobile air quality monitoring equipment which could be used.  The Executive was advised that there were no significant concerns for Lincolnshire, but it was appropriate for the Director of Public Health to monitor this as necessary.

·       The focus within the report was to ensure that services recognised the variation across Lincolnshire and the different communities that they served.

·       A discussion took place regarding the challenges around housing in coastal areas and made reference to the need to ensure that there was a mixed economy.  In terms of the consultee process for planning applications, there were only a few areas where the council was a statutory consultee, and any provision for health services would be through money made available through S106 agreements.

·       In terms of economic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.