Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Cummins, Fairclough and Moncur.

Mr. P. Cowley (Pricipal Lawyer, Corporate Legal Services) declared a pecuniary interest in the savings proposal reference 78 – Legal Services referred to in the report to be considered under Minute 41 below and he indicated that he would leave the room if any specific discussion took place on that savings proposal.

Minutes of the meeting held on 9 October 2014

Decision Made:

That the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 9 October 2014 be confirmed as a correct record.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Director of Older People on the proposed procurement exercise to be undertaken in order to replace the Homeless and Housing Related Support contracts that were due to expire on 30 June 2015.

Decision Made:

That:

(1)       the procurement process, as set out in the report, for the

replacement of the Homeless and Housing Related Support contracts be approved; and

(2)       the Director of Older People be authorised to award the contract(s) to the highest scoring bidder(s) at the end of the procurement process

The Homeless and Housing Related Support contracts with an annual value of £1,196,180 expire on 30 June 2015 and any replacement contracts must be procured in compliance with Public Contract Regulations.   

The services covered by these contracts are important services for the delivery of the Council’s Homeless Strategy.

In light of the Council’s reducing financial resources and recognising the current cost of the separate existing services, the anticipated cost-efficiencies that might be gained from the commissioning of a more integrated service and the fact that many of the current services are discretionary services, it is intended to procure the new services at a significantly lower value.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

The Council could determine to only provide statutory homeless services and to cease provision of wholly discretionary and preventive service. Implications of deciding not to procure replacement services would be:-

·         A reputational and financial risk to the authority by the potential failure to perform its statutory duty to homeless applicants. This could result in expensive litigation including judicial review proceedings.

·         An increase in the cost of the Council having to provide temporary accommodation for homeless people in expensive B&B placements that are currently rarely used.

·         A potential increase in expenditure for Children’s Services for 16-17 year children who are homeless. Many young people need housing and low level support to move on in to independence; if these services did not exist then there would be a greater burden on Children’s Services.

·         A potential increase in rough sleeping in the Sefton Borough; the accommodation services provide accommodation for residents who would otherwise be street homeless.

The Council could also determine to procure the services but at a lower “ceiling” price. The scale of reduction in provision and the extent to which the above implications are applicable would depend upon the market and the tenders received.

The Cabinet considered the report of the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT which provided details of the progress in the achievement of the approved savings for 2014/15 (and any residual savings carried forward from 2013/14); other financial risks elsewhere within the budget; the latest forecast on Council Tax and Business Rates collection; and proposals for the implementation of an amended green waste refuse collection timetable for 2015/16, including associated working arrangements.

The Head of Corporate Finance and ICT indicated that the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board at its meeting held on 25 November 2014 had considered and endorsed the recommendations set out in the report.

Decision Made:

That:

(1)       The progress to date on the achievement of approved savings for 2014/2015 and residual savings carried forward from previous years be noted;

(2)       the wider financial pressures being experienced in the remainder of the Budget be noted;

(3)       the forecast position on the collection of Council Tax and Business Rates be noted;

(4)       approval be given to the implementation of the amended green waste refuse collection timetable for 2015/16, including associated working arrangements; and

(5)       the Director of Street Scene be granted delegated authority to undertake all necessary arrangements to enable the amended green waste refuse collection to be implemented in February 2015.

Reasons for the Decision:

To ensure Cabinet are informed of the latest position on the achievement of savings for the current financial year and to identify wider budget pressures being experienced elsewhere in the budget. To provide an update on the forecast outturn position on the collection of Council Tax and Business Rates. To enable implementation of the amended green waste refuse collection timetable for 2015/2016, including associated working arrangements. Also, to delegate authority to the Director of Street Scene to undertake all necessary arrangements to enable the amended green waste refuse collection to be implemented in February 2015.

Alternative Options Considered and Rejected:

None

Report of the Chief Executive and the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT

The Cabinet considered the report of the Chief Executive and the Head of Corporate Finance and ICT which outlined the Council’s financial position for 2015/16 and 2016/17; set out the financial position in the context of the Council’s priorities; described the process undertaken to deliver a programme of savings options that reflected the need to produce a balanced budget alongside the objective of minimising the impact of the cuts on Sefton communities; provided the Cabinet with the first phase of savings options that would contribute to the forecast budget gap for the next two years; and outlined the gap remaining and the timetable for producing a balanced two year budget plan.

The Cabinet also considered a supplentary note which set out the following typographical errors in the report:

·         Page 67 - 34 Street Lighting Energy total actual budget is £1,447,400 not £1,180,000

·         Page 138 - 56 Commissioning Reduction of the Commissioning Service staffing – the text under Indicative Number of Staff at Riskshould read: up to 4 - 5 note that where changes and/or savings cannot be achieved through deletion of vacant posts, VR or VER then there may be a need for compulsory redundancies arising from this option.

The Chief Executive indicated that since 2011, the Council had faced unprecedented reductions in its resources as a result of cuts in Government Funding. In the preceding 4 years, cuts of £114 million had been identified and implemented and for the period 2015/16 to 2016/17, it was forecast that savings of a further £55 million would need to be identified. This represented a real term reduction of 45% on the 2011 spending level. She also indicated that the report set out some significant savings proposals totalling £30.288m which would have an impact on the delivery of services for the local community and further savings proposals of £24.418m had still to be identified. All of the savings proposals had been produced in accordance with the Core Principles and Budget Principles set out in the report in order to produce a two year budget plan and the proposals would need to be considered and approved by Members of the Council.

The Head of Corporate Finance and ICT indicated that the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board had considered and noted the content of the report at its meeting held on 25 November 2014 and requested that the following questions be submitted to the Cabinet for a response.