Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2015/115

Contact: Katy Jurczyszyn, Strategic Finance Manager (Finance, Strategy & Monitoring) Tel: (01865) 323976

Report by Chief Finance Officer (CA6).

This report is the penultimate for the 2015/16 financial year. The final directorate variations will be set out in the Provisional Outturn Report to Cabinet in June 2016. 

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)         note the report;

(b)         note the Treasury Management lending list at Annex 4;

(c)         to approve the transfer of £0.2m to the Efficiency Reserve as set out in paragraph 48;

(d)              note the changes to the Capital Programme set out in Annex 7b and 7c.

Cabinet considered the penultimate report in a series for the 2015/16 financial year. The final directorate variations will be set out in the Provisional Outturn Report to Cabinet in June 2016. 

Councillor Hards, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance, congratulated everyone on such a good performance in challenging times. He highlighted children’s services as the main area of concern and asked questions in relation to the high number of looked after children and on the high needs funding element of the DSG. He also queried the reasons for the underspend in Social & Community Services as outlined in paragraph 24.

Councillor Tilley responded to the questions that had been raised commenting that the increase in looked after children should be seen as a positive as the Council was helping more vulnerable children. Councillor Stratford undertook to come back to Councillor Hards on the question on high needs funding. Councillor Heathcoat explained the context behind the figures in paragraph 24.

Councillor John Howson, local councillor for St Margaret’s raised a number of concerns in relation to schools and in particular he highlighted school place planning and the cost of transport for children with special educational needs. In the light of the two Multi Academy Trusts in special financial measures he also questioned the implications for the County Council pension fund of failed academy trusts. Councillor Stratford agreed that the cost of SEN transport was a concern. With regard to the financial position of academies he would speak to pensions’ officers to clarify the position. The Chairman added that the implications for the pension fund was a question for the Pension Fund Committee.

Councillor Roz Smith, local councillor for Headington & Quarry raised local concerns about the length of time people were waiting for the reablement service and queried whether the cabinet member would be seeking to find the reasond for the underspend in this service. She also queried why the take up of carers grants was so low. Councillor Smith also expressed concern should the Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group did not make the contribution referred to in the report.

Councillor Heathcoat advised that the particular resident referred should contact adult social care. On the carers grant she explained what was done to promote the grant including through the web site and call centre and through outside agencies such as Age Concern. She noted that this was the penultimate report in the series and that following discussion with OCCG there would be a contribution from them that would be reflected in the final figures.

Councillor Lawrie Stratford introduced the contents of the report and in moving the recommendations highlighted the information on capital programme monitoring that reflected re-profiling on several schemes.

Cabinet was advised that the underspend with regard to the Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service had reduced as a result of the inclusion of an early estimate of the cost of the major incident at Didcot Power Station. Cabinet recorded their appreciation of the efforts not only of the OFRS but of other services that had assisted.

RESOLVED:             to:

(a)        note the report;

(b)        note the Treasury Management lending list at Annex 4;

(c)         to approve the transfer of £0.2m to the Efficiency Reserve as set out in paragraph 48;

(d)        note the changes to the Capital Programme set out in Annex 7b and 7c.