Agenda item

The Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive which sought approval of the Council’s productivity plan which demonstrates how the Council plans to improve the service performance and reduce waste (for copy of report, see file of minutes).

In moving the report, the Leader of the Council referred to the difficult challenges in local government over the previous 14 year period and a range of issues which had impacted the sector, including a rise in demand for statutory services, the cost of living crisis, the pandemic and ongoing impacts of climate change.  These were in addition to the continued reductions to public spending which had seen this Councils core spending reduced by £260m since 2010.

The Productivity Plan set out the Councils obligations to maintain efficient service delivery and also what national government could do for the sector to make it more sustainable.  The new Government had the opportunity to set out policy agenda and the Cabinet called upon them to make changes to some of the deep-seated structural drivers of demand that impacted on the sector and associated funding reform.

The Leader confirmed that since 2010, children in care had increased by 147% and many had complex needs which placed huge pressures on council budgets.  Children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) had also increased and these growing demands were national trends that the sector was struggling to meet.  Collectively, councils were carrying accumulated deficits in their accounts equating to billions of pounds.  Increased numbers of children identified with SEND had impacted on the cost of Home to School Transport, with the budget increasing by 194% in the previous five years.

The issues had been compounded by the reliance on short term funding settlements from the Government.  This had impacted on the ability to make long term strategic choices and it undermined the ability to plan and optimise strategic decisions for service users. This was another national trend that the new Government had the power to address through funding reform and multiyear funding settlements. 

The Leader confirmed that the plan included many other examples of the pressures faced by councils, how they had been addressed, and suggestions of how the Government could assist going forward.  Despite these challenges, the Joint Administration had continued to support residents and communities, making some bold decisions in relation to capital spending.  They had also recognised that residents faced similar issues with their own household budgets and developed a comprehensive action plan to support people hardest hit by the cost of living crisis.  This included a Council Tax Reduction Scheme, which was the only scheme in the north east which provided 100% discount to financially vulnerable households.  This Council delivered, and the Leader of the Council urged the Government to do the same.

Councillor R Bell confirmed that the Council had a reputation for being well run, with good governance arrangements and strong finances, as evidenced in the Productivity Plan.  There were processes in place to demonstrate good value for money and regular budget and performance monitoring, supported by a range of qualitive assessments from external auditors.  In addition routine benchmarking was carried out against other councils. 

The Council would continue working to continuously improve in alignment with the plan.  It provided a useful summary of information in relation to plans, strategies and data monitoring to in response to the enquiries of the former Minister for Local Government at Appendix 2.  In relation to barriers, the Council had set out a range of suggestions from their own experience and from peers across the sector. Examples included:-

·      fairer distribution of funding based on needs and demands;

·      return to multiyear funding settlements;

·      reform of the Adult Social Care Precept and Home to School Transport

·      regulation of the Children’s Social Care market;

·      reset of Business rates and local taxation reformed so areas such as Durham were not adversely affected due to the low tax base and high student population; and

·      reform of Council Tax

It was hoped that the new Government would seek to address these types of funding flaws, otherwise there was a risk that the sector would become unsustainable and be left providing little more than statutory services.

He seconded the recommendation in the report.

Councillor M Wilkes was in full support of the recommendation and was critical of what he believed to be wasteful spending by the previous administration.  The Council had since made improvements but there were always opportunities to make improvements and find savings.  The shortfall in local government equated to billions and the new Government needed to reform and provide funding for the provision of quality services.

Resolved:

That the recommendation in the report be approved.