Public Document Pack
Customers and Corporate Directorate David Wilcock Head of Legal and Governance Reform Governance & Committee Services Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale, OL16 1XU
Phone: 01706 647474 Website: www.rochdale.gov.uk To: All Members of the Corporate Enquiries to: Peter Thompson Overview and Scrutiny Committee e-mail: [email protected] Telephone: 01706 924715 Date: Friday, 12 th June 2015
Dear Councillor
Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee
You are requested to attend a meeting of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee to be held in the Training and Conference Suite, Council offices, first floor, Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale, OL16 1 XU on Monday, 22 nd June 2015, commencing at 6.15pm.
The agenda and supporting papers are attached.
If you require advice on any agenda item involving a possible Declaration of Interest which could affect your right to speak and/or vote, please refer to the Code of Conduct or contact the Monitoring Officer or Deputies or staff in the Governance and Committee Services Team at least 24 hours in advance of the meeting.
Yours Faithfully
David Wilcock Head of Legal and Governance Reform
Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee Membership 2015/16 Councillor Ali Ahmed Councillor Shefali Farooq Ahmed Councillor Sultan Ali Councillor Andy Bell Councillor Malcolm Boriss Councillor Robert Clegg Councillor Susan Emmott Councillor Terry Linden Councillor Shaun O'Neill Councillor Peter Winkler Councillor Sameena Zaheer
Rochdale Borough Council
CORPORATE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
Monday, 22 nd June 2015 at 6.15 pm
Training and Conference Suite, First Floor, Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale, OL16 1XU
A G E N D A
Apologies for Absence 1. Declarations of Interest (1-3) Members must indicate at this stage any items on the agenda in which they must declare an interest. Members must verbally give notice of their interest at the meeting and complete the form attached with this agenda.
Members are also advised to take advice with regard to any matter where there is potential bias or predetermination in any business to be considered at the meeting and whether they should take part in decision making at the meeting.
Members are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011 and the Council's adopted Code of Conduct, they must declare the nature of any discloseable pecuniary interest; personal interest and/or prejudicial interest required of them and, in the case of any discloseable pecuniary interest or prejudicial interest, withdraw from the meeting during consideration of the item, unless permitted otherwise within the Code of Conduct. 2. Minutes (4 – 14) To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held 8 th April 2015, and to note the Actions List appended thereto. 3. Committee Work Programme 2015/16 (15 – 21) To consider the development of the Committee agenda for 2015/16. 4. Directorate Plans 2014/15 Year-End Performance Outturn (22 – 29) To scrutinise the Performance and Outturn of the 2014/15 Directorate Plan (a) Finance Services Directorate Plan 2014/15 and Year End Performance Outturn (30 – 31) (b) Customers and Corporate Services Directorate Plan 2014/15 and Year End Performance Outturn (32 – 34)
5. Finance Services Directorate Plan 2015/16 (35 – 38) To consider the priorities and targets of the Finance Services Directorate for the coming year. 6. Financial Monitoring Items (a) Revenue Outturn 2014/15 (39 – 52) (b) Capital Finance Outturn 2014/15 (53 – 65) (c) Savings Financial Outturn 2014/15 (66 – 72) (d) Collection Fund Outturn 2014/15 (73 – 82)
7. Update Reports (a) Discretionary Crisis Fund 2014/15 Performance Report (83 – 97) (b) 4th Quarter Corporate Complaints (98 – 125)
8. Putting Public Service Reform on a Programme Managed Footing Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services to report. 9. AGMA Scrutiny Pool 126 - 137 To note the minutes of the meetings held on 13 th March and 17 th April 2015.
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Agenda Item 1
DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CODE OF CONDUCT ADOPTED BY THE COUNCIL ON 25 TH JULY 2012, MEMBERS ARE REQUIRED TO DECLARE DISCLOSABLE PECUNIARY INTERESTS, PERSONAL INTERESTS AND PREJUDICIAL INTERESTS (LISTED ON THEIR REGISTER OF INTERESTS).
MEMBERS SHOULD REFER TO THE CODE OF CONDUCT AND/OR THE MONITORING OFFICER AND/OR THEIR DECLARATION FOR FURTHER GUIDANCE
MEETING AND DATE Indicate either Nature of Interest • Discloseable Pecuniary Interest OR ……………………………. • Personal Interest OR • Personal and Prejudicial interest Agenda item
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Signed………………………………………………………………………………………… Please print name…………………………………………………………………………………………..
IF A MEMBER HAS A DISCLOSEABLE PECUNIARY INTEREST THAT HAS NOT BEEN INCLUDED ON THEIR REGISTER SUBMISSION, THEY ARE REQUIRED BY LAW TO UPDATE THEIR REGISTER ENTRY WITHIN 28 DAYS. FAILURE TO PROVIDE PROPER NOTIFICATION IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE.
THIS FORM, INCLUDING ‘NIL’ ENTRIES, MUST BE GIVEN TO THE GOVERNANCE AND COMMITTEE OFFICER NO LATER THAN AT THE END OF THE MEETING Summary of discloseable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interests.
Disclosable pecuniary interests A ‘disclosable pecuniary interest’ is an interest of yourself, or of your partner if you are aware of your partner's interest, within the descriptions set out in the table below. "Partner" means a spouse or civil partner, or a person with whom you are living as husband or wife, or a person with whom you are living as if you are civil partners.
Subject Description Employment, office, Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation carried on for profit trade, profession or or gain vocation Sponsorship Any payment or provision of any other financial benefit (other than from the Council) made or provided within the 12 month period prior to notification of the interest in respect of any expenses incurred by you in carrying out duties as a member, or towards your election expenses. Contracts Any contract made between you or your partner (or a body in which you or your partner has a beneficial interest) and the Council - (a) under which goods or services are to be provided or works are to be executed: and (b) which has not been fully discharged. Land Any beneficial interest in land which is within the area of the Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council. Licences Any licence (alone or jointly with others) to occupy land in the area of the Borough for a month or longer. Corporate Tenancies Any tenancy where (to your knowledge) - (a) the landlord is the Council: and (b) the tenant is a body in which you or your partner has a beneficial interest. Securities Any beneficial interest in securities of a body where - (a) that body (to your knowledge) has a place of business or land in the area of the Borough; and (b) either – (i) the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body; or (ii) if the share capital of that body is of more than one class, the total nominal value of the shares of any one class in which you or your partner has a beneficial interest exceeds one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that class.
Personal Interests You have a personal interest in any business of the authority where it relates to or is likely to affect - (a) any body of which you are in a position of general control or management and to which you are appointed or nominated by your authority; (b) any body - (i) exercising functions of a public nature; (ii) directed to charitable purposes; or (iii) one of whose principal purposes includes the influence of public opinion or policy (including any political party or trade union), of which you are in a position of general control or management; (c) the interests of any person from whom you have received a gift or hospitality with an estimated value of at least £25.
Prejudicial Interests Where you have a personal interest you also have a prejudicial interest in that business where the interest is one which a member of the public with knowledge of the relevant facts would reasonably regard as so significant that it is likely to prejudice your judgement of the public interest and where that business - (a) Affects your financial position or the financial position of a person or body described above; or (b) Relates to the determining of any approval, consent, licence, permission or registration in relation to you or any person or body described above.
MEMBERS ARE ADVISED TO REFER TO THE FULL DESCRIPTIONS CONTAINED IN THE COUNCIL’S CODE OF CONDUCT ADOPTED ON 25 TH JULY 2012. Page 3 Agenda Item 2 Public Document Pack
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF MEETING 8th April 2015
PRESENT: Councillor Holly (in the Chair); Councillors Boriss, Clegg, Linden, O’Neill and Zaheer.
OFFICERS: G. Hopper (Director of Children’s services), J. Massel (Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services), V. Crossland (Finance Services), D. Bowler and A. Glover (Economy and Environment Services), J. Timpson (Adult Care Services), Z. Al-Hassani, L. Fothergill and P. Thompson (Customers and Corporate Services).
ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Councillor Cecile Biant (Public Health and Regulation Portfolio Holder), J. Booth (Independent Chair – Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board), A. Searle (Independent Chair – Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Adults Board), J. Hartley (Street Lighting PFI Contract Manager) and S. Hancock (Community Lighting Partnership.
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE: Councillors Bethell, Susan Emmott, O’Rourke, Rashid and Rodgers.
DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 160 Further to the Council’s Code of Conduct, Councillor Boriss declared a personal and prejudicial interest in respect of agenda item 12 (Community Hubs – Position Statement), as he was the Assistant to the Cabinet Member with responsibility for the Corporate and Neighbourhoods Portfolio. Councillor Boriss left the room during the consideration of this item of business.
MINUTES 161 DECIDED – That (1) the Minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting held 26 th March be approved as a correct record, subject to the addition of a second resolution to Minute 159 (Link4Life Performance Management Report for 3 rd Quarter 2014/2015) as follows: “the Committee extend their best wishes to Mr. Tony Hilton, Link4Life’s Performance and Strategy Manager who was due to leave the organisation on 31 st March 2015”; (2) the Actions List appended to the Minutes be noted.
ROCHDALE BOROUGH SAFEGUARDING CHILDREN BOARD (RBSCB) UPDATE REPORT 162 The Committee scrutinised a report of the Independent Chair of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board (RBSCB), Mrs. Jane Booth, which provided an update on the work of the RBSCB. The Committee was reminded that they had agreed that the RBSCB present a report to this Scrutiny Committee twice a year, to present its Annual report – usually around September/October and then in March/April to update on the Board’s activities since the last report and to inform the Scrutiny of relevant safeguarding children issues.
The RBSCB had presented regular reports to the Rochdale Improvement Board in respect of progress against the Action Plan. All of their actions assigned to the Children’s Safeguarding Board had since been completed and signed off. In 2014 Ofsted completed a further inspection published on 5 th December 2014. The new methodology included a separate but parallel inspection of the Board itself and found
Page 4 the Board no longer to be inadequate. Much good progress was evidenced and the inspectors provided very positive feedback including: that the RBSCB has made significant progress during the last 18 months in that it benefits from strong independent leadership, supported by effective business management; members of the Board are appropriately senior to enable the RBSCB to drive forward its key priorities and the wider safeguarding agenda; partners are increasingly confident about holding one another to account, and the chair maintains a record of challenge. These indicate an increasingly mature partnership; the Board’s governance arrangements are clear and enable the RBSCB to fulfil its statutory responsibilities; and there is evidence that the Performance, Quality Assurance and Improvement sub-group is using data effectively to analyse and evaluate specific areas of practice.
Members of the Committee considered the report in detail, and in light of the matter to be discussed at minute 171, below, sought assurance from the Chair of the Safeguarding Board that she was aware of potential safety and safeguarding issues arising from the number of taxi drivers and vehicles, which have been licensed by Rossendale Borough Council and which are operating throughout the Rochdale Borough? The Chair of the safeguarding Board advised that she was aware of the situation, regarding drivers and vehicles that have been licensed by Rossendale Borough Council and was working with Lancashire County Council’s Safeguarding Children’s Board (of which she was also a member) to address this matter.
The Committee in welcoming the report asked if a further update report on the Children’s Safeguarding Board’s activities issues could be presented to the committee in approximately six months, including the Board’s Annual Report for 2014/2015.
DECIDED – That (1) the report be noted and welcomed; (2) the Chair of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Children Board be requested to submit a report to a future meeting of this Committee, in approximately six months, detailing the Children’s Safeguarding Board’s activities, including the Board’s Annual Report for 2014/2015.
ROCHDALE BOROUGH SAFEGUARDING ADULTS BOARD (RBSAB) INTERIM REPORT 2014/2015 163 The Committee scrutinised a report of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Adults Board which, following presentation of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Adult Board Annual Report to Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 16 th October 2014, provided an update to Members on the work of the Adult Safeguarding Board, in the intervening six months, and which was presented jointly by the Independent Chair of the Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Adults Board, Mr. Andy Searle, and the Head of Safeguarding and Practice Assurance (Adult Care Services).
The Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Adults Board (RBSAB) oversees the strategic development and governance arrangements of Adult Safeguarding. It aims to ensure that the risk of abuse is minimised by preventative work and in cases where abuse has occurred or is occurring, structures within Rochdale enable individuals to access safety and protection within Rochdale community and services. The Safeguarding Adults agenda has direct links to the health and well-being priorities of early intervention/prevention and well-being.
An ‘adult at risk’ of abuse or neglect is likely to be an individual over 18 years of age with a learning disability, mental illness, physical or sensory impairment or an older person. Individuals within these groups are often vulnerable to various types of abuse
Page 5 which may be physical, sexual, psychological, financial and material, neglect or acts of omission, institutional abuse or discriminatory.
The report demonstrated how the Safeguarding Adults Board, a partnership of numerous organisations, including HMR Clinical Commissioning Group, Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust, Pennine Care Foundation Trust, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing, Greater Manchester Police, Age UK, Rochdale and District Mind have moved forward its agenda of work, to ensure that concerns identified about abuse of vulnerable adults are responded to effectively and efficiently.
Members of the Committee considered the report in detail, and in light of the matter to be discussed at minute 171, below, sought, and received, assurances from the Chair of the Adults Safeguarding Board that he was aware of potential safety and safeguarding issues arising from the number of taxi drivers and vehicles, which have been licensed by Rossendale Borough Council and which are operating throughout the Rochdale Borough?
Members of the Committee welcomed the opportunity to consider the report and asked various questions of Mr. Searle. Members welcomed the opportunity to interact with and to develop an on-going working relationship with the Adults Safeguarding Board and emphasis was placed on the opportunity to develop a “critical friend” type of role whereby the Committee can challenge performance and achievements but also suggest actions that will lead to improvements in service delivery. Members of the Committee requested that the Chair of the RBSAB be requested to submit further reports to the Committee, in approximately six months, updating Member’s on the Board’s work, including their annual report for 2014/2015.
DECIDED – That (1) the report be noted and welcomed; (2) the Chair of the RBSAB be requested to submit a further report to the Committee, in approximately six months, updating Member’s on the Board’s work, including the 2014/2015 Annual Report.
STREET LIGHITNG PFI QUARTLEY UPDATE 164 The Committee scrutinised a report of the Director of Economy and Environment which attempted to address concerns that had been raised by Members in relation to the performance and monitoring of the street lighting PFI project.
The Committee were reminded that the Street Lighting PFI was a joint project with Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council. Although both PFI’s were operating out of the same depot, by the same Service Provider, they have separate contracts which were monitored separately.
The Street Lighting PFI was awarded to Community Lighting Partnership (Rochdale) Limited (CLP) with E.ON UK PLC acting as their Operating Sub-Contractor to deliver the service. The term of the PFI contract is for twenty five years from the date of service commencement - 4th July 2011. CLP as the Council’s Service Provider are responsible for delivering the street lighting service on behalf of the Council in all respects which includes replacement of 80% of the existing lighting stock, maintenance of all the street lighting assets, carrying out consultation with stakeholders and dealing with customer queries and complaints. The PFI is a self- monitoring Contract and CLP are obligated to declare any failure of performance.
The Committee scrutinised the report in detail and the Street Lighting PFI Contract Manager (Jonathan Hartley) and a representative of CLP (Mr Steve Hancock) were also in attendance to answer Members’ questions.
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In considering the report Members sought clarification as to the numbers of lampposts that have been moved as a direct result of complaints that had been received from Members of the public, and/or Councillors, as well a breakdown of the numbers of street lighting columns that have been replaced or removed? The Street Lighting PFI Contract Manager undertook to include details of lampposts that have been moved in future reports to the Committee.
Members of the Committee expressed their reservations as to the quality of work that was being undertaken referring to the lack of adequate “clearing-up” undertaken after work had been carried out in the Milkstone and Deeplish Ward. Members also expressed their concerns about the numbers of bins and signs that appeared to go missing during and immediately after work carried out by the sub-contractors and the Street Lighting PFI Contract Manager undertook to continue to pursue this matter with the Council’s Environmental Management Services and to include details of missing signs and bins in future reports to the Committee.
DECIDED – That (1) the report be noted; (2) future reports to the Committee, on this matter, include details of the numbers of lampposts that have been moved as a result of complaints that had been received from Members of the public, and or Councillors, including a breakdown of the numbers of street lighting columns that have been replaced or removed and the numbers of signs and bins that have been removed, or have gone missing, as a result of street lighting works undertaken.
THE NEED FOR EXTRA SPECIAL SCHOOL PLACES 165 The Committee scrutinised a report of the Director of Children’s Services that was seeking Members’ views on proposals to increase the number of primary and secondary special school places in the Borough as part of a public consultation process.
The Committee were informed that there has been an increase in the number of children born in the Borough, and this would reflect in an increase in demand for special school places, as it has for mainstream school places. At the same time Redwood Secondary Special School has seen an increase in the number of children with statements transferring from mainstream settings into Year 7 and also an increase in demand from children joining the school at Year 12.
There were currently two primary special schools in the Borough, each with a 100 place capacity and they are both designated as generic special schools (200 places in all). Newlands Special School, in Middleton, as at January 2015 had 81 children on roll, and Springside Special School has 94 children on roll. In order to meet increased demand for places from 2016 onwards additional places will need to be provided. There is currently one secondary special school, Redwood Special School with 225 places, for 11 – 19 year olds, which were designated as generic special school places.
In considering the report Members of the Committee expressed their concerns at the consultation process running over the election period, the extra help that would be available for children at the schools and issues around the transportation of children to and from the schools in question.
DECIDED – That the report be noted.
PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM - POSITION STATEMENT
Page 7 166 The Committee scrutinised a report of the Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services that provided a position statement on the progress of Public Service Reform within the Borough.
Members were reminded that at the last occasion that a report on Public Service Reform progress report was submitted, on 18 th December 2014, it was agreed that quarterly reports would be provided updating Members on developments and providing opportunity for scrutiny and questions. Since that time there had been a number of organisational and personnel changes within the Council that had led to delays in this process. The Committee were informed that the Council’s current structure and focus was under review and this included how the Public Service Reform agenda was to be driven forward.
In considering the report, Members expressed their concerns that no further updates on Public Service Reform had been forthcoming since the Committee’s meeting on 18 th December 2014 and therefore requested that a detailed report outlining the Council’s current initiatives being undertaken and aspirations in terms of progressing the Public Service Reform agenda be presented to the Committee’s next scheduled meeting on 10 th June 2015, jointly by the Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services and the Cabinet member with specific responsibility for Public Service Reform.
DECIDED – That (1) the report be noted; (2) the Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services, and the Cabinet Member with specific responsibility for Public Service Reform, present a detailed report outlining the Council’s current initiatives being undertaken and aspirations in terms of progressing the Public Service Reform agenda to the Committee’s next scheduled meeting on 10 th June 2015.
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE WORK PROGRAMME 2014/2015 167 The Committee considered a report which detailed its Work Programme for 2014/2015. A Member requested that a report be submitted early in 2015/2016 detailing the maintenance arrangements for the Council offices at Number One Riverside, Rochdale.
The Chair advised that Members of the Committee, earlier that afternoon, had held an informal session with officers from the Economy and Environment Directorate to discuss matters appertaining to services for Asylum Seekers in the Rochdale Borough, and had agreed that the Director submit a formal report on this matter to a future meeting of the Committee, in approximately six months.
DECIDED – That (1) the report be noted; (2) the Director of Economy and Environment Services be requested to submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee, early in 2015/2016, detailing the maintenance arrangements for the Council Offices at Number One Riverside, Rochdale; (3) the Director of Economy and Environment Services be requested to submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee, in approximately six months, detailing matters appertaining to the provision of services to Asylum Seekers in the Borough.
EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC 168 DECIDED – That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business since it is likely that, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings, if
Page 8 members of the public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information, namely information relating to the business or financial affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).
ICT STRATEGY HIGH LEVEL PLAN 169 The Committee scrutinised a report of the Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services that provided information on the implementation of the Council’s ICT Strategy also giving Members of the Committee an overview of how the ICT Strategy is being implemented.
The ICT Strategy and the associated Executive Strategy were approved by the Council’s Leadership Team towards the end of 2014, after consideration by this Committee on 18 th December 2014. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee requested that a “high-level” overview of the plans showing how the Strategy would be implemented. The Strategy is a substantial document that is reviewed twice per year and modified to ensure that it remains fit for purpose and in line with the aspirations and needs of the Council.
The Committee considered the report in detail and requested that a further report be submitted to the Committee’s next scheduled meeting on 10 th June 2015 to include a full breakdown of all projects being undertaken with anticipated delivery dates and Red, Amber and Green (RAG) ratings to identify risks to the Authority.
DECIDED – That (1) the report be noted; (2) the Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services be requested to submit a further report on the Authority’s ICT Strategy to the Committee’s next scheduled meeting on 10 th June 2015 including a full breakdown of all projects being undertaken with anticipated delivery dates and Red, Amber and Green (RAG) ratings to identify risks to the Authority.
COMMUNITY HUBS - POSITION STATEMENT 170 The Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services submitted a report that provided the Committee with an update position statement on the Community Hubs Project.
The Committee were advised that the request to explore a Community Hub model came from a report to a meeting of the Cabinet in July 2013: ‘The Future of Libraries in Rochdale: Improving the Lives of Residents’, through which Members had commissioned ‘a full review of all assets currently delivering customer support and services within our communities’. This review was linked to the Council’s Public Service Reform agenda and therefore considered partner buildings and opportunities for integrated customer service delivery, although Council assets were the primary focus of the review.
Members were informed that following the review a draft proposal was produced which outlined a business case for a Community Hub model to support the successful delivery of Public Service Reform in Rochdale Borough. The proposal had not been progressed or presented to the relevant Portfolio Holder due to a number of factors. These included changes in the Leadership of the Council and Portfolio Holders and changes undertaken to the Senior Management Team of the Customers and Corporate Services with the Deputy Chief Executive assigned to the role of Acting Chief Executive, but who had subsequently left the authority, and also the previous Interim Customers and Corporate Director having also left the authority.
Page 9 Interim arrangements were now in place with the current Head of ICT taking the role of Interim Head of Customers & Corporate Services.
DECIDED – That (1) the report be noted: (2) the Interim Head of Customers and Corporate Services be requested to submit a full and detailed report to the next scheduled meeting of the Committee on 10 th June 2015, which outlines the Council’s current position and its aspirations for the future development of Community Hubs in the Borough, and such report to be co-presented at the meeting by the relevant Cabinet Member.
