Caroline Holland, Director of Corporate Resources gave an overview of the business Plan.

A panel member asked why we were planning cuts of £242,000 to the community and housing budget and how can we expect to find this high level of savings?

The Director for Community and Housing said that there is a strategic approach to efficiencies and these have been verified by two external reviews. These are not new savings rather the department will ensure that we extract the maximum savings from existing proposals.

The Director of Community and Housing said Brokerage team has been tasked with finding and efficiencies. It is reasonable to set target high and keep it under review. The Head of Commissioning said the team had been working with providers to redefine care packages in some instances they have been able to save up to £1000 per week.

A panel member asked how we can make these cuts given the population rise. The Director for Community and Housing said that the council had provided growth monies for demographic pressures.

A panel member pointed out there had been no uplift for providers for seven years, are we close to the tipping point where the providers will no be able to provide the service?

The Director of Community and Housing said a good working relationship has been developed with providers to deliver services during this difficult period. It had been agreed not to add another year to this proposal.

A panel member said that the reality for councillors is while no-one wishes to make savings we are required to set a legal budget and difficult decisions need to be made. Officers can be commended for their work to minimise the harm and risk to vulnerable people.

A panel member asked about the deletion of four posts in saving CH4. The Director for Community and Housing said these are posts are currently vacant so it will not involve any redundancies.

A panel member asked about the revenue costs on the capital programme and the variations in the public health programme.

The Director for Community and Housing said the revenue is part of the support to the social care IT system so it is on the capital programme. In terms of public health,  in the first year there were no reoccurring expenditures. NHS England removed money to the Clinical Commissioning Group, there was not enough time to spend the money but we can roll forward the funding. The Director for Corporate Resources confirmed that there is a £1.2 million current under spend that will be carried into 2014/15.

A panel member asked how we will know that the new social care IT system will be a good one given previous public sector disasters in implementing new systems?

The Director for Community and Housing said that a project manager, who is an industry expert has been put in place. Software upgrades is the area that can lead to significant costs,  so we are being careful in the specification and putting in stringent terms and conditions to hold the contractor to account.

RESOLVED

The panel agreed to express their concern to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission about saving CH1 as there is a significant increase in budget saving required in years 2016/17.  Panel members would like officers to provide more information about how this saving will be achieved.