To consider the recommendations and findings of the Financial Strategy Task and Finish Group. [Report attached]

Contact:  Tom Dodds    Tel. 01743 258518

Members received the report of the Intelligence and Insight Manager which set out the report of the Financial Strategy Task and Finish Group.

The Intelligence and Insight Manager informed members that the Task and Finish Group had centred their work around adult and child social care and the transformation programme and commented that a future group would need to pick up topics such as climate change.

A Member commented that the increasing costs of social care must be addressed and that the County’s MPs should be made aware of the problems and should be working to secure more funding from central government.

A Member commented that prevention played an important part in the reduction of spending on expensive social care and expressed concern that there would be an increase in demand because of cutting the budgets of those services which provided some of the intervention work such as the youth service, and that there was a need for figures to enable monitoring of the situation going forward.

A Member commented that the crux of the matter was that we did not get enough funding from central government and that we should be working to secure fairer funding.  The Director of Finance and Governance stated that the Fairer Funding Review had been ongoing for about 4 years but had not met for the last 15 months.  He informed the Committee that the LGA and Society of County Treasurers were carrying out work on developing a case for. fairer funding for Adult Social Care.

RESOLVED:

i)          That the Performance Management Scrutiny Committee consider the issues set out within the report and identifies topics to be included in its work programme and put forward for the other Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

ii)         That a strong cross-party representation of Shropshire Council Members, accompanied by all Shropshire MPs, should travel to Westminster to lobby the Prime Minister and Government more widely for better and fairer funding for Shropshire Council. In particular on more equitable funding through the Public Health Grant, the impact on costs of delivering services in a significantly rural area, and the pressures on Adult Social Care and Children’s social care and the impact this has on other Council services. 

iii)        Benchmarking information on cost and activity should be presented to Performance Management Scrutiny Committee annually [this is expected to be the meeting of the committee in January of each year]. 

iv)       A Financial Strategy Task and Finish Group should be in place for 2020/21 for the development of the Financial Strategy 2021-2024.

v)         That the availability and allocation of appropriate adapted housing that helps people to be independent, is reviewed by the Council on a regular basis. Thereby ensuring that need and right home are aligned, and best use of funding and resources is achieved.   

vi)       Performance Management Scrutiny Committee should move on from its regular view of Digital Transformation to a focus on the Transformation of the Council, in particular on the required culture change that need to take place.

vii)      The Council needs to continue to promote the benefits of all forms of prevention for children and young people and for adults, and the pursuit funding through local partnerships such as the Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) should be a priority. Prevention and investment in prevention should also be part of lobbying to Government for additional funding and support.