UPDATE ON TAXI LICENSING ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY OVER LAST 12 MONTHS 171 The Committee scrutinised a confidential report of the Director of Economy and Environment Services which updated Members on a range of enforcement activity undertaken over the past 12 months by the Council’s Licensing Section.
In addition the Committee was appraised on the current situation whereby a number of public hire and private hire drivers and vehicles, which had been licensed by Rossendale Borough Council, were being extensively used in the Rochdale Borough. This was a matter of grave concern to Members, especially in terms of the potential safeguarding issues that could appertain for children and vulnerable adults and in this regard this particular issue had been raised during consideration of the Safeguarding Board reports for both Children and Adults earlier in the meeting (minutes 162 and 163 refer). The Portfolio Holder for Public Health and Regulation informed the Committee that she had met recently with senior officers and Members of Rossendale Borough Council about the issue of taxi drivers licensed by Rossendale working in the Rochdale Borough and she expressed confidence that the representative of Rossendale, having noted her concerns, and those of the Council’s Chief Public Protection Officer, would take appropriate steps to remedy the situation, and a further meeting had been scheduled to pursue this matter, which was due to be held on 21 st April 2015.
Members were reminded that licensing issues were a central part of the Council’s efforts to deal with Child Sexual Exploitation, and such was the success of the Council’s services in this regard that officers from Rochdale had been asked to address authorities in other parts of the country including Lancashire and South Yorkshire to offer their advice, guidance and expertise. In this regard the Chief Public Protection Officer submitted a newspaper article from the Doncaster Star’s 2 nd April 2015 edition, which detailed work that Doncaster MBC were undertaking to tackle child sexual exploitation, stating that Doncaster Council and South Yorkshire Police had introduced a licensing scheme for taxi drivers based on the model already introduced in Rochdale.
DECIDED – That (1) the report be noted; (2) the Chief Public Protection Officer be requested to submit a report to the next scheduled meeting of the Committee, on 10 th June 2015, detailing the outcomes of the meeting that he and the Portfolio Holder for Public Health and Regulation are due to hold with Officers and Members of Rossendale Borough Council on 21 st April 2015.
Page 10 OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
Actions List
MINUTE ACTION LEAD TIMESCALE OUTCOME NO/ISSUE. Insurance Annual update on Insurance Claims Elizabeth Cunningham-Doyle and July 2015 Report back to the Claims against the Council. Kirsty Smith (Corporate Services) Committee at the beginning of the 2015/16 Municipal Year AGMA Selected representatives of the Council’s Peter Thompson (in consultation with ongoing related appointed AGMA representatives be the Chair and Vice Chair of the issues invited to future meetings of the appropriate O&S Committee) Committee, at the direction of the Committee’s Chair and Vice Chair, to Page 11 Page discuss the role of their particular AGMA body.
Safeguarding Six monthly update on the work of the Jane Timpson (Adult Care Service) October 2015 A report to the Adults Rochdale Borough Safeguarding Adults appropriate Board Scrutiny Committee in October 2015 Asset Strategy The Head of Property Services to Head of Property Services (Peter June/July 2015 To be reported to update the Committee on the Asset Gregory) the appropriate Strategy Scrutiny Committee in June/July 2015 Rochdale To consider a quarterly update on the Jane Booth/Tony Philbin October 2015 A report to the Borough Work of the Children’s Safeguarding appropriate Safeguarding Board Scrutiny Committee in Children Board October 2015
ICT Strategy ICT Implementation Plan – Update Interim Director of Customers and April 2015 A report to the report Corporate Services appropriate Scrutiny Committee as soon as possible in 2015/16 Public Service Public Service Reform – Update report Lea Fothergill June/July 2015 A report to the Reform appropriate Scrutiny Committee as soon as possible in 2015/16
Page 12 Page Community Community Hubs Julian Massel June/July 2015 A report to the Hubs appropriate Scrutiny Committee as soon as possible in 2015/16 Members - Late To note the times at which an individual Peter Thompson ongoing Arrivals/Early Member arrives at a meeting late Departures and/or leaves the meeting early, before the business to be transacted is concluded.
Economy and The Director of Economy and Mark Widdup June/July 2015 A report to the Environment Environment Services commitment to appropriate Directorate Plan give a presentation to a future meeting Scrutiny Update Committee as of the Committee on the development soon as possible of brown field sites within the Borough, in 2015/16 for planning and development control purposes Rochdale’s the Director of Children’s Services be Gail Hopper/Paul Marshall September/October An update report Improvement required to submit a progress report to 2015 to the appropriate Plan – a future meeting, in approximately six Scrutiny Children’s months, detailing progress made in Committee in the Services relation to implementing autumn of 2015 recommendations detailed in OFTED’s Action Plans.
Social Care The Corporate Complaints Manager be Carolyn Phipps Ongoing To be included in Complaints requested to investigate if the total the next quarterly number of complaints relating to adult report to the care service, that are specifically Committee in undertaken by external provider June/July 2015 (if organisations, can be included in future necessary)
Page 13 Page reports to the Committee. Public The Public Protection Manager be Andy Glover Protection requested to Issues 1. present the 2015/2016 Food and Autumn 2015 Reports to the Feed Service Plan to an earlier meeting appropriate in the Municipal year of the Overview Scrutiny and Scrutiny Committee; Committee in the 2. submit a report to a future meeting of At the appropriate time Autumn 2015 the Committee presenting the detailed in 2015/16 finding of the Food Standard Agencies’ audit of premises in the Rochdale Summer/Autumn Borough; 2015/2016 3. submit a report on food inspections carried out by, and on behalf of, the
Council be presented to a future meeting of the Committee;
Street Lighting Future reports to the Committee, on the Jonathan Hartley June/July 2015 An update report PFI Contract Street lighting PFI Contract to include to the appropriate details of the numbers of lampposts Scrutiny that have been moved as a result of Committee in complaints that had been received from June/July 2015 Members of the public, and or Councillors, including a breakdown of the numbers of street lighting columns that have been replaced or removed and the numbers of signs and bins that have been removed, or have gone missing, as a result of street lighting works undertaken.
Page 14 Page Number One A report that details the maintenance Mark Widdup June/July 2015 An update report Riverside arrangements for the Council Offices at to the appropriate Number One Riverside, Rochdale; Scrutiny Committee in June/July 2015
Agenda Item 3
Subject: Committee Work Programme Status: Publication 2015/16 Report to : Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Date: Monday, 22 June 2015 Committee
Report of: Head of Legal and Governance Author : Mark Hardman Reform Tel: Tel: 01706924704 Author Email: [email protected]
1 Purpose of Report
1.1 To present the first draft of the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee Work Programme 2015/16 as a basis for development.
2 Recommendations
2.1 That the Committee note the attached first draft Work Programme 2015/16
2.2 The Work Programme be further developed and submitted the meeting of the Council to be held on 21 st October 2015.
Reason for recommendation
Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 7 requires Overview and Scrutiny Committees to set a work programme and to report it to the Council.
3 Background
3.1 The detailed terms of reference for the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee, agreed by the Council at the meeting held on 19 th May 2015, are attached at Appendix 1 to this report. The principal role of the Committee within the Council’s overview and scrutiny arrangements is to scrutinise the supporting corporate services of the Council and maintain a ‘strategic’ overview of the Council.
3.2 Areas of focus for the Committee include Townships (corporately), corporate service development and delivery, scrutiny of partners or key contractors relevant to the remit of the Committee, corporate performance monitoring; financial monitoring, the annual budget development process, corporate policy consultation and Public Service Reform.
3.3 The work programme for the Committee is drawn up through consideration of the statutory roles of the Committee, including the ‘call-in’ or review of executive decisions made, budget and policy consultation, and review of service delivery, with the scheduling reflecting the anticipated consideration of business to deliver these functions. The appended ‘first draft’ Work Programme has been drawn up on this basis, also including items requested by the previous Overview and Scrutiny Committee. The Committee has options for developing its own agenda and can
Page 15 request further business to come forward. A consideration of the work programming process was given during a briefing session held for members of the three Overview and Scrutiny Committees held on 10 th June 2015.
3.4 Officers will continue to work with the Committee members in developing the work programme, up to and beyond the required submission to the full Council.
Alternatives considered
None
4 Financial Implications
4.1 None
5 Legal Implications
5.1 The development of an Overview and Scrutiny Work Programme is a requirement of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules contained within the Council’s Constitution.
6 Personnel Implications
6.1 None
7. Risk Assessment Implications
7.1 There are no specific risk issues for members to consider arising from this report
8. Equalities Impacts
8.1 Workforce Equality Impacts Assessment
There are no workforce equality issues arising from this report.
8.2 Equality/Community Impact Assessments
There are no significant equality/community issues arising from this report.
There are no background papers to this report
Page 16
APPENDIX 1
Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Terms of Reference
To be the responsible Committee for scrutiny of Townships generally; corporate service development and delivery; for scrutiny of partnerships or key contractors (eg. Agilysis); corporate performance monitoring; corporate financial monitoring and the annual budget development consultation, and for overview of the respective Portfolio Holders and Directors.
• To respond to consultation by Cabinet on relevant policy development and the annual budget proposals. • To scrutinise the in-year performance of Council Services and other appropriate bodies, in accordance with the Council’s Performance Management Framework and against approved Directorate Plans, where appropriate. • To scrutinise in-year budget performance. • To instigate the appropriate action in response to adverse service performance. • To scrutinise inspection reports and associated action plans produced by external agencies (where appropriate to this Committee). • To review and scrutinise executive decisions in accordance with the Council’s Constitution, which have been called-in by Members of the Council. • To receive reports, where appropriate, from the Council’s representatives on outside bodies, and to direct representatives to report to the Council, where appropriate. • To commission, scope and oversee studies and reviews relating to Council Services and issues directly affecting the Borough and, where appropriate, to make recommendations to the Cabinet arising from such studies and reviews. • To consider Directorate Plans in line with Council Policy.
Page 17
APPENDIX
CORPORATE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE
Work Programme 2015/2016
1. The Work Programme for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee 2015/2016 has been compiled mindful of the key scrutiny functions that are set out in the Local Government Act 2000 and subsequent legislation and as set out in the Council’s Constitution. In brief, these are to hold the executive to account and to maintain an oversight of the delivery of Council services. This is undertaken principally through the following means:-
• Scrutiny of Executive Decisions through the ‘Call-in’ process; • The consideration of Budget and Policy Framework proposals for consultative purposes; • The consideration of a range of performance monitoring/management data; • The specific consideration of individual service issues as may be specified by the Committee.
2. The Committee’s Work Programme has been prepared on the basis of known items at this time. Scheduling of some business remains to be determined. This particularly includes Study Groups and informal sessions of the Committee membership where issues remain to be determined and scheduled.
3. A review of the “routine” performance reporting arrangements has been requested by Leadership Team members and this will be considered through initial meetings of the Committees and through discussions with the respective Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs.
4. The following table highlights issues where there is either an agreement or an anticipation that specific items may come forward. Other issues will be brought forward as indicated above.
22 nd June 2015 Work Programme To consider the Committee’s Work Programme for 2015/2016 Call-in/Member items/other referrals Performance Monitoring (4th Quarter Performance management and 2014/2015) – including: monitoring • Corporate Complaints
Directorate Plan Updates (4 th Quarter Performance management and 2014/2015) monitoring • Finance Directorate • Customers and Corporate Directorate Directorate Plans 2015/16 Performance management and • Finance Directorate monitoring Revenue Finance Outturn 2014/2015 Capital Finance Outturn 2014/2015 Collection Fund Outturn 2014/2015 Savings Outturn 2014/2015 Discretionary Crisis Fund - update
Page 18
Public Service Reform - Update AGMA Scrutiny Pool - minutes
29 th July 2015
Work Programme 2015/2016 To note the Committee’s Work Programme for 2015/2016 Call-in/Member items/other referrals Directorate Plans 2015/16 Performance management and • Customers and Corporate monitoring Directorate Performance Monitoring (4th Quarter Performance management and 2014/2015) – including: monitoring • Corporate Sickness Absence statistics • Agilisys Insurance Claims Analysis – Annual Report Performance management and monitoring Budget Guidelines and Timetable Revenue Finance Update 2015/16 (P2) Capital Finance Update 2015/16 (P2) Collection Fund Update 2015/16 (P2) Delegated Approvals Report 2014/15 Community Hubs – Update report Public Service Reform - Update AGMA Scrutiny Pool Minutes
9th September 2015
Work Programme 2015/2016 Update Call-in/Member items/other referrals Performance Monitoring (1 st Quarter Performance management and 2015/16) – including: monitoring • Corporate Complaints • Agilisys Directorate Plan Updates (1 st Quarter Performance management and 2015/2016) monitoring • Finance Directorate • Customers and Corporate Directorate Local Government Ombudsman – Annual Performance Management and Report 2014/15 monitoring Public Service Reform – Quarterly Update report Savings Programme 2016/17 and 2017/18
14th October 2015
Work Programme 2015/2016 Update Call-in/Member items/other referrals Performance Monitoring (1 st Quarter Performance monitoring and 2015/16) – including: management • Corporate Sickness Absence statistics • Revenue Financial Update 2015/2016 (P4) • Capital Financial update 2015/2016 (P4)
Page 19
• Collection Fund Update 2015/16 (P4) • Savings Financial Update 2015/2016 (P4) Capital Programme 2016/2017 – 2018/2019 Budget Update 2016/17 Local Council Tax Support Scheme 2016/17
11th November 2015
Work Programme Update Call-in/Member items/other referrals Performance Monitoring (2nd Quarter Performance monitoring and 2015/16) – including: management • Corporate Complaints • Agilisys Directorate Plan Updates (2nd Quarter Performance monitoring and 2015/2016) management • Finance Directorate • Customers and Corporate Directorate • Corporate Sickness Absence statistics • Revenue Financial Update 2015/16 (P6) Performance monitoring and • Capital Financial update 2015/16 (P6) management • Collection Fund Update 2015/16 (P6) • Savings Financial Update 2015/2016 (P6) Discretionary Fees and Charges 2016/17 2016/17 Council tax Empty Property Charges Public Service Reform – Quarterly Update report
16th December 2015
Work Programme Update Call-in/Member items/other referrals Capital Programme 2016/2017 – 2018/2019 Consultation on Policy Framework Item Budget Update 2016/17 – 2018/19 Consultation on Policy Framework Item Savings Programme 2016/17 Public Service Reform – Quarterly Update report AGMA Scrutiny pool – Minutes
10th February 2016
Work Programme Update Call-in/Member items/other referrals Capital Financial Update 2015/16 (P8) Revenue Financial Update 2015/16 (P8) Savings Financial Update 2015/16 (P8) Collections Fund Update 2015/16 (P8)
Page 20
Pay Policy Statement Budgetary Proposals Revenue Budget, Capital Budget and Budgetary Proposals Council Tax 2016/17 – 2018/19 Savings Programme 2016/17 – 2017/18 Budgetary Proposals Local Government Act 2003 Report Medium Term Financial Strategy Treasury Management Strategy Discretionary Crisis Fund – update AGMA Scrutiny pool – Minutes
30 th March 2016
Work Programme Update Call-in/Member items/other referrals Performance Monitoring (3rd Quarter Performance monitoring and 2015/16) – including: management • Corporate Complaints • Corporate Sickness Absence Directorate Plan Updates (3 rd Quarter 2015/2016) • Finance Directorate • Customers and Corporate Directorate • Revenue Financial Update 2015/16 Performance monitoring and (P10) management • Capital Financial update 2015/16 (P10) • Collection Fund Update 2015/16 (P10) Public Service Reform – Quarterly Update report AGMA Scrutiny Pool - Minutes
Page 21 Agenda Item 4
Subject: Directorate Plans 2014-15 Year-End Status: For Publication Performance Outturn Date: Monday 22 nd June 2015 Report to: Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee
Cabinet Members:
Councillor Allen Brett, Cabinet Member for Finance
Councillor Neil Emmott, Cabinet Member for Corporate and Regulation
Report of: Julian Massel – Interim Head of Author : Joanne Platt Customer and Corporate Services and Pauline Kane – Director of Finance
Author Email: [email protected] Tel: 01706 924857
Comment s from Statutory Monitoring Officer: Yes Officers: Section 151 Officer: Yes
Key Decision: No
1. Purpose of the report
To provide Members with 2014-15 Year-End Outturn Performance in relation to the Customer and Corporate Services’ Directorate Plan 2014-15 and the Finance and Resources Directorate Plan 2014-15.
2. Recommendations
Members are asked to consider and / or challenge the information contained within the report and the appendices.
3. Background
3.1 On 24 th April 2014, The Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee received a report which presented the Directorate Plans for 2014-15 for the Council’s six Directorates.
3.2 The Committee resolved that quarterly updates on progress be reported to it throughout 2014-15, and reports for Quarters 1-3 have been duly presented to and considered by the Committee.
3.3 Following a review of the Council’s Constitution, changes were made to the structure of the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committees. Accordingly, the reports for the final quarter of 2014-15 (Quarter 4 – Year-End Outturn) will now be presented to one
Page 22 of the three new Overview and Scrutiny Committees.
3.4 The Heath, Schools and Care Overview and Scrutiny Committee will consider the Year-End Performance Outturn for 2014-15 for Children’s Services, Adult Social Care Services and Public Health on 25 th June.
3.5 The Communities, Regeneration and Economy Committee will consider the Year-End Performance Outturn for 2014-15 for the Economy and Environment Directorate and the Communities element of the Customer and Corporate Services Directorate on 9 th July.
3.6 The Year-End Performance Outturn for 2014-15 for the Customer and Corporate Services element of the Customer and Corporate Services Directorate and the Finance and Resources Directorate is now presented to this Committee, and these reports are attached at Appendices 1 and 2.
3.7 The tables at Appendices 1 and 2 show the actions included within these Directorate Plans for 2014-15. Actions have been colour coded in accordance with the following criteria.
Green: Action completed
Amber: Action not fully completed due to circumstances outside of the directorate’s control
Red: Action not fully completed
The Appendices include a commentary against all actions that are amber and red.
4. CUSTOMER AND CORPORATE SERVICES DIRECTORATE PLAN 2014-15 YEAR- END PERFORMANCE OUTTURN (CUSTOMER AND CORPORATE SERVICES)
4.1 Performance Overview
Overall 64.29% (9) of actions included in the Directorate Plan that were due for delivery in 2014-15 have been completed. The chart below shows the overall performance of the Directorate in meeting its plan targets.
Customers & Corporate Services Directorate Plan: Customer & Corporate Summary of performance against actions
Page 23
4.2 Key Successes
A number of key successes for the directorate in 2014-15 are summarised below.
Public Service Reform
v Governance and programme management arrangements for Public Service Reform have been established and implemented to ensure individual work streams and the programme overall are effectively managed. This will be streamlined further in 2015-16.
v Integrated health and care : A Section 75 agreement is in place for the Better Care Fund to deliver the Integrated Care Programme, a new Carers’ Strategy has been developed, the Social Isolation Pilot for frail and older people living in Norden and Bamford has been implemented, the Health and Well Being Board has approved a new Mental Health Strategy, a review of the Dementia Pathway has been undertaken with colleagues from the Heywood, Middleton and Rochdale Clinical Commissioning Group (the CCG), a new End of Life service ha s been jointly commissioned with the CCG, a shared property database for all public sector assets within the Borough has been developed and is due to go live at the end of June 2015.
v A new citizen portal called "My Account" will be launched from the Council’s web site. This view will aim to empower citizens to log their own requests via a new self-service portal and give them appropriate and secure access to information about themselves. They will be able to access services using a number of common devices such as laptops, tablet, iPads or smartphones. The citizen's experience is being designed through well thought out customer journeys. On launch day (yet to be agreed) there will be 2 highly integrated areas (council tax and libraries) and very quickly after there will be over 30 other online services and a plan to keep adding more. A coordinated communications plan is now being created and will be presented for approval shortly.
v An Early Years ‘early adopter’ site commenced in Rochdale East in April 20 15 and tr aining is underway to ensure we develop the capacity to deliver key interventions with a focus on New Born Assessment Scale and Incredible Years Baby. The Ages and Stages Assessment tool is being rolled out to all health visitors and childcare sta ff across the Borough. Data sharing is still a considerable challenge and is affecting the full roll out of the new service model. Officers including early year’s practitioners from legal services in Rochdale and Tameside are working to address this.
v Phase 1 of the Complex Families Programme has been completed with 675 claims submitted in total in February achieving 100% of the designated financial allocation. Phase 1 has brought into the council £2.47 million over 3 years. Phase 2 is being delivered on a regional basis. Greater Manchester is an early starter area and Rochdale had already worked with 340 families by the end of March 2015. As part of this formal agreement we are now committed to engage with a further 386 families by the end of year 1, totalling 726 families. Much broader criteria has been introduced which will allow greater flexibility in the range of families that we work with, but with an expectation that we prioritise the high cost/high demand families to reduce costs to services. In Rochdale we have agreed to prioritise Domestic Abuse, Employment and Mental Health.
Page 24 Making a Difference in Kirkholt: This Place Based Pilot is for 12months from January 2015-16. The pilot is focused on the development of a multi-agency approach to integrated service delivery based on a set of Public Service Reform principles and to test its value. Principles include, interventions chosen on the strength of their evidence base, bespoke packages of support that are integrated, coordinated and sequenced in the right order and taking a family-based approach not just a focus on individuals. The pilot is also focusing on the following work streams: staff engagement and culture change, citizen engagement and culture change, complex families, access to health servic es, work and skills, domestic violence and abuse, school readiness and mild / moderate mental health, including elderly isolation.
An integrated partnership team has been established to co-ordinate work around families and individuals presenting high lev els and repeat demand across services. Success measures include, people and families presenting on the cusp of complex dependency receiving help to enable them to deal with their problems quickly and get them on track to living in a confident and self-rel iant way, increase in demand on preventative and early help services in early stages, quantifiable reduction in demand on critical, high cost public services over time and overall a reduction in future demand on public services
Work within the pilot wi ll be externally evaluated and this will help to inform service delivery in other areas of the borough. Further work wrapped into the Public Service Reform programme will be delivered in 2015-16.
The Connected Council Programme is now reaching a key milestone in its plans. Very shortly it will have completed the installation (for the Contact Centre) of a new telephone system with improved switchboard, an integrated Customer Relationship Management System (or CRM), a website move to a new platform enabling far richer functionality and finally the first version of a central information database for the Council (Data Warehouse). The Programme will then move into a second phase where intensive configuration and development of these new systems will bring about real capabilities for Channel Shift, bringing essential efficiency changes but also enabling consistent and improved customer services. This will enable the Council to have one true record for each customer facilitated by the Data Warehouse. The CRM, new telephone system and web site changes will mean the Citizen will get a consistent experience regardless of channel chosen - they can phone, use the web or access service through face to face.
The initial work in relation to the review of support services has been completed. Further work will be undertaken in 2015-16 for completion by 30 th September 2015.
A fundamental review of the Coroner’s service has been undertaken, resulting in the backlog being cleared, the completion of a staffing re-structure and d atabase replacement. Performance is now being monitored on an on-going basis to ensure that any under-performance is identified and managed in a timely way.
The Registrars Service and ceremony areas have been modernised.
4.3 Key Exceptions
A number of actions have not yet been completed and some of these have been rolled forward for delivery in 2015-16.
Members’ attention is specifically drawn to the following.
Page 25 v The planned Recruitment Hub will no longer be developed following a decision by the Leadership Savings Programme Board.
v Although significant improvements were made to the council’s planning and performance management arrangements in 2014-15, the action is showing as incomplete as the Organisational Development Strategy to underpin delivery of Council priorities has not been finalised. This will be included in the Directorate’s Plan for 2015-16. The strategy underpinned by an action plan will be finalised over the summer of 2015 with full implementation expected by the end of March 2015.
v The Local Government Association’s (LGA) Corporate Peer Challenge (CPC) will now take place between 28 th September and 1 st October. CPCs are part of the LGA’s sector-led improvement offer. All councils have the opportunity to have a CPC free of charge once every three-years. The CPC is an opportunity for independent and objective acknowledgement of our achievements to date and validation of our plans for further improvement.
v The review of HR policies has not been completed in view of significant pressures on the HR Service due to another round of savings, resulting in additional pressures in relation to the management of staff reductions and redundancies. This will be rolled forward into the Directorate Plan for 2015-16.
4.4 Conclusions
Despite a number of pressures, the Directorate has met a significant number of its targets in 2014-15 and continues to work hard to ensure other activities are completed.
The Corporate Peer Challenge referred to in paragraph 4.3 above will be led by the Directorate, and will act as a useful catalyst to prioritise improvement activities across the whole council in 2015-16 and beyond.
5. FINANCE AND RESOURCES DIRECTORATE PLAN 2014-15 YEAR-END PERFORMANCE OUTTURN
5.1 Performance Overview
Overall 80% (16) of the actions included in the Directorate Plan that were due for delivery in 2014-15 have been completed. The chart below shows the overall performance of the Directorate in meeting its plan targets.
Page 26 Finance Services Directorate Plan: Summary of performance against actions
5.2 Key Successes
A number of key successes for the directorate are summarised below.
During 2014-15 the Directorate has successfully lead the production of a balanced budget for 2015-16.
The 2014-15 budget was effectively monitored within the year and no overspend reported as at 31 st March 2015.
The 2013-14 accounts were successfully closed down with no qualification.
During 2014-15 collection rates for both Council Tax and Business rates increased . Business rates in year collection being 98.13%, the highest across the ten Greater Manchester authorities.
A correspondence review, in respect of communications to the public from Revenues and Benefits was undertaken resulting in the award of ‘crystal mark’ from The Plain English Campaign for both Council Tax and Business Rates bills.
The backlogs in respect of benefit processing have reduced despite an increase in the number of applications.
The Local Council Tax Scheme was reviewed , resulting in changes to the scheme being presented and obtaining approval of Cabinet.
Member training was developed and delivered in respect of both Revenues and Benefits and Finance areas of work to support members in their role.
A Counter Fraud Team was established following the successful migration of Housing Benefit Fraud function to the Department of Works and Pensions.
STaR, the shared procurement service with Trafford and Stockport is developing well and is already delivering benefits for each local authority. Aligned Contract Procedure rules were approved by the Joint Committee.
Page 27 The ‘Buy with Confidence’ scheme was approved by Cabinet, with implementation being taken forward by the Economy and Environment Directorate.
5.3 Key Exceptions
A number of actions have not yet been completed and have been rolled forward for delivery in 2015-16.
Members’ attention is specifically drawn to the following:
v Work continues on the review of the Partnership Agreement with Link4Life . This is now due for submission to Council in October 2015.
v Work is continuing to establish a baseline for local spend , this will enable more effective monitoring of local spend going forward.
v We are working with IT to move forward with the Council Connect Programme, which will provide alternative routes for the public to engage with Revenues and Benefits and introduce more self-serve opportunities. This work will continue in 2015-16 aligned to resources within Customers and Corporate Services.
5.4 Conclusions
2014-15 has been a successful year for Finance Services with numerous achievements, some of which are highlighted above. The service continues to deliver services in a positive way that adds value to and supports the achievement of Council objectives. . 6. PLANS FOR 2015-16
6.1 The Customer and Corporate Services and the Finance and Resources Directorate Plans for 2015-16 will be finalised following approval of the Council’s Corporate Plan for 2015-16. These will therefore be reported to members at a future meeting.
6.2 The 2015-16 Directorate plans takes account of stakeholder feedback from 2014-15, emerging council priorities and statutory requirements, and actions that are to be rolled forward from the 2014-15 Directorate Plan.
7. Alternatives considered
7.1 Not applicable
8. Financial Implications
8.1 None
9. Legal Implications
9.1 None - priorities within Directorate Plans are delivered within approved budgets.
10. Personnel Implications
10.1 None
Page 28 11. Corporate Priorities
11.1 All actions in Directorate Plans are linked to the Corporate Priority or Priorities to which they contribute.
12. Risk Assessment Implications
12.1 None
13. Equalities Impacts
13.1 Workforce Equality Impacts Assessment
There are no workforce equality issues arising from this report.
13.2 Equality/Community Impact Assessments
There are no equality/community issues arising from this report.
Background Papers Document Place of Inspection
Customer and Corporate Services Directorate Plan 2014-15
Finance and Resources Directorate Plan 2014-15
Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale, Quarters 1-3 Performance Reports for the OL16 1XU Customer and Corporate Services Directorate
Plan 2014-15
Quarters 1-3 Performance Reports for the Finance and Resources Directorate Plan 2014-15
Page 29
Appendix 2
Action Plan Owner Status Due Date Agenda Item 4a
Finance Services Directorate Plan 2014-15 F001 Welfare Reform Objectives: To ensure Rochdale Borough is Links to Corporate Pauline Kane Complete 31 March 2015 prepared for the implementation of Welfare Reform Priority:.People, Public Changes and such changes are delivered in line Service Reform . with legal requirements and Council Priorities F002 Support for Local Objectives: To ensure maximum support is Links to Corporate Pauline Kane In Progress 31 March 2015 Businesses provided to local businesses through procurement Priority:.Prosperity and local trading opportunities, operating within the context of relevant legislation
Action: F002b Enhance Local Spend via Procurement Pauline Kane In Progress 31 March 15 Comments added on: 12/05/2015 12/05/2015 00:00:00 CPR~s approved by Joint Committee April 2015 now proceeding through Council decision making process. ..Baseline spend still being established.
F003 Link4Life Objectives: To provide client role in relation to Links to Corporate Pauline Kane In Progress 31 March 2015 Link4Life and review key documentation and Priority:.People, Public performance reporting Service Reform.
Action: F003a Review of Partnership Agreement Pauline Kane In Progress 31 March 15 Comments added on: 12/05/2015 12/05/2015 00:00:00 Certain Partnership schedules being updated as a result of delays due for completion August 15
F004 Finance 30 Page - Revenue Budget Objectives: To deliver a balanced budget for Links to Corporate Pauline Kane Complete 31 March 2015 2015-16 to 2017-18 consideration by Budget Fixing Council in Priority:.People, Place, Public February /March 2015 Service Reform & Prosperity. F005 Finance – Savings Objectives: To deliver a streamlined savings Links to Corporate Pauline Kane Complete 31 March 2015 Programme 2015-16 and 2016- process that is fit for purpose to support informed Priority:.People, Place, 17 decision making Prosperity and Public Service Reform . F006 Finance – Public Service Objectives: To provide lead financial role in Links to Corporate Julie Murphy Complete 31 March 2015 Reform relation to PSR and implications for Rochdale Priority:.Public Service Reform Borough finances F007 Finance – Capital Budget Objectives: To deliver a fully funded Capital Links to Corporate Vicky Crossland Complete 31 March 2015 2015-16 to 2017-18 Budget for Consideration by Budget Fixing Council Priority:.People, Place, in February/March 2015 Prosperity and Public Service Reform F008 Finance – Budget Objectives: To develop and deliver innovative Links to Corporate Vicky Crossland Complete 31 March 2015 Consultation public consultation on the Budget Priority:.Public Service Reform F009 Finance – Corporate Debt Objectives: Review of Corporate Debt processes, Links to Corporate Vicky Crossland Complete 31 March 2015 removal of backlog of work and increase recovery Priority:.Public Service Reform of sundry debt. F010 Finance – Health and Objectives: To provide lead financial role in Links to Corporate Julie Murphy Complete 31 March 2015 Social Care relation to integration of Health and Social Care Priority:.People, Public covering Better Care Fund and Care Bill Service Reform. requirements F011 Finance - Procurement Objectives: To provide challenge and support in Links to Corporate Julie Murphy Complete 31 March 2015 relation to the newly formed shared service for Priority:.Public Service Reform Procurement between Stockport Trafford and Prosperity Rochdale (STaR)
Page 1 Of 2 11/06/2015
Appendix 2
Action Plan Owner Status Due Date
F012 Revenues and Benefits – Objectives: To reduce the time from receipt of a Links to Corporate Iain Hodgeon Complete 31 March 2015 Benefits and Assessment claim to finalising the process across all areas of Priority:.People, Public Processing and Fraud benefits/assessments and support Service Reform, Prosperity . investigation Performance F013 Revenues and Benefits Objectives: To introduce self-serve in relation to Links to Corporate Keith Mackenzie In Progress 31 March 2015 Target Channel Shift Council Tax and Benefits.To review further options Priority:.People, Public unachievable for channel shift , including change in Service Reform . – outside our circumstances etc. control
Action: F013a To introduce self-serve in relation to Council Tax and Benefits Keith Mackenzie In Progress 31 March 15 Comments added on: 12/05/2015 12/05/2015 00:00:00 As Quarter 3 Action: F013b To further review options for channel shift Keith Mackenzie In Progress 31 March 15 Comments added on: 12/05/2015 12/05/2015 00:00:00 As Quarter 3
F014 Revenues and Benefits – Objectives: To automate processes in relation to Links to Corporate Iain Hodgeon Complete 31 March 2015 Adult Care Assessments Adult Care Assessments.To prepare for Care Bill Priority:.People, Public Changes.To clear backlog of work.To review Service Reform . resource requirements, incl considerations of Care Bill. F015 Revenues and Benefits – Objectives: To increase collection of in year Links to Corporate Keith Mackenzie Complete 31 March 2015 Increase collection Page 31 Page Council Tax and Business Rates Priority:.Public Service Reform F016 Revenues and Benefits – Objectives: To develop and deliver member Links to Corporate Iain Hodgeon Complete 31 March 2015 Member Training training on all areas of Revenues and Benefits to Priority:.People, Public support elected councillors in carrying out their role Service Reform F017 Revenues and Benefits - Objectives: To actively engage in the Links to Corporate Iain Hodgeon Complete 31 March 2015 Fraud developments around Single Fraud Initiative and Priority:.People, Place, ensure that Rochdale Borough Council has Prosperity and Public Service sufficient Fraud detection activity going forward Reform F018 Public Service Reform Objectives: To review methods of service delivery Links to Corporate Pauline Kane Complete 31 March 2015 and identify options in line with the Principles of Priority:.Public Service Reform PSR FEQ001 Equality & Diversity Objectives: • Actively developing our services~ Links to Corporate Pauline Kane In Progress 31 March 2015 Target Policy “No Matter Who” approach to equality and diversity..• Ensuring that Priority:.Public Service Reform unachievable staff are adequately trained to meet the – outside our requirements of the No Matter Who policy..• control Undertaking equality impact assessments, in line with the corporate guidance, and acting on their findings.• Establishing and maintaining appropriate consultation with community and key stakeholder groups and responding to feedback on services to ensure that our services are appropriate and sensitive to all our communities. Comments: Still waiting for Virtual College Training package. Consultation undertaken as and when appropriate Comment Date: 12/05/2015
FO19 Review Communications Objectives: To ensure all communications issued Links to corporate priorities Iain Hodgeon Complete 31 March 2015 to Residents from Revenues from Revs & Bens are fit for purpose from both a and Benefits legal and customer perspective
Page 2 Of 2 11/06/2015
Appendix 1
Action Plan Owner Status Due Date Agenda Item 4b
Customers and Corporate Services Directorate Plan 2014-15 – Customer and Corporate Services CS01 Public Service Reform Objectives: To act as Strategic Lead, ensuring Links to Corporate Priority: Julian Massel Complete 31 March 2015 that all PSR projects are achieved on time, and People, Place, Prosperity and deliver the specific project objectives. PSR. Comments: This is a major programme of work that transcends several years. Key work stream milestones will be rolled forward into the Directorate’s 2015-16 and subsequent years’ Directorate Plans.
CS02 Equality and Diversity Objectives: Actively developing our services~ Links to Corporate Priority: Jeanette Staley Complete 31 March 2015 Policy "No Matter Who" approach to equality and diversity. Ensuring that People, Place, Prosperity and all staff members are adequately trained to meet PSR. the requirements of the No Matter Who policy. Undertaking equality impact assessments, in line with the corporate guidance, and acting on their findings. Establishing and maintaining appropriate consultation with community and key stakeholder groups and responding to feedback on services to ensure that our services are appropriate and sensitive to all our communities.
CS03 32 Page Place Pilot Objectives: Together with partners, to have Links to Corporate Priority: Chris Sheader Complete 31 March 2015 identified PSR PLACE Pilot, delivering People, Place and PSR regeneration opportunities through new and existing work streams and with a strong collaborative and customer focus. CS05 Corporate Governance Objectives: To continue the review and to treat Links to Corporate Priority: David Wilcock Complete 31 March 2015 and Constitution Review the Constitution as a Living document adapting to People, Place and PSR. the needs of the Organisation CS06 The Connected Council Objectives: To have enabled PSR and Links to Corporate Priority: Julian Massel Complete 31 March 2015 Programme modernise, automate all Council Service delivery People, Prosperity and PSR. .channel shift and digital by default programme reducing transactional costs. To have delivered a new website platform .To have delivered a radical new CRM to enable PSR/Think Family working methods .To have enabled improved use of Data and Business intelligence . CS07 Radical Reform of Objectives: To have explored options and Links to Corporate Priority: Chris Sheader Complete 31 March 2015 Support Services delivered improved services to internal and People and PSR. external customers through excellent customer service and value for money and continuous improvement. To include HR, Legal, OD, Training, and together with associated systems, e.g., iTrent and Civica Legal CS08 Recruitment Hub Objectives: Development of ‘scalable~ Links to Corporate Priority: Chris Sheader In Progress 31 March 2015 Recruitment Hub options linking recruitment People and PSR. process to skills and public sector employment with economic benefit. Comments: Following discussion at the Leadership Savings Programme Board it was agreed that this work will Comment Date: 18/05/2015 not be undertaken.
Page 1 Of 3 10/06/2015
Appendix 1
Action Plan Owner Status Due Date
CS09 Corporate Management Objectives: Successful embedding of the Links to Corporate Priority: Chris Sheader In Progress 31 March 2015 and Development Organisational Management Plan, comprising: .a) People, Place, Prosperity and Corporate Planning, .b) Performance PSR. Management .c) Organisational Development Paper. Comments: Performance Manager is still an integral part of Corporate Planning. Progress towards delivery of Comment Date: 18/05/2015 Directorate Plans is now routinely reported to Leadership Team and O&S Committee.
The Corporate Plan for 2015-16 is to be presented to Cabinet for approval on 29th June. Corporate Planning for 2016-19 will include a review of the vision and priorities of the Council during workshops with Leadership and Cabinet members and the new plan will be aligned to a three-year financial strategy.
An Organisational Development Strategy aligned to key priorities is being developed but is behind schedule. This will feature as a key priority in the Directorate Plan 2015-16
CS10 Corporate Peer Challenge Objectives: Successful management of the Peer Links to Corporate Priority: Chris Sheader In Progress 31 March 2015 Challenge together with implementation of People, Place, Prosperity and learning from the process. PSR. Comments: The Corporate Peer Challenge was deferred in agreement with the Local Government Comment Date: 18/05/2015 Association due to the change of Council Leaders, resignation of the former Chief Executive and appointment of a new Chief Executive during 2014-15. This has now been re-scheduled and will take place between 28th st
September 33 Page and 1 October 2015.
CS15 Emergency Response Objectives: To have ensured the council has fit Links to Corporate Priority: Jeanette Staley Complete 31 March 2015 and Recovery and Business for purpose Emergency Response and Recovery Place . Continuity & Business Continuity Plans with appropriate functional plans and policies that will allow us to respond effectively and efficiently to major incidents including ensuring normality is resumed as quickly as possible CS17 Transforming Coroners Objectives: To have undertaken a Fundamental Links to Corporate Priority: Mark Dalzell Complete 31 March 2015 Review ensuring the service is modernised and People, Place and PSR. better able to meet the challenges brought by new legislative changes and ongoing volume pressures. Including hosting relationship with Oldham and Bury and an SLA refresh with the Coroner and Assistant Coroner to fulfil the council’s duties under the Coroners and Justice Act 2009 CS18 Modernisation Innovation Objectives: Develop a medium and long term plan Links to Corporate Priority: Mark Dalzell Complete 31 March 2015 and Transformation of for the Registrars service in conjunction with the PSR. Registrars development of the Town Hall. Modernise, improve and develop the ceremony areas of the Registrars service and link to the council’s events strategy to increase the ceremony usage of the Town Hall CS19 Phase 2 Review (Co Objectives: To have commissioned North West Links to Corporate Priority: Chris Sheader In Progress 31 March 2015 Leads PK and SD) Employers to work with Leadership Team to People. deliver the Phase 2 review of senior management positions. Comments: This work was held in abeyance due to the appointment of the new Chief Executive. Work has Comment Date: 18/05/2015 now commenced and the review will be completed in the early part of the 2015-16 financial year.
Page 2 Of 3 10/06/2015
Appendix 1
Action Plan Owner Status Due Date
CS20 Review of Employment Objectives: To have undertaken and completed a Links to Corporate Priority: Susan Blundell In Progress 31 March 2015 Related Policies thorough review of all employment related People and PSR. policies and procedures to ensure that the HR Policies and Procedures are in place to support the Reshaping of the Council and PSR. Comments: Delays in progressing this piece of work is due to the significant pressures on the HR Service Comment Date: 11/05/2015 linked to savings proposals and implementation of changes to terms and conditions. To be progressed during the Summer of 2015.
Page 34 Page
Page 3 Of 3 10/06/2015 Finance Services Directorate Plan 2015-16 The Council has four key priorities to deliver our vision; priorities that direct and underpin everything we do:
The Directorate covers a range of activities People, Place, Prosperity and Public Service Reform and service areas, as both direct service Directorate Key Priorities :
delivery and also providing essential Key Priorities support services to other Directorates contributing to the achievement of 1. De liver a balanced budget for 2015/16 through to 201 7/18 corporate objectives. 2. Deliver improvements in Revenues and Benefits performance, quality and channel shift The Directorate includes the following functional areas:
• Corporate Finance • Finance Support Services • Treasury Management
• Internal Audit • Schools Traded Finance Service 35 Page • Corporate Debt • Payments and Financial Systems • Council Tax • Business Rates P Kane • Benefits and Assessments Director • Fraud Investigations • Creditor Payments • Financial Processing
• Quality and Technical Support – Revenues I Hodgeon Agenda Item 5 J Murphy K MacKenzie and Benefits V Crossland Head of Revenues and Benefits Head of Finance Support Head of Revenues and Benefits • Link4Life Client Head of Corporate Finance - Benefits, Fraud and Services - Collection and Support • Procurement delivered via STaR Assessments • Welfare Reform
Director: Pauline Kane
Lead Cabinet Members: Portfolio Holder - Councillor Allen Brett, Asst Portfolio Holder -Cllr Aasim Rashid
E:\moderngov\Data\AgendaItemDocs\5\2\4\AI00016425\$qja2yk3s.docx 1
Finance Directorate Key Activities
Link to Ref Strategy Objective corporate By when Lead priority F1 Benefits Processing – to work Performance around unallocated new work has improved to four weeks, this to be People towards no work unallocated for maintained as we look to implement changes that will reduce the processing time. Actions to Prosperity more than two weeks for new work be undertaken Public Service 31 st March 2016 Iain Hodgeon and to reduce as far as possible time Reform to complete work allocated. a) Risk Based verification to be implemented (Revenues and Benefits) b) Self-serve for Change-in-Circumstances to be live c) Improve individual productivity / accuracy and effective resource planning
F2 36 Page Council Tax Support Scheme To Consider 2016/17 Scheme changes People 31 st January 2016 Iain Hodgeon (Revenues and Benefits) Prosperity Public Service Reform
F3 Adult Care Assessments (Revenues To review process for managing AC Assessments (working with Adult Care) taking into People and Benefits) account Care Act Changes Prosperity 30 TH September 2015 Iain Hodgeon Public Service a) Documenting as is + to be Reform b) Ensuring we have appropriate systems and processes (with Adult Care) c) Ensuring appropriate resources and roles and responsibilities clear and understood d) Performance monitoring e) Correspondence review specific to adult care financial assessments
F4 Fraud – Implementation and development of new Counter Fraud Anti- Fraud activity : Team (Revenues and Benefits) All 31 st March 2016 Iain Hodgeon FERIS (Reducing Fraud & Error to reduce spend on HB)
Review Fraud Strategy 30 th September 2015 Iain Hodgeon
Maximise intelligence from National Fraud Initiative to combat fraud 31 st March 2016
Iain Hodgeon Deliver on the Partnership Agreement with DWP in respect of Housing Benefit and Universal In line with Credit Fraud Partnership Iain Hodgeon Agreement E:\moderngov\Data\AgendaItemDocs\5\2\4\AI00016425\$qja2yk3s.docx 2 Link to Ref Strategy Objective corporate By when Lead priority F5 Council Tax and Business Rates - To make use of technology to support digital approach for residents / businesses who wish People Channel Shift (Revenues and to operate on line including Prosperity 31 st March 2016 Keith Benefits) Self-Serve – e.g. for setting up payment arrangements Public Service MacKenzie - Council Tax Reform - Benefits - Business Rates E-billing E-letters F6 Council Tax and Business Rate Increasing Direct Debit take up People 31 st March 2016 Keith collection (Revenues and Benefits) Prosperity MacKenzie Increase collection for Council Tax and Maintain for Business Rates Public Service 31 st March 2016 Keith Reform MacKenzie Update the Code of Practice (Collection & Enforcement C Tax) 30 th September 2015 Keith MacKenzie F7 Community Language Service Review of current arrangements and consideration of provision going forward All 30 th November 2015 Keith (Revenues and Benefits) MacKenzie F8 Budget 16/17-18/19 – Capital and Presentation of a balanced budget to Budget Fixing Council for 2016/17 with projections for All February/March 2016 Pauline Kane Revenue (Finance) 17/18 and 18/19. and (Detailed timetable behind this Savings Programme February / March
Page 37 Page priority) 2016 Vicky Crossland Public Engagement July 2015 th F9 Capital Development (Finance) Review of approach to Capital investment and asset management from financial perspective Prosperity 30 September 2015 Vicky Public Service Crossland • Review of Capital Strategy Reform • Review of approach to developing Capital Programme
F10 Procurement (with STaR) (Finance) Further development work with StaR to maximise benefits to the Council and ensure Prosperity Julie Murphy compliance with legislation including; Public Service • Contribution to delivery on the requirements of the Transparency Code Reform In line with legislation th • Developing and delivering on approach to Benefits realisation including social value 30 September 2015 st • Ensuring compliance (on going with review of performance at year end) 31 March 2016 th • Approval and embedding of new Contract Procedure Rules 30 September 2015 F11 Corporate Debt (Finance) Review of Corporate Debt processes, removal of backlog of work and increase recovery of All sundry debt. Specific areas of focus for 2015/16 st • Adult Care cost Recovery 31 March 2016 Vicky • General Income Crossland • Housing Benefit Overpayment recovery • Correspondence Review specific to Corporate Debt correspondence • Review of Monitoring / Reporting processes • Write-off procedure review E:\moderngov\Data\AgendaItemDocs\5\2\4\AI00016425\$qja2yk3s.docx 3 Link to Ref Strategy Objective corporate By when Lead priority F12 Developing / Improving Financial Enhancing skills of budget holders around financial management All Management in Council (Finance) th • Developing e-learning for Financial Awareness Training 30 September 2015 Julie Murphy st • Further development of Budget monitoring to streamline processes further 31 March 2016 and Vicky Crossland F13 Specific Corporate Projects (Finance) Financial input into key strategic areas of work across the Council , including; All
In line with Pauline Kane . Devolution and Public Service Reform workstreams requirements of each Vicky • Town Centre East project Crossland and • Town Hall Julie Murphy • Renewable Energy • Waste Review • Public health Formula Funding . Health and Social Care Integration • Care Act • Kirkholt
st F14 Internal Audit- Challenge and To ensure effective governance in place and that effective risk management is embedded All 31 March 2016 Ian Corbridge support the further development of across the Council Page 38 Page governance and risk within the Authority, (Finance) F15 Identify external sources of Develop Assurance Framework and present to members of the Audit committee in June All June 2015 Ian Corbridge assurances that members can place 2015 reliance on to support sign off of the Annual Governance Statement (Finance) F16 Peer Review (All) To support the Peer Review through effective preparation All September 2015 Pauline Kane F17 Link4Life • Finalise the review of Partnership Agreement review People September 2015 Pauline Kane st Equality & Diversity Policy “No Matter • Actively developing our services' approach to equality and diversity. PSR 31 March 2016 Pauline Kane Who” • Ensuring that staff are adequately trained to meet the requirements of the No Matter Who policy. • Undertaking equality impact assessments, in line with the corporate guidance, and EQ1 acting on their findings • Establishing and maintaining appropriate consultation with community and key stakeholder groups and responding to feedback on services to ensure that our services are appropriate and sensitive to all our communities
Performance indicators and risks in achieving the key objectives are held within the corporate Performance Manager System
E:\moderngov\Data\AgendaItemDocs\5\2\4\AI00016425\$qja2yk3s.docx 4 Agenda Item 6a
Subject: Revenue Outturn 2014/15 Status: For Publication
Report to : Cabinet Date: Monday, 8 June 2015
Cabinet Member: Councillor Allen Brett
Report of: Director – Finance Services Author : Vicky Crossland
Author Email: [email protected] Tel: 01706 925409
Comments from Statutory Monitoring Officer: Yes Officers: Section 151 Officer: Yes Ke y Decision: No
1. Purpose of the report
1.1. To inform Cabinet and the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Council’s revenue financial position as at the end of the 2014/15 financial year.
1.2. Effective financial management is essential if the Council is to keep spending within available resources. It is vital that services make adjustments in spending to ensure that they spend in line with the approved budget.
2. RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1. It is recommended that:
2.1.1 Cabinet notes the 2014/15 Revenue Budget Outturn position. 2.1.2 Cabinet approves the increase in budget to reflect the increase in funding in section 3.5.1. 2.1.3 Cabinet members consider the proposed Budget Pressures allocations outlined at 3.5.7. 2.1.4 Cabinet members consider the transfer of in year savings to the Equalisation Reserve as detailed in paragraph 3.5.9. 2.1.5 Cabinet approves the delegation of decision making for the Transformation Fund as outlined in section 3.5.10. 3. MAIN TEXT INCLUDING ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED/ CONSULTATION CARRIED OUT 3.1. Alternatives and Risks considered: 3.1.1. Not reporting on financial performance puts at risk the achievement of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan. Effective budget management is critical to ensuring financial resources are spent in line with the budget and are targeted towards the Council’s priorities. Monitoring enables the early identification of variations against the plan and facilitates timely corrective action.
Page 39 3.2. Consultation Undertaken/Proposed: 3.2.1. All services engage with the production of the service based financial information within this report. The Leadership Team and Portfolio Holder for Finance have been informed of the 2014/15 financial position of the Council and its implications for future years. The report will be presented to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny on the 22 nd June 2015 and The Trade Unions will be informed at Joint Consultative Committee on the 7 th July 2015. 3.3. Introduction 3.3.1. This report focuses on the overall revenue outturn position of the Council for the year ending 31 st of March 2015. 3.4. Overall Position 3.4.1. The resources available to the Council in 2014/15 were less than in previous years. To ensure the Council did not significantly overspend by the end of 2014/15 Cabinet ensured that services expenditure was contained within the budgets approved at Budget Fixing Council in February 2014, as amended in line with the scheme of delegation or Cabinet Member approval. 3.4.2. The final position in relation to 2014/15’s budgeted spend is detailed below.
3.5. Revenue Budget 2014/15
3.5.1. The budget set by Budget Fixing Council on 27 th February 2014 was £196.256m This has increased to £197.994m, as set out below:
Approved by When Reason for change Amount (£m) Budget Fixing Council Feb-14 Approved budget 196.256 Cabinet Jul-14 Increased Revenue Support Grant 0.016 Cabinet Jun-15 Reduction in Education Services Grant -0.020 Cabinet Jun-15 Increased Section 31 Grant 1.742 197.994 The reduction in Education Services Grant of £0.020m was notified to the Council after the March Finance Update Report to Cabinet and is a result of two Schools transferring to Academy status in December 2014 and February 2015. The increased Section 31 Grant is linked to the final position of the Business Rates element of the Collection Fund, and was not known until the final outturn position was calculated. 3.5.2. This report considers the position against the budget approved as above. Where individual service budgets have changed, these are in line with the scheme of delegation for virements. 3.5.3. For reporting purposes, service budgets have been split between those that are deemed to be controllable and those that are not (this is shown in appendix A). Controllable budgets are those where the service can control or influence spend. Any variance to uncontrollable budgets would be offset from corporately held budgets or virements between services. Pie Chart 1 details how the controllable net budget for the Council is allocated to services in line with Council priorities.
Page 40
PIE CHART 1 – TOTAL CONTROLLABLE NET BUDGET BY SERVICE
*NB - as before Public Health is not included in the Pie chart, this is due to Public Health being fully funded by Grant.
3.5.4. The final outturn position for the Council in 2014/15 was an in year saving of £0.680m, which will be added to General Fund Balances. 3.5.5. Budget Carry Forward requests from services totalling £6.431m have been agreed by the Director for Finance in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and the Leadership Team. 3.5.6. Graph 1 on the following page provides the variations between forecast expenditure and services controllable net budget. Further details of the position for these services are provided at Appendix B. The service budgets shown in Appendix B have been amended to take account of the following
• Contributions to Transformation Fund as agreed at March Cabinet.
• Carry Forward requests approved by the Director for Finance in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and the Leadership Team.
• Contribution to reserve balances as approved by the Director for Finance in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and the Leadership Team.
Page 41 GRAPH 1 – VARIATIONS FROM CONTROLLABLE NET BUDGET
60,000
50,000
40,000
30,000
20,000
10,000
0
-10,000
CUSTOMER & ADULT CHILDREN’S ECONOMY & FINANCE PUBLIC FINANCE All figures are in £000's CORPORATE TOTAL SERVICES SERVICES ENVIRONMENT SERVICES HEALTH CONTROL SERVICES
APPROVED BUDGET 53,675 43,711 18,058 55,123 9,130 -484 36,911 216,124
FINAL SPEND 52,511 42,520 17,586 54,566 8,955 -484 36,690 212,344
IN YEAR SAVING 1,164 1,191 472 557 175 0 221 3,780
TO EQUALISATION 1,000 1,100 400 400 100 0 100 3,100 RESERVE
OVERSPEND 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
OVERALL POSITION 164 91 72 157 75 0 121 680
3.5.7. The Budget Pressure Fund remaining for 2014/15 is £2.200m (£0.771m ongoing and £1.429m one off), before consideration of the following allocations. This report asks Cabinet Members to consider the allocations below:- One off Allocations
• Feel Good Festival (£0.125m) – A budget pressure allocation of £0.125m is requested to fund the Feel Good Festival due to take place in September 2015.
• Markets (£0.090m) – This funding is required to continue the temporary markets in Rochdale Town Centre for a further 12 months until they can be relocated and includes a provision for events. If approved, the two budget pressure fund allocations above will be carried forward to 2015/16. One Off Return of Budget Pressures - During 2014/15 the Economy & Environment Service identified a number of ongoing budget pressures which Cabinet agreed to fund. The service has identified one off savings in 2014/15 which enabled Budget Pressures Funding of £1.040m to be returned to the Fund.
Page 42 - The Collection Fund Deficit was forecast for 2015/16 as £3.680m and this was provided for within the Budget Pressures Fund at Cabinet in September 2014. When the budget for 2015/16 was set in February 2015, the estimate built into the budget, based on the updated position of the Collection Fund was £2.771m, therefore one off Budget Pressure Funding of £0.909m will be returned. Budget Pressures Fund Balance 2014/15 If all allocations above are approved, the remaining balance will be £3.394m (£0.771m available for ongoing allocations and £3.163m available for one off allocations). 3.5.8. The major (>£0.250m) variations to controllable budget, by service, before allocations to the Equalisation Reserve are detailed below :- In-year savings Adult Services - £1.164m Further in year savings have arisen from additional one off funding. This has been invested in existing service areas (£0.459m) enabling a service in year saving to be achieved. The balance of the in year saving has arisen from delays in recruitment (£0.347m) in Assessment & Care Management, numbers of Deprivation of Liberty cases was less than forecast (£0.152m), and less than expected requirement for emergency respite, staff vacancies and additional funding in the Carers Service (£0.206m). Children’s Services - £1.191m Short term vacancies across the Service have contributed £0.433m to the in year savings; reduced contract prices and other non-staffing costs have contributed a further £0.418m; achievement of income over budget levels has generated an additional £0.075m. The opportunity to set costs against grant income has led to further in year savings of £0.265m. Customer & Corporate Services - £0.472m Customer & Corporate Services is reporting in year savings of £0.472m which includes £0.343m of non-recurrent in year savings within the Legal Services Department. This arises from a reduction in employing agency staff and an increase in income from services provided. There is also a one off saving resulting from additional one off funding invested in existing services £0.054m. Economy & Environment - £0.557m The service has in year savings totalling £0.557m; a major contributor to this is the increased uptake of Universal Free School Meals. There are a number of vacancies across the service which has resulted in an in-year saving against salaries. The Employment Links contracts over performed resulting in an over-achievement of income. There were in year savings resulting from additional one off funding to invest in existing service areas. 3.5.9. Equalisation Reserve The Equalisation Reserve has been established to assist the Authority in managing its budget requirement for future years by identifying one off funds that become available to resource the implementation of complex saving proposals. As at the end of the financial year Cabinet members are asked to approve the transfer of £3.100m from service budgets to the Equalisation Reserve. This will leave an amount of £0.680m being reported as the in year saving across the council.
Page 43 3.5.10. Transformation Fund Cabinet agreed to the establishment of the Transformation Fund in the February 2015 Finance Update Report. Cabinet are now asked to approve that decisions as to how the Transformation Fund is allocated be delegated to the Portfolio Holder for Finance in consultation with The Chief Executive & The Director of Finance Services. 4 FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS 4.1 See the main body of the report.
5 LEGAL IMPLICATIONS 5.1 There are no legal implications arising as a result of this report.
6 PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS 6.1 There are no personnel implications arising as a result of this report.
7 CORPORATE PRIORITIES 7.1 The revenue budget is set at Budget Fixing Council and resources are allocated in line with the corporate priorities of the Council.
8 RISK ASSESSMENT IMPLICATIONS 8.1 There are no significant risks arising from this report.
9 EQUALITIES IMPACTS 9.1 Workforce Equality Impacts Assessment 9.2 There are no significant workforce equality issues arising from this report. 9.3 Equality/Community Impact Assessments 9.4 There are no significant equality/community issues arising from this report. Background Papers For further information about this report or access to any background papers please contact Vicky Crossland, Head of Corporate Finance Tel: 01706 92 5409 Document Place of Inspection
www.rochdale.gov.uk - Cabinet 02 02 15 Cabinet 2 nd February 2015 – Revenue
Finance Update 2015
www.rochdale.gov.uk - Cabinet 23 03 15 Cabinet 23rd March 2015 – Revenue
Finance Update 2015
www.rochdale.gov.uk - Budget Fixing Council 27 Budget Fixing Council 27 th February 2014 02 14
Page 44
GENERAL FUND REVENUE ACCOUNT SUMMARY 2014/15 CURRENT POSITION AS AT END OF MARCH 2015 APPENDIX A
TABLE 1
Current Service and Controllable Revised Budget Corporate Approved Transfer to Controllable Final Spend In Year Previous Movement Fixing Virements/ Current Uncontrollab Net Equalisation Approved at Saving/ Monitoring Since Last Service/ Detail Council Contingency Budget les Budget Reserve Net Budget year end (Overspend) Report Report
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £000
ADULT SERVICES 60,946 (638) 60,308 6,633 53,675 (1,000) 52,675 52,511 164 553 (389)
Page 45 Page CHILDREN'S SERVICES 65,156 1,969 67,125 23,414 43,711 (1,100) 42,611 42,520 91 350 (259) CUSTOMER AND CORPORATE SERVICES 7,272 4,972 12,244 (5,814) 18,058 (400) 17,658 17,586 72 270 (198) ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT SERVICES 59,051 11,497 70,548 15,425 55,123 (400) 54,723 54,566 157 614 (457) FINANCE SERVICES 11,030 1,065 12,095 2,965 9,130 (100) 9,030 8,955 75 223 (148) PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES 0 (87) (87) 397 (484) 0 (484) (484) 0 0 0 TOTAL SERVICE SPENDING 203,455 18,778 222,233 43,020 179,213 (3,000) 176,213 175,654 559 2,010 (1,451)
Finance Control: Corporately Held Budgets (12,135) (19,698) (31,833) (61,150) 29,317 (100) 29,217 29,096 121 45 76 Finance Control: Transformation Fund 0 3,650 3,650 0 3,650 0 3,650 3,650 0 0 0 Finance Control: Equalisation Reserve 0 0 0 0 0 3,100 3,10 0 3,100 0 0 0 Finance Control: Budget Pressures 4,936 (992) 3,944 0 3,944 0 3,944 3,944 0 0 0 TOTAL FINANCE CONTROL SPENDING (7,199) (17,040) (24,239) (61,150) 36,911 3,000 39,911 39,790 121 45 76
NET EXPENDITURE REQUIREMENTS 196,256 1,738 197,994 (18,130) 216,124 0 216,124 215,444 680 2,055 (1,375)
REVENUE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT APPENDIX B AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: ADULT SERVICES Overall Risk Rating: LOW
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Major Budget Current Current Current Actual Variation - Change Risk Area Fixing Approved Approved Approved spend to Actual from RAG Council Expenditure Income Net year end spend to Previous Area of Service rating Budget Budget Budget Current Report Budget
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 CONTROLLABLE BUDGETS Assessment and Care Management AMBER 4,755 5,239 (753) 4,486 4,137 347 0 Safeguarding GREEN 534 1,145 (82) 1,063 862 152 2 Business Support and Commissioning AMBER 3,042 2,813 (112) 2,701 2,422 0 (149) Carers GREEN 582 657 0 657 440 206 (17) Housing and Equipment AMBER 785 1,573 (934) 639 506 0 (164) Community Restart RED 463 661 (108) 553 543 0 0 Prevention AMBER 4,463 4,816 (479) 4,337 3,923 459 320 Personal Budgets RED 21,064 27,884 (9,403) 18,481 18,625 0 (361) Residential and Nursing RED 18,170 24,039 (6,664) 17,375 17,741 0 (220) Intermediate Care and Reablement RED 1,615 3,648 (265) 3,383 3,312 0 0 SUB TOTAL 55,473 72,475 (18,800) 53,675 52,511 1,164 (589) Transfer to Equalisation Reserve 0 (1,000) 0 (1,000) 0 (1,000) (1,000) Transfer to Transformation Fund 0 0 0 0 0 0 1,200 REVISED SUB TOTAL 55,473 71,475 (18,800) 52,675 52,511 164 (389)
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 UNCONTROLLABLE Service, Corporate and Support Service GREEN 5,473 9,215 (2,582) 6,633 6,633 0 0 Charges SUB TOTAL 5,473 9,215 (2,582) 6,633 6,633 0 0
TOTAL SERVICE BUDGET 60,946 80,690 (21,382) 59,308 59,144 164 (389)
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000 Assessment and Care Management The in year saving is due to turnover of staff and difficulties in recruiting to social work, occupational therapy and support roles, together with the time taken to recruit and undertake the necessary employment checks. The service only uses 347 agency staff except in exceptional circumstances. Safeguarding The in year savings are due to the time being taken to process cases involving deprivation of liberties following a court case earlier in the year; this is a national issue affecting all Local Authorities. Costs are less than originally expected, 152 including legal and court costs.
Carers In year savings are a combination of the forecasts for the emergency respite and end of life support budgets, staff 206 vacancies, and the receipt of additional funding support.
Prevention The in year savings result from additional one off funding to invest in existing service areas. 459
Transfer to Equalisation Reserve (1,000) A proposed amount of in year savings will be transferred to the Equalisation Reserve.
TOTAL 164
Financial Management Update The majority of the additional in year savings have arisen from additional one off funding which has been invested in existing service areas (£459k), the remainder has arisen from further delays in recruitment and less than anticipated costs from Deprivation of Liberty cases (£152k).
Where individual service budgets have changed, these are in line with the scheme of delegation for virements.
Page 46 REVENUE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: CHILDREN'S SERVICES Overall Risk Rating: LOW
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Major Budget Current Current Current Actual Variation - Change Risk Area Fixing Approved Approved Approved spend to Actual from Area of Service RAG Council Expenditure Income Net year end spend to Previous rating Budget Budget Budget Current Report Budget
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 CONTROLLABLE BUDGETS First Response RED 3,237 3,096 0 3,096 3,096 0 0 Cared For Children RED 15,752 20,772 (258) 20,514 20,514 0 0 Safeguarding Children Unit AMBER 1,233 1,381 (222) 1,159 1,159 0 0 Youth Offending & Emergency Duty 805 1,965 (1,150) 815 815 0 0 AMBER Teams Child Protection & Care Proceedings RED 4,638 2,359 0 2,359 2,359 0 0 Advice and Screening RED 1,129 1,241 (67) 1,174 1,174 0 0 Practice Improvement GREEN 1,717 1,877 (6) 1,871 1,871 0 0 11,862 15,741 (10,555) 5,186 4,723 463 463 Sure Start and Stronger Families GREEN School Support GREEN 9,817 19,238 (20,082) (844) (1,071) 227 37 Special Educational Needs and 19,076 (12,698) 6,221 (93) AMBER 17,077 6,378 157 Disability Youth Service GREEN 1,287 1,709 (349) 1,360 1,176 184 184 Management and Administration GREEN 1,390 3,332 (452) 2,880 2,720 160 100 Funding Allocated to Schools GREEN 0 4,662 (4,691) (29) (29) 0 0 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) GREEN (23,499) (2,047) (161) (2,208) (2,208) 0 0 SUB TOTAL 46,445 94,402 (50,691) 43,711 42,520 1,191 691 Transfer to Equalisation Reserve 0 (1,100) 0 (1,100) 0 (1,100) (1,100) Transfer to Transformation Fund 150 REVISED SUB TOTAL 46,445 93,302 (50,691) 42,611 42,520 91 (259)
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 UNCONTROLLABLE Service, Corporate and Support GREEN 19,800 41,703 (16,762) 24,941 24,941 0 0 Service Charges Funding Allocated to Schools GREEN 166,436 180,054 (181,581) (1,527) (1,527) 0 0 Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) GREEN (167,525) 0 0 0 0 0 0 SUB TOTAL 18,711 221,757 (198,343) 23,414 23,414 0 0
TOTAL SERVICE BUDGET 65,156 315,059 (249,034) 66,025 65,934 91 (259)
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000 Sure Start and Stronger Families:- Roll out of the Greater Manachester Early Years model that could legitimately be funded from the Dedicated Schools Grant rather than Council budgets - £164k; In year savings due to robust vacancy management, 463 both in Children's Centres and in Admin and Management support - £190k; in year savings on premises costs - £30k; Efficiencies on contracts in relation to the Family Learning Service - £20k. Other minor variations - £59k.
School Support:- Reduced staffing costs, due to robust vacancy management - £105k; Achievement of additional income in respect of Education Welfare and Supply Agency - £75k; Lower than expected demand for bus passes - £20k; Other minor 227 variations - £27k Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND):- Savings resulting from contract management for the provision of Short Breaks for Children with Disabilities - £120k; In year savings in provision of home based support - £30k; Other minor 157 variations - £7k.
Youth Service:- Income received for services, for which elements can be carried out by existing staff, has resulted in a 184 forecast in year saving of £100k; Reduced staffing costs, due to vacancy management - £70k; Other minor variations - £14k.
Management and Administration:- Lower than anticipated commissioning of external Legal Services - £85k. in year savings 160 in cross Service support costs - £68k; Other minor variations - £7k.
Transfer to Equalisation Reserve:- A proposed amount of in year savings will be transferred to the Equalisation Reserve. (1,100)
TOTAL 91
Financial Management Update Children's Services have achieved in year savings of £1,191k. Short Term vacancies across the Service have contributed £433k; reduced contract prices and other non staffing costs have contributed £419k; achievement of income over budgeted levels has generated an additional £75k. The opportunity to charge additional costs against grant income has led to further in year savings of £264k. Many of the in year savings are reflected in savings schemes for 2015/16 which total £3.883M. Progress has been made in reducing cost pressures for Cared for Children, which has achieved a balanced expenditure position for 2014/15, but there are ongoing budget pressures in this area, as one-off investment funding from the Budget Pressure Fund is returned in 2015/16. Every opportunity is taken to allocate all eligible costs to the Dedicated Schools Grant, in order to minimise the costs to the Council's base budget, with a net total of £544k being drawn from accumulated reserves for costs of services over and above the in year grant received.
Where individual service budgets have changed, these are in line with the scheme of delegation for virements.
Page 47 REVENUE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: CUSTOMER AND CORPORATE SERVICES Overall Risk Rating: LOW
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Major Risk Budget Current Current Current Actual Variation - Change Area RAG Fixing Approved Approved Approved spend to Actual from Area of Service rating Council Expenditure Income Net year end spend to Previous Budget Budget Budget Current Report Budget
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 CONTROLLABLE BUDGETS Customer & Corporate Services AMBER 119 322 0 322 322 0 0 Management Legal Services AMBER 1,137 2,437 (497) 1,940 1,597 343 137 Land Charges RED (136) (78) (178) (256) (256) 0 0 Democratic Services GREEN 1,881 1,581 (33) 1,548 1,548 0 0 Townships AMBER 493 772 (115) 657 657 0 0 Health & Safety and Insurance GREEN 291 392 (49) 343 343 0 0 Human Resources AMBER 1,903 2,258 (227) 2,031 2,031 0 0 Public Service Reform GREEN 1,663 1,787 (279) 1,508 1,508 0 0 ICT AMBER 2,642 5,454 (2,090) 3,364 3,364 0 0 Registrars and Coroners RED 179 1,608 (1,219) 389 404 (15) 11 Community Centres GREEN 596 641 (46) 595 560 35 0 Community Safety GREEN 1,141 5,742 (4,551) 1,191 1,137 54 54 Customer Access Management GREEN 54 54 0 54 54 0 0 Customer Services GREEN 140 324 (184) 140 140 0 0 Advice Service GREEN 338 338 0 338 338 0 0 Libraries GREEN 1,622 1,877 (392) 1,485 1,430 55 0 Commissioning Agilisys Contracts RED 3,288 2,510 (101) 2,409 2,409 0 0 SUB TOTAL 17,350 28,019 (9,961) 18,058 17,586 472 202 Transfer to Equalisation Reserve 0 (400) 0 (400) 0 (400) (400) Transfer to Transformation Fund 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 REVISED SUB TOTAL 17,350 27,619 (9,961) 17,658 17,586 72 (198)
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 UNCONTROLLABLE Service, Corporate and Support GREEN (10,078) 12,313 (18,127) (5,814) (5,814) 0 0 Service Charges SUB TOTAL (10,078) 12,313 (18,127) (5,814) (5,814) 0 0
TOTAL SERVICE BUDGET 7,272 39,932 (28,088) 11,844 11,772 72 (198)
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000
Legal Services:- Over achievement of capital/litigation income plus in year savings due to staffing vacancies. 343
Registrars and Coroners:- Spend in excess of budget is in relation to increased demand on the Coroners Service for jury inquests and spend on Supplies and Services budgets. There is a reduction in Registrars income due to reduced demand for (15) the nationality checking service.
Community Centres:- In year saving due to reduced requirement for repairs and maintenance to premises. 35
Community Safety:- The in year savings result from additional one off funding to invest in existing service areas. 54
Libraries:- In year saving due to staffing vacancies. 55
Transfer to Equalisation Reserve - A proposed amount of in year savings will be transferred to the Equalisation Reserve. (400)
TOTAL 72
Financial Management Update Customer & Corporate Services is reporting in year savings of £472k which includes £343k of non-recurrent in year savings within the Legal Services Department. This arises from a reduction in employing agency staff and an increase in income from services provided. There is also a one off saving resulting from additional one off funding invested in existing services £54k.
Where individual service budgets have changed, these are in line with the scheme of delegation for virements.
Page 48 REVENUE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015 Service: ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT SERVICES Overall Risk Rating: LOW Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Major Risk Budget Current Current Current Actual Variation - Change Area RAG Fixing Approved Approved Approved spend to Actual from rating Council Expenditure Income Net year end spend to Previous Area of Service Budget Budget Budget Current Report Budget
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 CONTROLLABLE BUDGETS Facilities Management RED 706 9,562 (9,078) 484 700 (216) (286) Environmental Management RED 7,627 16,180 (7,340) 8,840 8,668 172 172 Planning and Building Control RED 1,135 2,865 (2,059) 806 841 (35) (35) Public Protection RED 582 1,958 (1,314) 644 445 199 64 Strategy Policy Management GREEN 1,534 3,460 (1,734) 1,726 1,534 192 (74) Prevention Funding GREEN 431 0 0 0 0 0 0 Homelessness GREEN 22 0 0 0 0 0 0 Economic Development GREEN 1,211 3,246 (1,271) 1,975 1,635 340 91 Highways GREEN 6,150 9,915 (4,342) 5,573 5,548 25 (45) Properties GREEN 1,995 6,337 (4,396) 1,941 1,941 0 (124) Street Lighting GREEN 1,831 2,930 (566) 2,364 2,364 0 100 Waste Disposal Levy RED 14,910 15,227 0 15,227 15,347 (120) (20) Passenger Transport Levy GREEN 15,543 15,543 0 15,543 15,543 0 0 SUB TOTAL 53,677 87,223 (32,100) 55,123 54,566 557 (157) Transfer to Equalisation Reserve 0 (400) 0 (400) 0 (400) (400) Transfer to Tranfromation Fund 0 0 0 0 0 0 100 REVISED SUB TOTAL 53,677 86,823 (32,100) 54,723 54,566 157 (457)
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 UNCONTROLLABLE Service, Corporate and Support GREEN 5,374 26,812 (11,387) 15,425 15,425 0 0 Service Charges SUB TOTAL 5,374 26,812 (11,387) 15,425 15,425 0 0
TOTAL SERVICE BUDGET 59,051 113,635 (43,487) 70,148 69,991 157 (457) Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000
Facilities Management:- The introduction of Universal Free School Meals in September 2014 has had a beneficial impact on the trading position of Facilities Management. Vacancies and lower than anticipated sickness rates have (216) delivered an in year saving against salaries. Savings have also been realised on the maintenance contracts for Number One Riverside. An element of budget pressure funding was returned.
Environmental Management: - The pressure on Waste and Street Services decreased in the final quarter of 2014/15 following a reduction in fuel prices. Management of vacancies and lower than anticipated overtime and agency cover 172 have delivered in year savings. The income from Landscape and Bereavement Services was also higher than anticipated.
Planning and Building Control:- In the area of sustainability, there was additional income from the solar panels at Rochdale and Heywood Leisure Centre. In Building Control there was an in year saving on salaries. In the Special Projects team there was additional income relating to a Highways compulsary purchase order (CPO). In Development (35) Management, additional costs were incurred relating to consultants used on a windfarm. An element of budget pressure funding was returned.
Public Protection:- In year savings resulting from additional one off funding to invest in existing service areas. In licencing there was additional income and lower costs relating to Disclosure Barring Service checks. There were salary 199 savings across the service due to maternity leave and vacancies, plus various minor variances in this area resulting in an in year saving. An element of budget pressure funding was returned.
Strategy Policy Management:- A number of vacancies in this area has resulted in an in year saving against salaries. The delay in the transfer of the Homelessness contract to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing has resulted in an in year 192 saving due to holding vacant posts open prior to the transfer. Additional income, which had previously classified as capital was received. There were various minor variances in this area resulting in an in year saving.
Economic Development:- In year savings relate to over achievement of employment links income; this was due to the delivery of the Complex Families contract performing far better than expectation following the relocation of the advisers into the same building as the rest of the Employment Links team. In addition, one of the companies which Employment 340 Links sub-contracts for held back some income for all its supply chain whilst compliance checks were being made. There were vacancies across the service which resulted in an in year saving. There were various other minor variances in this area resulting in an in year saving. An element of budget pressure funding was returned.
Highways: - There was an in year saving relating to the provision of the Rochdale shuttle bus. There was an in year 25 saving relating to the provision of the Winter Maintenance Service. An element of budget pressure funding was returned.
Waste Disposal Levy:- Higher than anticipated tonnage figures for non-recycled waste collections will result in an (120) additional disposal charge from the Greater Manchester Waste Disposal Authority.
Transfer to Equalisation Reserve:- A proposed amount of in year savings will be transferred to the Equalisation (400) Reserve. TOTAL 157
Page 49
Financial Management Update The improved trading position for schools catering and cleaning contracts has continued and has been boosted by the introduction of Universal Infant Free School Meals in September 2014. Uptake has been high with an average of 90.6% of eligible pupils participating in the scheme. Tight control of the running costs of corporate buildings, including Number One Riverside and the Town Hall has also contributed to a significant improvement in the position reported for Facilities Management.
The position reported for Environmental Management improved following a reduction in fuel and external vehicle hire costs on Waste and Street Services. There was an improvement in the income arising from Landscape Services following an increase in work undertaken around parks, playrounds and rights of way. There was also an increase in Bereavement Services income following a higher than anticipated number of burials and cremations during the last quarter of 2014/15.
Additional one off investments in existing services have resulted in an in year saving in Public Protection.
In year savings in Economic Development relate to an over achievement of Employment Links income, this was due to the delivery of the Complex Families contract performing far better than expectation following the relocation of the advisers into the same building as the rest of the Employment Links team. The co-location had a positive effect on all contracts and performance improved across the board. In addition, one of the companies that Employment Links sub-contracts for, held back some income for all its supply chain whilst compliance checks were being made.
At period 10 a potential risk was reported around the possibility of an additional charge from the Waste Disposal Authority if recycling levels did not improve over the last quarter. Although there was some improvement towards the end of the year, an additional charge was levied which resulted in an overspend of £119k on the Waste Disposal Levy.
Where individual service budgets have changed, these are in line with the scheme of delegation for virements.
Page 50
REVENUE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: FINANCE SERVICES Overall Risk Rating: LOW
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Major Risk Budget Current Current Current Actual Variation - Change Area RAG Fixing Approved Approved Approved spend to Actual from Area of Service rating Council Expenditure Income Net year end spend to Previous Budget Budget Budget Current Report Budget £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 CONTROLLABLE BUDGETS Finance and Procurement GREEN 4,175 4,263 (417) 3,846 3,745 101 (81) Client Services - Link4Life GREEN 3,675 4,163 (330) 3,833 3,814 19 16 Other Managed Budgets GREEN 1,502 1,406 (14) 1,392 1,392 0 (108) Revenues & Benefits GREEN 394 90,286 (90,227) 59 4 55 (275) SUB TOTAL 9,746 100,118 (90,988) 9,130 8,955 175 (448) Transfer to Equalisation Reserve 0 (100) 0 (100) 0 (100) (100) Trabsfer to Transformation Fund 0 0 0 0 0 0 400 REVISED SUB TOTAL 9,746 100,018 (90,988) 9,030 8,955 75 (148)
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 UNCONTROLLABLE Service, Corporate and Support Service GREEN 1,284 10,265 (7,300) 2,965 2,965 0 0 Charges SUB TOTAL 1,284 10,265 (7,300) 2,965 2,965 0 0
TOTAL SERVICE BUDGET 11,030 110,283 (98,288) 11,995 11,920 75 (148)
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000
Finance and Procurement:- In year savings due to employee vacancies, reduction in banking fees, savings on supplies 101 and services and additional income from use of purchase cards.
Other Managed Budgets and Client Services:- Savings on supplies and services. 19
Revenues and Benefits:- In year savings due to increased income through collection activity, balance of the new burdens grant relating to the localisation of council tax, minor savings in supplies & services, off-set by an in increase to 55 the bad debt provision. Transfer to Equalisation Reserve:- A proposed amount of in year savings will be transferred to the Equalisation (100) Reserve. TOTAL 75
Financial Management Update The service in-year savings result from in-year staffing vacancies, a reduction in banking fees, savings on supplies and services, additional one off income, and an increase in revenues collection activity, offset by an increase to the bad debt provision.
Where individual service budgets have changed, these are in line with the scheme of delegation for virements.
Page 51
REVENUE FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES Overall Risk Rating: LOW
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Major Budget Current Current Current Actual Variation - Change Risk Fixing Approved Approved Approved spend to Actual from Area of Service Area Council Expenditur Income Net year end spend to Previous RAG e Budget Budget Budget Current Report rating Budget
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 CONTROLLABLE BUDGETS Sexual Health GREEN 2,156 2,217 0 2,217 2,217 0 0 NHS Health Checks GREEN 196 196 0 196 196 0 0 Public Health Advice GREEN 150 730 0 730 730 0 0 Obesity and Physical Activity GREEN 1,797 696 0 696 696 0 0 Substance Misuse GREEN 4,485 3,755 0 3,755 3,755 0 0 Smoking and Tobacco GREEN 840 508 0 508 508 0 0 Children 5-19 Public Health Programme GREEN 1,428 1,987 0 1,987 1,987 0 0 Mental Health and Wellbeing GREEN 506 328 0 328 328 0 0 Other Public Health Commissioning GREEN 560 3,008 (33) 2,975 2,975 0 0 Health Protection GREEN 409 444 (50) 394 394 0 0 Public Health Staffing and Non Staffing GREEN (12,899) 507 (14,777) (14,270) (14,270) 0 0 SUB TOTAL (372) 14,376 (14,860) (484) (484) 0 0 Transfer to Equalisation Reserve 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Transfer to Transformation Fund 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 REVISED SUB TOTAL (372) 14,376 (14,860) (484) (484) 0 0
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 UNCONTROLLABLE Service, Corporate and Support Service GREEN 372 397 0 397 397 0 0 Charges SUB TOTAL 372 397 0 397 397 0 0
TOTAL SERVICE BUDGET 0 14,773 (14,860) (87) (87) 0 0
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000 Service spend is in line with budget. 0 TOTAL 0
Financial Management Update The Public Health budget is funded by a ring fenced grant of £14,777k in 2014/15. This has been supplemented by an additional £1,247k earmarked reserve carried over from 2013/14, £33k of additional in year contribution from the Big Lottery Fund and £50k of income relating to a member of staff currently seconded to Tameside Council for Greater Manchester work. The total income budget has been allocated to fund the range of Public Health services, with the 2013/14 earmarked reserve having been being used to fund a range of non-recurrent investment schemes in 2014/15.
At year end uncommitted budget of £1,348k of the 2014/15 grant has been carried forward into a reserve, earmarked against investment areas in 2015/16.
Cabinet agreed in August 2014 to allocate £468k from the earmarked reserve to extend some non-recurrent schemes up to March 31st 2016, and this list has now been agreed with the portfolio holder for Public Health and Regulation.
Where individual service budgets have changed, these are in line with the scheme of delegation for virements.
Page 52 Agenda Item 6b
Subject: Capital Finance Outturn 2014/15 Status: For Publication
Report to : Cabinet Date: Monday, 8 June 2015
Cabinet Member: Councillor Allen Brett
Report of: Director of Finance Services Author : Vicky Crossland
Author Email: Tel: 01706 925409 [email protected]
Comments from Statu tory Monitoring Officer: Yes Officers: Section 151 Officer: Yes Key Decision: No
1. Purpose of Report
1.1. To update Cabinet and the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Council’s Capital financial position and enable decision making and action where appropriate in respect of that position.
1.2. Effective financial management is essential if the Council is to keep spending within available resources. It is vital that services make adjustments in spending to ensure that they spend in line with the approved budget.
2. Recommendations
2.1. Cabinet notes the final 2014/15 Capital outturn budget position. 2.2. Cabinet approves the rephasing amounts identified in paragraph 3.5.1. 2.3. Cabinet notes the underspend amounts identified in paragraph 3.6.1.
3. Background
3.1. Alternatives considered
3.1.1. Not reporting on financial performance puts at risk the achievement of the Authority’s medium term financial plan. Effective budget management is critical to ensuring financial resources are spent in line with the budget and are targeted towards the Council’s priorities. Monitoring enables the early identification of variations against the plan and facilitates timely corrective action.
Page 53 3.2. Consultation Undertaken/Proposed 3.2.1. All services engage with the production of the service based financial information within this report. The Leadership Team and Portfolio Holder for Finance have been informed of the 2014/15 financial position of the Council and its implications for future years. The report will go to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny on 22nd June 2015. The Trade Unions will be informed at Joint Consultative Committee on 7 th July 2015. 3.3. Introduction 3.3.1. This report is the sixth Capital financial update for the 2014/15 financial year. The report focuses on the Capital outturn of the council for 2014/15. 3.4. Capital Budget 2014/15
3.4.1. The Capital programme for 2014/15 totalled £84m, a net increase of £4.2m from the position reported at March Cabinet. The increase is broken down as follows:-
Description Amount £m CAPITAL BUDGET REPORTED AT MARCH CABINET 79.867 Budget Changes Schools revenue contributions to capital (RCCO) 2.061 River Re-opening Additional Grants Received 1.538 Net increase in Highways Grant 0.589 Autism Grant 0.018 Net minor reduction in other Economy & Environment grants -0.011 SUB TOTAL 4.195 GRAND TOTAL 84.062
3.4.2. The Capital outturn position is £46.5m; this is £37.5m lower than the revised Capital budget of £84m. The difference of £37.6m relates to rephasing of £37.3m, and underspend of £0.2m. 3.4.3. Work has been undertaken with Services and Cabinet Members to identify where schemes are to be re-profiled across the financial years 2014/15 to 2017/18, with the latest position being presented in this report.
Page 54 Graph 1 shows the final Capital budget against 2014/15 outturn. GRAPH 1 – Current Budget and outturn 2014/15
50,000
45,000
40,000
35,000
30,000
25,000
20,000
15,000 Amount Amount (£000) 10,000
5,000
-
Customer & Childrens Economy and Adult Services Corporate TOTAL Services Environment £000 Services Current Approved Budget 1,794 30,181 4,584 47,503 84,062 Forecast In Year Spend 1,674 17,773 2,547 24,532 46,526 Rephased Spend 4 12,408 1,966 22,921 37,299 Projected (over)/under spend 116 - 71 50 237 3.5. Rephasing Identified 3.5.1. As at the end of March 2015, £3.8m of new re-phasing from 2014/15 into 2015/16 has been identified. This new re-phasing relates to Children’s Services (£0.6m), Customer and Corporate Services (£0.5m) and Economy and Environment Service (£2.7m). An overview is provided below, further details can be found in Appendix 1:
Children’s Services (£0.6m)
Capital Maintenance Programme (£0.3m) £0.3m of capital maintenance programme work will now be undertaken in 2015/16.
Children’s Social Care Service (£0.1m) £0.1m for building extentions on three private residential homes (to enable children to be placed in the care of families) will now be undertaken during 2015/16.
Other Schools Schemes (£0.2m) £0.2m of work across a number of schools capital schemes will now take place in 2015/16 (including secondary schools access and building schools for the future).
Page 55 Customer & Corporate Services (£0.5m)
ICT Programmes (£0.8m) £0.8m of new re-phasing relates to staffing costs aligned to capital schemes which are rephasing.
Connected Council Programmes (£0.2m) £0.2m of new re-phasing relates to staffing costs aligned to capital schemes which are rephasing.
ICT Refresh Programme (-£0.5m rephasing reduction) The rephasing of £0.5m of budget in to 2015/16 is as a result of the ICT refresh programme incurring additional Capital expenditure than previously forecast.
Economy & Environment Service (£2.7m, including £1.9m relating to Town Centre schemes)
New Cemetery / Mercury Abatement Scheme (£0.3m) Further re-phasing of £0.3m has been requested across the New Cemetery and Mercury Abatement scheme due to a delay in building work caused by adverse weather conditions.
Township Schemes Environmental Management (£0.1m) Re-phasing of £0.1m has been requested as a number of projects in the Township Capital budget will not be completed until 2015/16.
Kirkholt Scheme (£0.2m) Further re-phasing of £0.2m has been identified as the scheme will not commence until 2015/16. When the development agreement has been approved the Capital expenditure will be profiled across financial years.
Highways Investment Programme (£0.3m) Further re-phasing of £0.3m has been requested. £0.2m relates to Belfield Lane and £0.1m to Bamford Road, where there have been unforeseen utility works. These projects are due to be completed in 2015/16.
Calder Avenue Flood Protection (£0.2m) The scheme has been delayed due to a compulsory purchase order for part of the site. Further re-phasing of £0.2m has been identified for works which will now take place in 2015/16
Other Economy & Environment Schemes (net increase of £0.3m) Further minor re-phasing increases and reductions across a number of Economy & Environment schemes, totalling £0.3m net, has been identified as works will not be completed until 2015/16. Further details can be found in appendix 1.
Housing Standards (-£0.6m rephasing reduction) The Capital expenditure for this scheme has been utilised in 2014/15, therefore there is no requirement to rephase any of the budget in to 2015/16.
Town Centre schemes (£1.9m) The rephasing requested is in line with the development agreement for the Town Centre regeneration, which is programmed to take place over a number of years. Further details can be found in appendix 1.
Page 56 3.6. Underspend Identified 3.6.1 Adult Services (£0.116m) £0.092m is an underspend on Disabled Facilities Grants works which have been completed under budget. A further £0.024m relates to the upgrade works on a respite facility which have been completed under budget.
Customer and Corporate Services (£0.071m) The Election Call Centre (£0.030m), Mobile Working Scheme (£0.035m) and the Elections Equipment Scheme (£0.001m) have all been implemented under budget, and ICT Refersh Programme has saved £0.005m as part of the procurement process.
Economy & Environment (£0.050m) £0.050m relates to the new council offices as all retentions for this scheme have now been met.
4. Capital Funding
4.1. The pie chart below shows the resources being used to fund the current capital programme of £84.1m in 2014/15.
Pie Chart 1 – Capital Funding Sources (£m)
4.2. Capital Receipts The £11.2m Capital Receipts funding for the 2014/15 Capital Programme has been allocated from the Capital Receipts Reserve. Capital Receipts expected to be received in 2014/15 equated to £0.6m. This target has been over achieved. Capital receipts received in 2014/15 totalled £3.4m.Of this, £0.05m was in relation to Housing receipts, where future use is restricted.
Page 57 5. Financial Implications
5.1. See the main body of the report. 6. Legal Implications
6.1. There are no specific legal implications arising as a result of this report.
7. Personnel Implications
7.1. There are no personnel implications arising as a result of this report.
8. Corporate Priorities
8.1. The Capital budget is set at Budget Fixing Council and resources are allocated in line with the corporate priorities of the Council.
9. Risk Assessment Implications
9.1. There are no significant risk issues arising from this report.
10. Equalities Impacts
10.1. Workforce Equality Impacts Assessment
10.1.1. There are no workforce equality issues arising from this report.
10.2. Equality/Community Impact Assessments
10.2.1. There are no significant equality/community issues arising from this report.
Background Papers Document Place of Inspection www.rochdale.gov.uk > Council and democracy > Councillors and committees > Council Budget Fixing Council January 2014 agendas, reports and minutes > Meetings > Agenda and minutes > Council www.rochdale.gov.uk > Council and democracy > Councillors and committees > Council February Cabinet 2015 agendas, reports and minutes > Meetings > Agenda and minutes > Council
Page 58 APPENDIX 1
CAPITAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: ADULT SERVICES
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Current Actual In Variation Previously Proposed Projected Approved Year Spend Approved Rephased (over)/und Capital Scheme Budget Rephased Spend (2) er spend Spend (1) (3) £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Disabled Facilities Grant 1,300 1,208 92 0 0 92
Learning Disability Respite Facility 475 451 24 0 0 24
Autism Grant 19 15 4 0 4 0 TOTAL 1,794 1,674 120 0 4 116
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000 Disabled Facilities Grant:- This grant is used for adaptations and equipment, spend in 2014/15 has been within budget 92 and the remaining budget is no longer required. Learning Disability Respite Facility:- The Capital works on upgrading this facility for its intended purpose have now been completed 24 within budget, and the the remaining budget is no longer required.
Autism Grant: - Request by service to rephase the remaining £4k of Autism Grant to Purchase IT Equipment for people with Autism 4
TOTAL 120
(1) Re-phased spend represents planned spend in the year which due to a varies circumstances will need to be incurred in a later year in order to finalise capital projects, e.g. building work delayed due to weather conditions. (2) Projected under/overspends represent true under / overspends relating to the individual schemes
Page 59 CAPITAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: CHILDREN'S SERVICES
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Current Actual In Variation Previously Proposed Projected Approved Year Spend Approved Rephased (over)/ Capital Scheme Budget Rephased Spend (2) under Spend (1) spend (3) £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Basic Need - Provision of new School places 7,644 4,653 2,991 3,044 (53) 0 Capital Maintenance Programme 5,171 3,230 1,941 1,640 301 0 Devolved Formula Capital for Schools 904 564 340 272 68 0 Universal Infant Free School Meals 492 474 18 0 18 0 Building Schools for the Future (BSF) 14,528 8,351 6,177 6,110 67 0 Secondary Schools Access/Equipment 742 249 493 412 81 0 Two Year Old Targeted Free Entitlement 427 161 266 267 (1) 0 Short Breaks / Disabled Equipment 155 75 80 65 15 0 Children's Social Care Service 118 16 102 0 102 0 TOTAL 30,181 17,773 12,408 11,810 598 0
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000 Basic Need - Provision of new School places: The programme for the provision of additional School 2,991 places at Secondary Schools is currently being consulted on and the schemes will progress in 2015/16. Capital Maintenance Programme: There is £800k set aside as a contribution for the finalisation of the BSF programme, £401k programmed for this year, but which will complete in 2015/16, and a further 1,941 £740k for reinvestment in new schemes in 2015/16 due to some original programme scheme spends being less than anticipated. Devolved Formula Capital for Schools(DFC) : This budget is devolved to Schools and current projections show that budget will be required in 2015/16 in line with individual School development 340 plans. Universal Infant Free School Meals: This is for kitchen works commissioned at two Schools that will 18 be completed during the summer holidays. Building Schools for the Future (BSF): The ICT BSF programme will continue into 2015/16 as the secondary Schools continue the implementation of ICT equipment within their Schools and the BSF 6,177 building programme is finalised. Secondary Schools Access/Equipment: There are Schools currently being considered for adaptation and conversion works. These works are currently being commissioned for work to begin next financial 493 year. Two Year Old Targeted Free Entitlement: This scheme is aimed at delivering the increased provision of quality childcare for two year olds. There are ongoing discussions with providers but these schemes 266 will now begin in 2015/16. Short Breaks/Disabled Equipment: This element of the budget is earmarked for an adaption to a 80 child's home which is programmed to take place in 2015/16. Children's Social Care Service: There are building extensions planned at three private residential homes to enable children to be placed in the care of families. The scheme is at the legal stage and is 102 expected to be undertaken during 2015/16. TOTAL 12,408
(1 & 2) Re-phased spend represents planned spend in the year which due to various circumstances will need to be incurred in a later year in order to finalise capital projects, e.g. building work delayed due to weather conditions.
(3) Projected under/overspends represent true under / overspends relating to the individual schemes
Page 60 CAPITAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: CUSTOMER AND CORPORATE SERVICES
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Current Actual In Variation Previously Proposed Projected Approved Year Spend Approved Rephased (over)/ Budget Rephased Spend (2) under Capital Scheme Spend (1) spend (3)
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
Township Capital Funds 212 21 191 233 (42) 0 Burglary Reduction Project 103 96 7 31 (24) 0 Armed Forces 66 19 47 43 4 0 ICT Refresh Programme 755 698 57 615 (563) 5 ICT Programmes 1,279 447 832 0 832 0 Connected Council Programme 1,587 996 591 370 221 0 Individual Electoral Registration Database (IER) 153 6 147 123 24 0 Case Management System 29 11 18 0 18 0 Election Call Centre Transition 30 0 30 0 0 30 Mobile Working 35 0 35 0 0 35 Elections Equipment 20 19 1 0 0 1 Library Equipment / Refurbishment 17 12 5 0 5 0 Community Safety Crime Prevention 20 7 13 0 13 0 Champness Hall & Stepping Stone Refurbishment 128 128 0 0 0 0 Library Digitisation 150 87 63 45 18 0 TOTAL 4,584 2,547 2,037 1,460 506 71
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000 Township Capital Funds:- Delay in the delivery of Township capital schemes due to timing of approvals and 191 finalised specifications. Burglary Reduction Project:- The rephasing reflects applications for burglary prevention measures which have 7 received approval, but are still to be delivered. Armed Forces:- Projects within the scheme will continue in to future years to support the Armed Forces 47 Covenant. ICT Refresh Programme:- Rephasing in line with the strategy for IT refresh. Including an in year saving of £5k 57 from reduced costs from the procurement process.
ICT Programmes:– Staff are aligned to Capital programmes which are rephasing. 832
Connected Council Programme:- Rephasing of budget in line with Connected Council programme. 591
Individual Electoral Registration Database (IER): - This is being managed by an AGMA consortium who will 147 make a collaborative decision on the chosen supplier. This decision will be made in 2015/16.
Case Management System:- Programme dependant on implementation timescales from external suppliers. 18 Election Call Centre Transition:- The software for this scheme have already been implemented by the IT team and the costs are within and linked to the Individual Electoral Registration Database. Therefore this budget is no 30 longer required. Mobile Working:- This budget was for laptops for the Legal team. This has already been implemented as part of 35 the ICT refresh programme and therefore this budget is no longer required.
Elections Equipment:- In year saving as scheme has now completed. 1
Library Equipment:- Refurbishment of Middleton Library is awaiting builders completion works. 5
Community Safety Crime Prevention:- The rephasing reflects applications for burglary prevention measures 13 which have received approval, but are still to be delivered.
Library Digitalisation:- Rephasing in line with the strategy for IT refresh. 63
TOTAL 2,037
(1 & 2) Re-phased spend represents planned spend in the year which due to a varies circumstances will need to be incurred in a later year in order to finalise capital projects, e.g. building work delayed due to weather conditions.
(3) Projected under/overspends represent true under / overspends relating to the individual schemes
Page 61 CAPITAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT SERVICES
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Current Actual In Variation Previously Changes to Projected Approved Year Spend Approved Rephasing (over)/ Capital Scheme Budget Rephasing this period under (1) (2) spend (3) £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Woodland Improvement Grants 36 3 33 30 3 0 Replacement wheeled bins 100 78 22 0 22 0 Waste paper blue bins 325 300 25 0 25 0 Grounds Maintenance Equipment Replacement 100 100 0 0 0 0 Play Equipment 145 145 0 0 0 0 Rights of Way 80 63 17 0 17 0 Vehicle Replacement Programme 1,154 1,040 114 185 (71) 0 Rochdale Cemetery Lodge Renovation 191 25 166 166 0 0 New Cemetery 2,205 834 1,371 1,232 139 0 Mercury Abatement Scheme 528 334 194 59 135 0 Environmental Management s106 182 56 126 64 62 0 Township Schemes (Environmental Management) 176 39 137 38 99 0 Joy Street Landscaping 13 0 13 13 0 0 Broadfield Park 6 0 6 0 6 0 Town Hall Essential Improvements 17 17 0 0 0 0 Additional Local Highways Maintenance Funding 658 658 0 0 0 0 Local Transport Plan 3,260 3,260 0 0 0 Highway Investment Programme 4,316 3,486 830 460 370 0 Stakehill Industrial Estate 189 1 188 179 9 0 Renewable Energy 809 788 21 0 21 0 River Roch Flood Storage 150 0 150 150 0 0 Edgar Wood & Middleton THI 200 0 200 120 80 0 Town Centre Schemes 19,503 6,391 13,112 11,174 1,938 0 Rochdale Town Centre Master plan 455 3 452 445 7 0 Greenspace Survey and Strategy 50 0 50 40 10 0 Rochdale Gateway Environmental Programme 60 0 60 50 10 0 Definitive Right of Way Improvement Programme 115 6 109 100 9 0 Flood Risk 40 1 39 30 9 0 Broadband 313 313 0 0 0 0 Littleborough Arches 0 0 0 0 0 0 Roch Valley Trail 330 330 0 0 0 0 Tonge Hall 39 34 5 0 5 0 Planning & Regulation Capital Schemes 44 13 31 11 20 0 Township Schemes (Highways) 471 225 246 278 (32) 0 Planned Maintenance Budget 2,706 2,440 266 212 54 0 Empty Properties 426 426 0 0 0 0 Kirkholt Investment 3,500 0 3,500 3,350 150 0 Housing Standards 952 952 0 600 (600) 0 Derelict Land and Clearance 411 411 0 0 0 0 Site Development Fund 137 137 0 0 0 0 Calder Avenue Flood Protection 599 4 595 379 216 0 Housing Market Renewal Funding 1,157 385 772 750 22 0 S215 / Sustainable Neighbourhoods 58 58 0 0 0 0 Link 4 Life Capital Projects 440 369 71 60 11 0 New Council Offices 812 762 50 0 0 50 External commissions Highways 29 29 0 0 Joint Services Centre PIF 16 16 0 0 TOTAL 47,503 24,532 22,971 20,175 2,746 50
Page 62 Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000 Woodland Improvement Grants:- Project funded externally through the Forestry Commission. Proposed rephasing is in relation to a programme of works linked to approximately 20 individual schemes which are to be 33 delivered over a five year period Replacement wheeled bins:- The Service is currently undertaking a waste review to increase recycling across the Borough. The ordering of replacement bins was put on hold to ensure the type of replacement bins fits in 22 with the future service delivery plans. Waste paper blue bins:- The Service has been working on campaigns to increase recycling across the Borough. This has resulted in an increased demand for recycling bins. Rephasing is requested to help meet this demand 25 and facilitiate the completion of the blue bin roll out in 2015/16. Rights of Way:- Work has been delayed pending the outcome of the recent Footpath Society inspection of all Rochdale Rights Of Way. Rephasing is requested to ensure sufficient funds are available to carry out the 17 priority works identified in the Footpath Society report which was delivered to the Council in April Vehicle Replacement Programme:- Due to manufacturing time around individual vehicle specifications a small number of vehicles which were on order were not delivered by the end of March 2015. 114
Rochdale Cemetery Lodge Renovation:- Work has recently been completed on renovation of the first cemetery lodge and staff have been relocated which has resulted in the second lodge being vacant. Future use 166 of the second lodge is currently under review and the budget is required to be rephased into 2015/16.
New Cemetery:- The Cemetery development projects are currently programmed to be delivered by the end of 2015/16. Plans for the development of Denehurst Park are being progressed and it is anticipated that the 1,371 project timeline for delivery will extend into future years. Mercury Abatement Scheme:- The majority of the work was completed by the end of March 2015. The remaining budget is to cover the outstanding building works which were delayed by adverse weather and 194 retentions due in 2015/16.
Environmental Management s106:- Various schemes approved by Townships. Rephasing is requested to 126 facilitate completion of the schemes in 2015/16.
Township Schemes (Environmental Management):- Various schemes approved by Townships relating to 137 environmental improvements. The work associated with the schemes will be undertaken during 2015/16.
Joy Street Landscaping:- Environment Agency have requested further investigative work on site before an application can be submitted for surrender of the licence for the former tip. This project will continue into 13 2015/16. Broadfield Park:- Rephasing required to cover an expected retention charge being made for earlier capital 6 works.
Highway Investment Programme:- £160k relates to the Mossway scheme which will now continue into early 2015/16 due to a delay in gas service diversions. The schemes at Bamford Road (£118k) and the scheme at 830 Belfield Lane (£187k) have been delayed due to unforeseen Services works. The remaining £365k of requested rephasing relates to retentions that will be due in 2015/16.
Stakehill Industrial estate:- Design work on the project is ongoing with completion expected early 2015 and 188 installation to follow in 2015/16.
Renewable Energy:- Delays in the programme mean that payments will be made in 2015/16. 21
River Roch Flood Storage:- Rochdale Borough Council are working in collaboration with the Environment 150 Agency and are dependant on a final agreed scheme before the project can commence.
Edgar Wood & Middleton THI:- Applications from shop owners for this funding have been received and funds will be allocated accordingly. Additional funding requests are expected to be received in 2015/16. The 200 additional request for rephasing is due to the costs in 14/15 being funded from the reserve. Town Centres Schemes:- Please see Town Centres Capital Programme update. 13,112
Page 63 Rochdale Town Centre Master plan:- Planning Service have scheduled to refresh the Rochdale Borough 452 Renaissance Masterplan as part of the Greater Manchester Economic Growth Strategy during 2015/16.
Greenspace Survey & Strategy:- Works to support Roch Valley Initiative and Bio Diversity Action Plan 50 schemes, these will continue into 2015/16. Rochdale Gateway Environment Programme:- An element is to be rephased into 2015/16 as the Council are waiting on confirmation of a proposal put forward to the Environment Agency regarding the Roch Valley River 60 Park.
Definitive Right of Way Improvement Programme:- Work has begun to gather legal documents around the 109 definitive map with the majority of the works identified by the mapping being completed in 2015/16.
Flood Risk:- Some of this funding to be spent on the Calder Avenue scheme. The remaining funding will 39 contribute to the flood risk strategy in 2015/16.
Planning & Regulation Capital Schemes:- The process for dangerous buildings has changed and so the service has identified that this funding can be withdrawn. Re-allocation of spend has provided funding for the 31 East Lancs Railway land acquisition.
Township schemes (Highways):- Various schemes approved by Townships relating to highways works. The 246 work associated with the schemes will be undertaken during 2015/16.
Planned Maintenance: Due to challenges in relation to the design process, the jetty at Hollingworth Lake will not be delivered in this financial year. The service is working with Link 4 Life to overcome these challenges to ensure delivery in 2015/16. There are planning implications with the Broadfield Handrail project which means it 266 is unlikely to be completed in this financial year. There is also a requirement to rephase budgets for retentions retained. A contribution of £50k being made towards the upgrade of the Cherwell Centre will not be needed until 2015/16. There are also a number of schemes which will continue into 2015/16.
Kirkholt Investment:- Officers are currently working with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing on a development 3,500 agreement for the Kirkholt project. Indicative cash flow shows majority of spend in 2015/16 and 2016/17.
Calder Avenue Flood Protection:- A compulsory purchase order for part of the site has delayed the start of 595 the works. The scheme has an 18 month programme which will continue in to 2015/16
Housing Market Renewal (HMR) Funding:- The HMR budget is being used to de-risk sites to make them more attractive to the development market. The site investigations have been undertaken and the results are now being used to prepare remediation strategies for each site. The remediation works will be offered via the 772 Chest early in the new year with a projected start on site before the end of the financial year, weather permitting. As the funding will be committed by that stage it is formally requested that the allocation is carried across into 2015/16. Link 4 Life Capital Projects:- Schemes have been delayed to ensure the fitness equipment due for replacement is procured in line with the specification as to type and quality that has recently been purchased at 71 the other centres in the borough. The remaining balance is required to purchase equipment to complete the current refurbishment at Littleborough Sports Centre. New Council Offices:- The final retention has been paid in year leaving an underspend on this project. 50 Tonge Hall:- The investigative works are almost complete, but this budget is needed to complete them so that 5 a decision can be made on the future of the hall. TOTAL 22,971
0 (1 & 2) Re-phased spend represents planned spend in the year which due to a various circumstances will need to be incurred in a later year in order to finalise capital projects, e.g. building work delayed due to weather conditions.
(3) Projected under/overspends represent true under / overspends relating to the individual schemes
Page 64 CAPITAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015 Service: TOWN CENTRES
Table 1. Financial Management Forecast Current Actual In Variation Previously Proposed Projected Approved Year Spend Approved Rephased (over)/ Capital Scheme Budget Rephased Spend (2) under Spend (1) spend (3) £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Programme Centre 119 119 0 0 0 0 Smith Street Long Term Refurbishment 0 0 0 0 0 0 Baillie Street/Lower Yorkshire Street Refurbishment 42 42 0 0 0 0 Rochdale Town Centre Highways Primary Route Network Signage 79 74 5 0 5 0 Penn Street Widening 200 0 200 200 0 0 Constantine Road Refurbishment 50 0 50 50 0 0 Baillie Street East Refurbishment 200 0 200 200 0 0 Middleton Town Centre Phase 3 1,600 1 1,599 1,550 49 0 Phase 2 - Town Centres Management Programme - Conservation area 0 0 0 0 0 0 improvements Phase 2 - Town Centres Management Programme - Middleton Gardens 250 0 250 250 0 0 Phase 3 Phase 2 - Town Centres Management Programme - Demolition 468 468 0 0 0 0 Programme site enhancements to create events space Town Hall Adaptation and Restoration 1,400 148 1,252 1,115 137 0 Town Centre East Feasibility 1,317 332 985 1,057 (72) 0 Town Centre Demolitions 1,990 1,990 0 0 0 0 Drake Street Improvements (PIF) 37 35 2 0 2 0 Telegraph House Demolition 500 0 500 500 0 0 Hopwood Hall 1 1 0 0 0 0 Town Hall Square 294 1 293 283 10 0 Smith Street / Drake Street Paving & Lighting 0 0 0 0 0 0 River Re-opening Site 5,302 310 4,992 3,174 1,818 0 Townhead Junction 457 15 442 420 22 0 River Street Widening 287 287 0 0 0 0 Inner Ring Road Localised Feasibility 815 27 788 743 45 0 Town Hall Feasibility 32 5 27 0 27 0 Station Car Parking 181 2 179 171 8 0 Rochdale Town Centre Bus Interchange 201 201 0 0 0 0 Wheatsheaf Entrance Work 3,611 2,325 1,286 1,391 (105) 0 Middleton Gardens Public Realm 70 8 62 70 (8) 0 TOTAL 19,503 6,391 13,112 11,174 1,938 0
Brief Explanation of Major Variances £'000 Rochdale Town Centre Highways Primary Route Network Signage: - Majority of signage installed with a small number of 5 installations running in to 2015/16 Penn Street Widening: - Externally funded project linked to the development agreement which the contractor will progress once on 200 site. Linked to Town Centre development. Constantine Road Refurbishment: - Externally funded project linked to the development agreement which the contractor will 50 progress once on site. Linked to Town Centre development. Baillie Street East Refurbishment: - Externally funded project linked to the development agreement which the contractor will 200 progress once on site. Linked to Town Centre development. Middleton Town Centre Phase 3: Design stage commenced in Qtr. 4 2014/15 with the works commencing in 2015/16. 1,599 Phase 2 - Town Centres Management Programme: Middleton Gardens Phase 3: - Options are currently being consulted on to ensure the project takes advantage of the Conservation Area, Heritage aspects and the latest developments in the Town Centre whilst 250 meeting the project priorities. The project is expected to continue in to 2015/16. Town Hall Adaptation and Restoration: - Restoration works currently taking place and will continue into 2015/16. 1,252 Town Centre East: - The Town Centre East budget is to fund various projects in the Town Centre; these will not all commence or complete during this financial year, however as the scheme continues to develop and progress the budget will be needed in future 985 years.
Drake Street Improvements (PIF): - Project now complete, just a small number of invoices to be paid in 2015/16 2 Telegraph House Demolition: - The building is still operational and awaiting the final tenants to move out before the demolition 500 process can begin. It is expected the demolition will commence in the new financial year. Town Hall Square: - A comprehensive public realm plan is being worked on for Town Hall Square, South Parade, The Butts, Baillie St & Lower Yorkshire St. This will incorporate other Town Centre schemes and will progress throughout 2014/15 and continue in to 293 2015/16. River Re-opening Site: - External funding approved and work to commence late 2014/15 with the majority of cost to be incurred 4,992 during 2015/16. Townhead Junction: - There is a requirement of an abnormal load along the route of works in March 2015. It has been agreed to 442 delay the scheme to 2015/16 so minimal costs incurred in 2014/15. Inner Ring Road Localised Feasibility: - Project currently in design stage, overall project to continue in to 2015/16. 788 Town Hall Feasibilty: - The budget has been retained for business planning and updated market analysis necessary in order to 27 submit a major Heritage Lottery Fund bid (HLF) for the building later in 2015. Station Car Parking: - The scheme involves bringing a number of projects around Rochdale train station together. Currently Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) and Network Rail expect to start their element in March 2015. The Rochdale Borough 179 Council public realm element is programmed for 2015-16. Wheatsheaf Entrance Work: - With a new contractor now on site, work will continue in to 2015/16 with completion expected in 1,286 Spring 2015. Middleton Gardens Public Realm: - Linked to other Middleton town centre projects which will spend in 2015/16. 62 TOTAL 13,112
(1 & 2) Re-phased spend represents planned spend in the year which due to a various circumstances will need to be incurred in a later year in order to finalise capital projects, e.g. building work delayed due to weather conditions.
(3) Projected under / overspends represent true under / overspends relating to the individual schemes.
Page 65 Agenda Item 6c
Subject: Savings Financial Outturn 2014/15 Status: For Publication
Report to: Cabinet Date: Monday, 8 June 2015
Cabinet Member: Councillor Allen Brett
Report of: Director – Finance Services Author : Vicky Crossland
Author Email: [email protected] Tel: 01706 925409
Comments from Statutory Monitoring Officer: Yes Officers: Section 151 Officer: Yes Key Decision: No
1. PURPOSE OF REPORT
1.1. To update Cabinet and the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Council’s Saving Proposals financial position as at the end of the 2014/15 Financial Year.
2. RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1. It is recommended that:
2.1.1. Cabinet notes the position regarding the saving proposals for 2014/15.
3. MAIN TEXT INCLUDING ALTERNATIVES CONSIDERED/ CONSULTATION CARRIED OUT
3.1. Alternatives and Risks considered
3.1.1 Not reporting on financial performance puts at risk the achievement of the Authority’s Medium Term Financial Plan. Good budget management is critical to ensuring financial resources are spent in line with the budget and are targeted towards the Council’s priorities. Monitoring enables the early identification of variations against the plan and facilitates timely corrective action.
3.2. Consultation Undertaken/Proposed
3.2.1 All services engage with the production of the service based financial information within this report. The Leadership Team, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Opposition Portfolio Holder have been informed of the 2014/15 financial position of the Council and its implications for future years. The report will be presented to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny on the 22 nd June 2015 and The Trade Unions will be informed at Joint Consultative Committee on the 7 th July 2015.
Page 66
3.3. Introduction
3.3.1 This report provides members with the outturn position in regard to the saving proposals achieved by the Council during 2014/15.
3.4. Overall Position
3.4.1 The resources available to the Council in 2014/15 were significantly less than in previous years. To ensure the Council did not significantly overspend by the end of 2014/15 Cabinet ensured services delivered on their saving proposals.
3.5. 2014/15 Saving Schemes, approved during the 2013/14 budget setting process
3.5.1 Graph 1 below sets out the variations between the approved saving schemes to be delivered this year, and services achievement of them.
Of the £4.910m savings identified, £4.187m has been achieved against specific savings proposals and the remaining £0.723m has been achieved via mitigating actions. Details of each services achievement of savings targets can be found in Appendix 1.
Graph 1
2014/15 SAVINGS IDENTIFIED AS PART OF THE 2013/14 BUDGET SETTING PROCESS
3,000
2,500
2,000 £'000 1,500
1,000
500
0
Childrens Corporate Economy and Service Adult Services TOTAL Services Services Environment £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Savings Target 2,604 358 309 1,639 4,910 Savings Achieved against initial proposal 2,604 358 309 916 4,187 Savings Achieved via mitigating actions 0 0 0 723 723
Page 67
4. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS
4.1 See the main body of the report.
5. LEGAL IMPLICATIONS
5.1 None
6. PERSONNEL IMPLICATIONS
6.1 There are no personnel implications arising as a result of this report.
7. CORPORATE PRIORITIES
7.1 The level of savings the Council needs to achieve to set a balanced budget are approved at Budget Fixing Council. The financial resources are allocated in line with the corporate priorities of the council.
8. RISK ASSESSMENT
8.1 There are no specific risks arising from this report
9. EQUALITIES IMPACTS
9.1. Workforce Equality Impacts Assessment
There are no significant workforce equality issues arising from this report.
9.2. Equality/Community Impact Assessments
There are no significant equality/community issues arising from this report.
Background Papers For further information about this report or access to any background papers please contact Vicky Crossland, Head of Corporate Finance Tel: 01706 92 5409 Document Place of Inspection
Page 68 Appendix 1 – Overview on Achievement of Savings
SAVINGS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: ADULT SERVICES
SUMMARY
Savings Identified as part of 2013/14 Budget Setting Process
Achieved
On-Target
Balance to Address
100%
Table 1. 2014/15 Savings Identified as Part of the 2013/14 Budget Setting Process Savings Savings Balance to Mitigating Nature of Saving Achieved On-Target Reference Target Address Actions
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
BAU Increased NHS contribution for high-cost, complex shared packages 400 400 0 0 0
BAU Reduction in residential/nursing placements 150 150 0 0 0
BAU Supported Living Contracts 500 500 0 0 0 Increased income from non-residential Adult Care services. ASC103 (Recurrent savings) 180 180 0 0 0
BAU On-going implementation of the Resource Allocation System (RAS) 800 800 0 0 0 Establishment of a social enterprise to provide on-going Adult Care ASC104 Services 100 100 0 0 0
BAU STARs Review 170 170 0 0 0
BAU Carers Support 100 100 0 0 0
ASC107 Review of funding arrangements for STEPs and Moving On 41 41 0 0 0
ASC305 Neuro Rehabilitation Support 113 113 0 0 0
ASC306 Stair Lift provisional Re-model 50 50 0 0 0 TOTAL 2,604 2,604 0 0 0
Update on achievement of 2014/15 savings The Adult Service 2014/15 Savings Programme has been fully achieved.
Page 69
SAVINGS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: CHILDREN'S SERVICES
SUMMARY
Savings Identified as part of 2013/14 Budget Setting Process
Achieved On-Target Balance to Address
100%
Table 1. 2014/15 Savings Identified as Part of 2013/14 Budget Setting Process Savings Nature of Saving Savings Target Achieved On-Target Balance to Mitigating Reference Address Actions
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Creation of two joint Rochdale/ Bury Emergency Duty Team (EDT) BAU 8 8 0 0 0 Social Work Services Review the cost of Special Educational Needs Home to SfL202 200 200 0 0 0 School/College Transport
Review of staffing and provision made by Children with Disabilities SfL208 150 150 0 0 0 (CWD) Team
TOTAL 358 358 0 0 0
Update on achievement of 2014/15 savings All savings have been achieved across the service.
Page 70
SAVINGS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: CUSTOMER AND CORPORATE SERVICES
SUMMARY
Savings Identified as part of 2013/14 Budget Setting Process
Achieved On-Target Balance to Address
100%
Table 1. 2014/15 Savings Identified as Part of 2013/14 Budget Setting Process Savings Nature of Saving Savings Target Achieved On-Target Balance to Mitigating Reference Address Actions
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
CS204 Management reductions/ reductions in Policy & Performance Team 44 44 0 0 0
CS210 Proposals from ICT Service 100 100 0 0 0
CS211 Review of payslips 8 8 0 0 0
CS212 Savings from Human Resources & Payroll 20 20 0 0 0
CS215 Savings within Legal & Democratic Services 77 77 0 0 0
CS219 Realigning and reshaping of Human Resources 60 60 0 0 0
TOTAL 309 309 0 0 0
Update on achievement of 2014/15 savings All 14/15 savings targets were achieved.
Page 71 SAVINGS FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT STATEMENT AS AT END OF MARCH 2015
Service: ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT SERVICES
SUMMARY
Savings Identified as part of 2013/14 Budget Setting Process
44% Achieved 56% On-Target Balance to Address
Table 1. 2014/15 Savings Identified as Part of 2013/14 Budget Setting Process Savings Nature of Saving Savings Target Achieved On-Target Balance to Mitigating Reference Address Actions
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000
CC101 Review provision and configuration of Economic Affairs Service 113 113 0 0 0
CC204 Transfer of Homelessness service to RBH 325 325 0 0 0
PR103 Service review of staff in Public Protection 26 26 0 0 0
CS202 Proposals from the Highways Service 99 99 0 0 0
CS208 Proposals from the Property Service 162 162 0 0 0
OPS102 Review Working Patterns for Waste Collection Service 70 0 0 70 70
Review of Environmental Management Activities to explore OPS201 648 145 0 503 503 alternative options for delivery in 2014/15
OPS204 Remodelling caretaking and cleaning services in council buildings 46 46 0 0 0
CC109 Review of Voluntary Sector Grants (Removed by member decision) 150 0 0 150 150
TOTAL 1,639 916 0 723 723
Update on achievement of 2014/15 savings The Service has achieved £916k out of the £1,639k total savings target. The Service have identified mitigating actions which have achieved the remaining balance of £723k.
Page 72 Agenda Item 6d
Subject: Collection Fund Outtun 2014/15 Status: Publication
Report to : Cabinet Date: Monday, 8 June 2015
Cabinet Member: Councillor Allen Brett
Report of: Director of Finance Services Author : Vicky Crossland
Tel: Tel: 01706 925409 Author Email: [email protected]
Comments from Statu tory Monitoring Officer: Yes Officers: Section 151 Officer: Yes Key Decision: No
1 Purpose of Report
1.1 To inform Cabinet and Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee of the Council’s Collection Fund position as at the end of 2014/15 financial year.
2 Recommendations
2.1 It is recommended that Cabinet notes the 2014/15 Collection Fund outturn position.
3 Background
3.1 Alternatives considered
3.1.1 Not reporting on financial performance puts at risk the achievement of the Authority’s Medium Term Financial Plan. Good financial management is critical to ensuring that financial resources are received in line with the budget, which enables them to be targeted towards the Council’s priorities. Monitoring enables the early identification of variations against the plan and facilitates timely corrective action. 3.2 Consultation Undertaken/Proposed:
3.2.1 The Leadership Team, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Opposition Portfolio Holder have been informed of the 2014/15 Collection Fund position and its implications for future years. The Trade Unions will be informed.
Page 73 3.3 Introduction
3.3.1 The Collection Fund Account reflects the statutory requirement for the Council to maintain a separate Collection Fund, in relation to the operation of the Business Rates Retention Scheme and Council Tax.
3.3.2 This report focuses on the Collection Fund Outturn Position for 2014/15 covering:- • the Business Rates Outturn Position compared to budget, an update relating to rateable value appeals and collection performance • the Council Tax Outturn Position compared to budget and collection performance.
3.4 Summary
3.4.1 The Collection Fund Position for 2014/15 is a deficit of £5.834m, made up of: • £5.851m deficit relating to Business Rates • (£0.017m) surplus relating to Council Tax.
3.4.2 Table 1 below shows the net position on the Collection Fund as at 31 st March 2015, and the allocation of the closing deficit between precepting authorities.
Table 1 - Collection Fund Deficit 2014/15
Business Rates Council Tax Total % £'000 % £'000 £'000
Collection Fund surplus/ deficit @ 31/03/15 5,851 (17) 5,834
Preceptors' Share of 2014/15 Deficit Rochdale BC 49 2,867 86.37 (15) 2,852 Police & Crime Commissioner for Greater Manchester - - 9.89 (1) (1)
Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority 1 59 3.74 (1) 58
Central Government 50 2,925 - - 2,925 Total 100 5,851 100 (17) 5,834
3.4.3 The Council’s share of the Collection Fund deficit as at 31 st March 2015 is £2.852m, which is an increase of £0.072m from the position reported to Cabinet on 23 rd March 2015, (see sections 3.5 and 3.6 for details).
3.4.4 Provision for a 2015/16 deficit of £2.771m was provided at Budget Fixing Council. The increase in the deficit of £0.081m, to £2.852m, will be held within the Collection Fund during 2015/16. The position on the Collection Fund for 2015/16 will be estimated as part of the 2016/17 budget setting process. If a deficit or surplus is forecast for 2015/16 an amount will be included within the budget set a Budget Fixing Council in February 2016. Any surplus or deficit on the 2015/16 position will impact on the General Fund in 2016/17.
3.5 Business Rates
3.5.1 Net Income Raised
Page 74
3.5.1.1 The 2014/15 outturn position relating to Business Rates is a deficit of £5.851m. Table 2 provides detail of the 2014/15 outturn position for Business Rates.
Table 2 – 2014/15 Business Rates income
(Surplus)/ Deficit 2014/15 (Surplus)/ movement Description Budget Outturn Deficit from previous report
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Gross income (76,809) (77,798) (989) 2 Less: Net Small Business Rate relief 3,234 3,939 705 39 Mandatory Charitable relief 3,326 3,787 461 (13) Discretionary relief 1,193 1,291 98 6 Empties & Part Occupied relief 5,591 4,722 (869) 122 Charge re bad debt provision 1,650 1,093 (557) (107) Allowance for cost of collection 288 288 - - Charge for appeals against revaluations provision 1,250 6,798 5,548 3,548 Interest payments - 8 8 - Net yield (60,277) (55,872) 4,405 3,597 2014/15 payments to preceptors 60,277 60,277 - - (Surplus)/deficit brought forward from 2013/14 1,380 2,826 1,446 - Payments from preceptors re 2013/14 deficit as per the 2014/15 estimates process (1,380) (1,380) - - Forecast deficit as at 31/3/15 - 5,851 5,851 3,597
3.5.1.2 The deficit of £5.851m has increased by £3.597m from the previous update report, which was submitted to Cabinet on 23 rd March 2015.
The main areas of overall variance from the budget are:
Variatio n Explanation of variance to budget £’000 The actual deficit brought forward from 2013/14 is £1,446k greater than had been forecast as part of the 2014/15 Estimates process. 1,446 Explanations of this variance were provided in the 2013/14 Outturn Report. Increased Business Rates income, net of discounts. This is due mainly to increased gross income and lower levels of empty and part occupied (586) relief, but partially offset by increased small business rate relief and charitable relief. Reduced provision relating to bad debts as a result of improved (557) collection.
Page 75 Increased provision relating to appeals against the rateable value of properties. This is as a result of the increased number of appeals, the increased success rate relating to appeals, and the levels of rateable 5,548 value relating to successful appeals – see 3.5.2 below. Total 5,851 3.5.2 Valuation Office Agency (VOA) appeals against 2005/2010 revaluations
3.5.2.1 Since 1 st April 2013 local authorities have been responsible for providing for future potential losses of income for successful appeals against the revaluations which took place in 2005 and 2010. There is still a backlog in the VOA dealing with appeals, several dating back to 2005.
3.5.2.2 The outstanding number of appeals includes new appeals which have been submitted during the year, offset by cases that have been agreed, withdrawn, or dismissed.
3.5.2.3 There have been 170 successful appeals during 2014/15, reducing the RV list by £2.093m, and reducing Business Rates income by approximately £1.009m. Backdated refunds for these appeals of approximately £2.230m have been charged against the appeals provision.
3.5.2.4 The Chancellor’s Autumn Statement included a proposal to limit the backdating of changes to rating assessments as a result of appeals with effect from April 2015. This has resulted in a significant increase in the number of appeals being submitted in the last 3 months of 2014/15. Due to this change, the VOA was not able to process all appeals submitted by 31/3/15. Therefore the list of appeals issued by the VOA as at 30/04/15 has been used as the basis upon which the appeals provision has been made.
3.5.2.5 The number of property revaluation appeals outstanding at 30 th April 2015, relating to Rochdale’s valuation list, was 760 cases, with a rateable value (RV) of £57.199m (equating to approximately £27.570m in annual Business Rates income).
Outstanding Number of Rateable value appeals list date appeals (RV) outstanding £’000 March 2014 386 36,939 June 2014 375 32,787 September 2014 401 37,517 December 2014 342 32,718 March 2015 455 41,021 April 2015 760 57,199
3.5.2.6 Information has also been received relating to rating appeals on purpose built GP surgeries, which have been considered by the Valuation Office Upper Tribunal. The outcome of the review has resulted in a reduction in their rateable value. It is expected that this will result in the VOA reducing the rateable value for similar properties. An additional amount has been included in the closing provision for appeals to take account of the potential impact on the rateable value of GP surgeries in the Rochdale Borough.
Page 76 3.5.2.7 The charge to revenue for appeals has been increased to £6.798m, which is £5.548m above the budget. This is due to the following factors:
• the increase in the number of appeals since the changes to the backdating rules have been announced (change December 2014 – April 2015 418)
• increased average success rate relating to appeals during 2014 (from 28.5% to 34%)
• increased average reduction in rateable value relating to successful appeals during 2014 (from 15% to 17%)
• the number of appeals outstanding
• the expected further appeals relating to Doctors’ surgeries
3.5.2.8 The provision for rateable value appeals as at 31 st March 2015 is £7.188m – see table below:
Business Rates Appeals Provision £’000 Opening balance as at 1 st April 2014 2,620 Charge to Collection Fund 6,798 Payment for backdated appeals agreed in 2014/15 (2,230) Closing provision as at 31 st March 2015 7,188
3.5.3 Business rates collection performance and outstanding debt 2014/15
3.5.3.1 The collection rate for Business Rates income that has been billed in 2014/15 is 98.1%, which is 0.8% higher than that achieved in 2013/14.
3.5.3.2 Table 3 below shows the age debt analysis of outstanding business rates debt as at 31 st March 2014 and 31 st March 2015. Pre 2014/15 outstanding debt was £2.038m as at 31 st March 2015, which is a reduction of £1.998m from 31 st March 2014 position.
Table 3 – Business Rates outstanding debt
Outstanding Outstanding debt as at debt as at Decrease/ 31st March 31st March (increase) Year 2014 2015 in debt £'000 £'000 £'000 Current Year 2014/15 - 1,086 (1,086)
Pre 14/15 debt 2013/14 1,633 725 908 2012/13 1,123 481 642 2011/12 557 271 286 Prior to 2011 723 561 162 Total pre 14/15 outstanding debt 4,036 2,038 1,998
Total outstanding debt 4,036 3,124 912
Page 77
3.5.3.3 The 2014/15 year end bad debt provision is £1.587m – see table below:
Business Rates Bad Debt Provision £’000 Opening balance as at 1 st April 2014 1,663 Write offs (1,169) Additional provision required 1,093 Closing provision as at 31 st March 2015 1,587
3.6 Council Tax
3.6.1 Net income Raised
3.6.1.1 The 2014/15 outturn position relating to Council Tax is a surplus of £0.017m. Table 4 provides detail of the 2014/15 outturn position for Council Tax.
Table 4 – 2014/15 Council Tax Income
(Surplus)/ Deficit 2014/15 (Surplus)/ movement Description Budget Outturn Deficit from previous report
£'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 INCOME Income from Council Tax (109,644) (110,507) (863) (7) Income from premium on empty properties (162) (201) (39) (1) Total income (109,806) (110,708) (902) (8) EXPENDITURE Council Tax discounts 10,655 11,752 1,097 52 Losses on collection 4,094 1,560 (2,534) (2,130) Local Council Tax Support Scheme (LCTSS) 17,276 16,084 (1,192) 84 Prior year adjustments - 245 245 45 Total expenditure 32,025 29,641 (2,384) (1,949) Net income to be raised for precept/ billing authority after LCTSS awarded (77,781) (81,067) (3,286) (1,957) 2014/15 payments to Preceptors 77,781 77,781 - - (Surplus)/deficit brought forward from 2013/14 (551) 2,718 3,269 - Payments to preceptors re 2013/14 surplus as per the 2014/15 estimates process 551 551 - - Surplus as at 31/3/15 - (17) (17) (1,957)
3.6.1.2 The outturn surplus of £0.017m is an improvement of £1.957m on the position reported to Cabinet on 23 rd March 2015.
Page 78
The main areas of overall variance from the budget are:
Variatio n Explanation of variance to budget, £’000 The deficit brought forward from 2013/14 is £3,269k greater than had been forecast as part of the 2014/15 Estimates process. Explanations 3,269 of this variance were provided in the 2013/14 Outturn Report. Reduced Council Tax income, net of discounts (excluding LCTSS). This is due to increased gross income of £902k after assessing 195 current levels and future activity, offset by increased discounts given of £1,097k. Reduced charge relating to the bad debt – see 3.6.1.3 below. (2,534)
Reduced level of discount given relating to the Local Council Tax Support Scheme. This is due to a reduction in the number of claimants, and a fall in the average claim. Universal Credit has been (1,192) introduced for some benefits claimants in September 2014; however this has had a minimal impact on the level of LCTSS discount given in 2014/15 – see 3.6.2.1 below. Prior year income and LCTSS adjustments 245 Total (17)
3.6.1.3 The charge to the bad debt provision of £1.560m is £2.534m lower than the budget. This is due to the following reasons:
• In October 2014, the Council finalised its procurement for Enforcement Agents. The backlog of debts was passed to the new companies in November 2014 and they have made significant progress against arrears and 2014/15 charges.
• In December 2014, Cabinet approved a change in council tax collection strategy, which has further improved the collection of bad debt and is expected to continue.
• Increase in collection rates for 2014/15
• Uncollectable debt relating to 2005/06, 2006/07 and 2007/08 has now been written off. The remaining debt is currently deemed as collectable, although because of its age it is forecast that only 50% will actually be recovered.
3.6.1.4 All of the improvements outlined above lead to a more positive view on collecting earlier years’ arrears and 2014/15 outstanding debt, resulting in a reduction the bad debt provision required.
3.6.2 Local Council Tax Support Scheme (LCTSS)
3.6.2.1 The award of Local Council Tax Support to a Council Tax payer is deducted from Council Tax bills at the start of the year as a discount. This will remain the same unless there is a change of circumstances within the household. Local Council Tax
Page 79 Support relief for 2014/15 was £16.084m, which was £1.192m (6.9%) less than the budget of £17.276m.
Table 5 - LCTSS - Comparison of estimate to actual at 31 st March 2015
Number of claimants per Estimated actual data at Reduction in number of 31st March claimant % reduction claimants 2015 numbers in claimants Working age total 15,236 13,600 1,636 10.74% Pension credit age total 10,119 9,419 700 6.92% Total 25,355 23,019 2,336 9.21%
Estimated Actual % reduction discount discount Variation in discount £'000 £'000 £'000 given Working age total 8,977 8,286 691 7.70% Pension credit age total 8,299 7,798 501 6.04% Total 17,276 16,084 1,192 6.90%
3.6.3 Council Tax collection performance and outstanding debt as at 31 st March 2015
3.6.3.1 The collection rate for council tax income that has been billed in 2014/15 is 93.5%, which is 0.5% higher than that achieved in 2013/14.
3.6.3.2 Table 6 below shows the age debt analysis of outstanding council tax debt as at 31 st March 2014 and 31 st March 2015. Pre 2014/15 outstanding debt was £7.152m at 31 st March 2015, which is a reduction of £5.258m from 31 st March 2014 position.
Table 6 – Council Tax outstanding debt
Outstanding Outstanding debt as at debt as at Decrease/ 31st March 31st March (increase) Year 2014 2015 in debt
£'000 £'000 £'000 Current Year 2014/15 - 5,188 (5,188)
Pre 14/15 debt 2013/14 5,336 3,152 2,184 2012/13 1,965 1,314 651 2011/12 1,438 1,043 395 Prior to 2011 3,671 1,643 2,028 Total pre 14/15 outstanding debt 12,410 7,152 5,258
Total outstanding debt 12,410 12,340 70
3.6.3.3 The 2014/15 year end bad debt provision is £7.356m – see table below:
Page 80
Council Tax Bad Debt Provision £’000 Opening balance as at 1 st April 2014 8,643 Write offs (2,847) Additional provision required 1,560 Closing provision as at 31 st Marc h 2015 7,356
3.6.4 Council Tax Premium Waivers
3.6.4.1 Residential properties that have been empty for more than two years are, with specific exemptions, charged a Council Tax premium of a further 50% of the usual charge. To support the local housing market, the Director of Finance, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance, is allowed the discretion to waive part or all of the premium charge in exceptional circumstances. In 2014/15 there were 7 cases in which discretion was exercised, totalling £2,133.72.
4 Financial Implications
4.1 The main body of the report provides a detailed analysis of the 2014/15 Collection Fund outturn position. 4.2 The Council’s budget for 2014/15 assumed a net deficit of £200k in relation to the Collection Fund outturn for 2013/14, and this was paid to the Collection Fund during 2014/15. 4.3 As part of the 2015/16 budget setting process, the deficit position for the Collection Fund as at 31 st March 2015 was estimated at £4.174m. The Council’s share of the estimated deficit is £2.771m, and this is included in the 2015/16 General Fund budget. 4.4 In January 2016 a forecast surplus/deficit position for the Collection Fund as at 31 st March 2016 will be estimated. This will take account of the brought forward 2014/15 closing deficit of £5.834m (The Council’s share is £2.852m), and the 2015/16 forecast surplus/deficit. The Council’s share of this forecast position will form part of the Council’s 2016/17 General Fund budget.
5 Legal Implications
5.1 There are no significant legal implications arising as a result of this report.
6 Personnel Implications
6.1 There are no personnel implications arising as a result of this report.
7 Corporate Priorities
7.1 The Collection Fund budget is set at Budget Fixing Council, and resources are allocated in line with the corporate priorities of the Council.
8 Risk Assessment Implications
8.1 Unresolved appeals against the revaluation assessments for 2005 and 2010 continue to cause uncertainty and financial risk for the Business Rates income retained by the Council. The situation is being monitored on a monthly basis to ensure that any
Page 81 changes in the trend for successful appeals are recognised due to the future impact on Business Rates income and the impact for the provision for any backdated elements.
8.2 The government has announced proposals to limit the backdating of changes to rating assessments in England with effect from 1st April 2015. It is proposed that, if a rateable value appeal from a ratepayer is received by the Valuation Office Agency (VOA) on or after 1st April 2015, the earliest that any changes can be backdated to is that date.
As a result of this proposal there has been a significant increase in the number of appeals submitted by Business Rates payers to the VOA in the last three months of 2014/15. Nevertheless there remains the risk that the impact of actual appeals received will be greater than the provision made.
8.3 The VOA alters rating assessments if new information comes to light indicating the valuation is inaccurate. These could relate to a demolition, new property build or other physical change to a property. The number of alterations, financial impact and timing of the revaluations is not within the control of the Council.
8.4 The future level of collection of both Business Rates and Council Tax debt is a potential financial risk. Collection performance is being monitored on a monthly basis to ensure that debt is recovered as efficiently and effectively as possible, and so that any trends may be highlighted and action taken as necessary.
8.5 There is a Business Rates risk concerning a request to cancel a backdated rates liability. The rates liability amounts to £1.74m and including interest may amount to £2m. The initial request was refused, but a further challenge has been received. No assumption around this risk has been built into the appeals provision at this stage.
8.6 On 31st March 2015 the Council was informed by the VOA that they had received a proposal to alter the rating list and to merge a telecommunications network that currently appears in the Council’s rating list into part of a single national assessment, backdated to 1st April 2010. The rateable value of the hereditament is £367,500. The VOA is now considering this proposal. The issue will potentially affect any local authority within which the company concerned has a property relevant to their proposal, including Rochdale BC. Given that currently there is no certainty regarding the precise nature or the outcome of the proposal, a provision has not been made for this issue. A contingent liability has been included in the statement of accounts with regards to this issue.
9 Equalities Impacts
9.1 Workforce Equality Impacts Assessment
9.1.1 There are no workforce equality issues arising from this report.
9.2 Equality/Community Impact Assessments
9.2.1 There are no equality/community issues arising from this report.
Background Papers For further information about this report or access to any background papers please contact Vicky Crossland, Head of Corporate Finance Tel: 01706 92 5409
Page 82 Agenda Item 7a
Subject: Discretionary Crisis Fund 2014/15 Status: Publication Performance Report Report to : Overview and Scrutiny Committee Date: Wednesday, 10 June 2015
Cabinet Member: Councillor Allen Brett
Report of: Director of Finance Services Author : Helen Bellis
Author Email: [email protected] Tel: Tel: 01706 924460
1 Purpose of Report
1.1 The purpose of this report is to inform members of the Discretionary Crisis Funds performance for 2014/15; year 2 of the scheme.
2 Recommendations
2.1 It is recommended that members note the information provided in the report.
Reason for recommendation
2.2 It was previously agreed by members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee that a quarterly report would be presented.
3 Background
3.1 The DCF received 6,021 applications throughout 2014/15; 71% of these were made via the telephone with the remainder being submitted online. 53% of applications were successful and 42.7% were refused. 259 of applications were withdrawn or cancelled by applicants, or were pending a decision at the time of this report.
3.2 The table below shows the applications received throughout 2014/15 and compares with data from last year. The data shows there was a large increase in applications received in Q2 this year compared with 2013/14 and the number of successful applications had increased by over 10% across the whole year compared.
Quarter / Year Applications Successful Refused Withdrawn, received applications applications cancelled, incomplete applications Q1 – 2014 1,968 1,234 (62.8%) 611 (31%) 123 (6.2%)
Q1 – 2013 534 220 (41.2%) 314 (58.8%) 0 (0%)
Q2 – 2014 2,463 1,191 (48.4%) 1,139 (46.2%) 133 (5.4%)
Page 83 Q2 – 2013 793 334 (42.1%) 291 (36.7%) 168 (21.2%)
Q 3 – 2014 839 363 (43.3%) 414 (49.3%) 62 (7.4%)
Q3 – 2013 693 302 (43.6%) 336 (48.5%) 55 (7.9%)
Q4 – 2014 751 324 (43.1%) 372 (49.6%) 55 (7.3%)
Q4 – 2013 1012 392 (38.7%) 534 (52.8%) 86 (8.5%)
Full year 6,021 3,192 (53%) 2,570 (42.7%) 259 (4.3%) 2014/15
Full year 3,039 1,288 (42.4%) 1,537 (50.6%) 214 (7%) 2013/14
3.3 8,307 individual items were awarded over the 2014/15 year, with bed frames, mattresses and bedding items, cookers and fridges being the most requested items for support when resettling. Over the year, 86 awards with a total value of £33,916 were not redeemed by applicants.
Fund Spend
3.4 Total fund spend for the 2014/15 scheme was £381,717 compared with £365,302 for 2013/14.
3.5 The table below shows the fund spend across the quarters and compares with spend for these periods in 2013. The last two columns show the percentage of spend broken down in to resettlement and emergency awards; these are predominantly emergency household energy awards.
Quarter / Year Spend Average % of spend for Average % of spend for Resettlement Emergency Awards Q1 – 2014 £140,030 38.2% 61.8%
Q1 – 2013 £39,031 76.6% 23.4%
Q2 – 2014 £110,347 41.4% 58.6%
Q2 – 2013 £106,735 78.7% 21.3%
Q3 - 2014 £66,763 90.9% 9.1%
Q3 - 2013 £114,270 95% 5%
Q4 – 2014 £64,577 81.4% 18.6%
Q4 – 2013 £105,266 80.3% 19.7%
Full y ear 2014 /15 £381,717 62.9% 37.1%
Full year 2013/14 £365,302 82.6% 17.4%
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Ward Information
3.6 The following table shows applications submitted to the DCF over 2014/15 and the successful and refused applications for ward areas.
Please note, the total application figures included in the table below are slightly less than reported above in 3.2; this is due to the postcode data being collected and reported on quarterly and not annually, therefore it doesn’t account for the decisions made on the new and pending applications.
Withdrawn, cancelled, Wards Received Successful Refused incomplete Central Rochdale 833 404 (48.5%) 395 (47.4%) 34 (4.1%) Balderstone and Kirkholt 684 372 (54.38%) 287 (41.95%) 25 (3.67%) Milkstone and Deeplish 576 290 (50.34%) 259 (44.96%) 27 (4.7%) Kingsway 510 298 (58.43%) 195 (38.23%) 17 (3.34%) Smallbridge and Firgrove 481 285 (59.25%) 175 (36.38%) 21 (4.37%) West Heywood 472 244 (51.69%) 195 (41.31%) 33 (7%) North Heywood 373 195 (52.27%) 149 (39.94%) 29 (6.42%) Spotland and Falinge 373 200 (53.61%) 152 (40.75%) 21 (5.64%) Hopwood Hall 331 167 (50.45%) 139 (41.99%) 25 (7.56%) West Middleton 285 146 (51.22%) 123 (43.15%) 16 (5.63%) Castleton 188 103 (54.78%) 67 (35.63%) 18 (9.59%) North Middleton 173 83 (47.97%) 75 (43.35%) 15 (8.68%) Bamford 172 84 (48.83%) 73 (42.44%) 15 (8.73%) East Middleton 164 60 (36.58%) 95 (57.92%) 9 (5.5%) Healey 120 62 (51.66%) 50 (41.66%) 8 (6.68%) South Middleton 84 46 (54.76%) 31 (36.90%) 7 (8.34%) Wardle and West Littleborough 80 44 (55%) 30 (37.50%) 6 (7.5%) Milnrow and Newhey 75 36 (48%) 32 (42.66%) 7 (9.34%) Littleborough Lakeside 40 19 (47.50%) 19 (47.50%) 2 (5%) Norden 7 2 (28.57%) 4 (57.14%) 1 (14.29%) 6021 3140 2545 336
3.7 The above data shows that applications received from Central Rochdale make up nearly 14% of the total applications received by the DCF; with Balderstone and Kirkholt ward making up 11% of the total, 9.5% from Milkstone and Deeplish and 8.5% from the Kingsway ward.
3.8 48.5% applications received from Central Rochdale were successful, with 54.3% being successful from Balderstone and Kirkholt, 50% from Milkstone and Deeplish and 58.4% from Kingsway. It is worth noting, if a ward area has a higher number of applications made by verifying partners (applications for resettlement), the quality and quantity of information included in the application is likely to result in a successful application. Therefore the percentage of successful applications for a ward area may depend on the type of application being made to the scheme.
Page 85 Equality and Diversity
3.9 The DCF invites applicants to complete an Equality and Diversity Section within the application; although this is not a mandatory section of the application. From the information gathered from 5,738 applicants, the data shows that the fund is mainly accessed by applicants aged between 22 and 35 years old (46.2%). Applicants aged 36 to 64 years old as the next biggest group (44.8%); this is consistent with the data collected throughout last year’s scheme.
3.10 The fund continues to have an equal split across male and female applicants applying to the DCF; 52% female and 48% male. This has been consistent since the scheme was implemented in April 2013.
3.11 Of the 5,738 applicants who have completed the diversity section of the application, 3490 (60.8%) were single and 36.7% were lone parents; again this is comparable to information collected throughout the life of the scheme. Applications to the scheme from people over the age of 65 years and between 16 and 21 years are minimal.
Innovation Fund – 2014/15
3.12 In 2014/15 the Innovation Fund grant funded a number of small community projects from the local welfare provision budget. Grant funding was awarded to the following organisations:
The Bond Board – to deliver financial inclusion workshops and financial health checks, targeted at those living in the private rented sector
Rochdale Connections Trust – to deliver supportive coffee mornings for vulnerable disengaged residents to access and gain support across a variety of issues
The Bond Board – to deliver a ‘Back to Work’ scheme which helped residents in the transition from claiming benefits to receiving a salary
3.13 The projects have been a great success and of real benefit to some of the borough’s most vulnerable residents. Appendix 1 gives more detail.
Innovation Fund – 2015/16
3.14 After receiving a 6 month update on the grant funded projects mentioned above, members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee requested that more projects were funded in 2015/16.
3.15 The grant funding opportunity was advertised via the Chest (the Northwest procurement portal) and a number of applications were received. 4 applications met the criteria of the grant funding award and contribute to the aims of the Innovation Fund;
§ support residents with issues they may face in light of the welfare reforms § prepare residents for the wider implementation of Universal Credit § enable and promote independence § prepare and enable residents to move into work
3.16 The Portfolio Holder, with delegated authority, has agreed to fund the 4 following community projects, at a total of £28,749.
Page 86 • The Bond Board – to provide one to one work sessional work, covering budgeting, Universal Credit, dealing with debt etc for the most vulnerable of residents living in private rented sector accommodation
• Rochdale and District Mind – to provide a weekly session offering face to face support on welfare reform and budgeting and employment workshops for those clients accessing the services of MIND
• Petrus - to provide extra capacity to deliver and support volunteering opportunities within their Community Stores and the Green Gym and offer support with the journey back to work; CV writing skills etc
• The Bond Board - to deliver and manage a financial inclusion project targeted at private rented sector tenants and hard to reach groups
3.17 Each organisation will provide 6 monthly reports to the Council, detailing the project outcomes.
Rochdale Food Bank
3.18 3,628 vouchers were presented to Rochdale Food Bank throughout 2014/15. The emergency food packages given fed a total of 7,453 residents; 4,977adults and 2,476 children. There has been a slight decrease in people accessing the food bank compared with 2013/14, as the food bank fed a total of 8,758 people; 5,706 adults and 3,052 children in the previous year.
3.19 Benefit delays, low income, benefit changes and debt were the main reasons residents gave when accessing the food bank. This is comparable to the data collected throughout last year.
3.20 80.9% of vouchers were given to people who were 25-64 years old, 11.8% were aged 16-24 years with just 0.7% being aged 65 years and over; the remaining percentage was people accessing the food bank who were not willing to disclose their age.
3.21 51.9 % of people accessing the food bank were single, with 15.9% being lone parents, 14.4% families and 14.1% were couples; the remainder chose ‘other’ on the voucher form.
3.21 Residents from Balderstone and Kirkholt, Milkstone and Deeplish and Kingsway accessed the food bank more than residents of other areas. Residents of Norden and the wards in Middleton accessed the food bank least.
Heywood Food Bank
3.22 Throughout 2014/15 Heywood Food Bank fed a total of 13,419 people; 8,554 adults and 4,865 children.
3.23 Low income was the main reason residents gave when accessing the food bank; 1,403 stated this as the reason for their need to access emergency food.
3.24 Heywood Food Bank has provided a number of case studies detailing some of people / circumstances they have helped and supported. Please see appendix 2.
Alternatives considered
Page 87
3.25 No alternatives have been considered.
4 Financial Implications
4.1 A total of £962,276 was received from Government for 2014/15; this was made up of a £156,136 administration component and £806,140 programme funding (for allocating awards) and a carry forward of £445,475 from 2013/14 was agreed by Cabinet.
4.2 The reserve of £797,000 has been carried forward to the fund for 2015/16 and will be added to the £400,000 committed by Cabinet members; totalling £1,197,000 which will be used to fund the scheme over a number of years.
5 Legal Implications
5.1 In April 2013 the Council took over responsibility for administering a local welfare provision scheme from the Department of Works and Pensions. The Council was given funds to administer a scheme which met the acute needs of the most vulnerable members of the community.
5.2 There are no decisions stemming from this report and in the circumstances an Equality Impact Assessment is not required.
6 Personnel Implications
6.1 There are no personnel implications arising from this report.
7 Corporate Priorities
7.1 The Discretionary Crisis Fund scheme is designed to support the corporate priorities identified in Aiming High and in the Council Blueprints. In particular it is designed to support the reduction on welfare dependency, while at the same time providing help for those most in need.
8. Risk Assessment Implications
8.1 No risks are highlighted in this report.
9. Equalities Impacts
9.1 Workforce Equality Impacts Assessment
There are no workforce equality issues arising from this report.
9.2 Equality/Community Impact Assessments
There are no equality/community issues arising from this report. Please refer to 5.2 of the report.
Background Papers Document Place of Inspection The Discretionary Crisis Fund Policy www.rochdale.gov.uk/crisisfund
Page 88 Appendix 1 – Innovation Fund 2014/15 update
Rochdale Council’s Local Welfare Provision Innovation Fund
Financial Education Group Work Report 2014-15 Having been awarded funding in April 2014, after a period of recruitment and training, we commenced the planning and delivery of financial inclusion workshops in August 2014. Our objectives were to support private-rented sector households in Rochdale to improve their well- being by maximising incomes and benefit entitlement, accessing grants, cheaper energy tariffs, dealing with disrepair and accessing health services.
Quids In Financial Education Workshops We have held 6 smaller workshops in Rochdale since funding was awarded, covering topics around financial inclusion, budgeting in the private-sector, money-saving apps and websites, income maximisation, accessible bank accounts and have been able to provide access to a dedicated Welfare Rights Advisor and look at case studies. We have held 2 drop-in sessions for private sector tenants at the Feel Good Café, social enterprise in Rochdale. In addition we held a larger scale event in an attempt to engage a greater number of private-rented tenants who have required financial assistance from The Bond Board. We have contacted 10 community centres around Rochdale and taken our other Bare Essentials and Back to Work services to their Work /Job Clubs as well as the SIF/CCG Community “Fair” Event. We held Quids-in workshops at Sparth Community centre and Petrus Hub Drop-in Centre in Rochdale for people moving into the private-rented sector as well as St Andrew’s Church in the Town Centre for those who are already private-rented sector clients. Delivering Services in the Community In February 2015 it was agreed to compliment the work of this project, that we will provide the Community Base staff and volunteers in Rochdale with accredited community-based money mentor, welfare benefits advice training in order to create a community based peer-support network co-ordinated by The Bond Board, with our staff providing additional support where needed. There have been some initial delays regarding the availability of the training provided. However, this will take place on 9 June 2015 at the Unique Enterprise Centre. Priority for training places has been to those Community Centres serving areas with a higher concentration of private renting among their housing stock i.e Deeplish, Sparth, Sudden, RWWA, Spotland. This will comprise:
• accredited course with a focus on providing the confidence and skills to interview & support individuals in the community advice with budgeting, debt and money issues by providing an impartial and non-judgemental approach • It will cover the importance of budgeting and household budget planning with reflection on the introduction of the Universal Credit and single payments
Page 89
Reaching Private-rented Sector Tenants Applicants to The Bond Board for assistance with Private-rented accommodation through our Bond and Letting Out service have been invited to attend Quids in Workshops covering topics of financial planning, budgeting, debts, welfare benefit changes and expectation, obligations and information for renting in the private sector. On November 27 we held a meeting where 40 local landlords attended. At this event we promoted our Bare Essentials/Quids in drop-in at The Feel Good Café which took place on the first Tuesday of the month in December and January.
On Dec 17 we attempted a to deliver the service that we are providing at the workshops on a larger scale via a Quids In coffee morning at St Andrew’s Church, Rochdale. Invites were sent out to 353 households living in private rented accommodation.
Around 30 adults attended the event from 25 private renting households. Attendees were able to have a hot drink, a snack and chat informally with our staff and their peers as well as take away energy saving lightbulbs, tips on maximising their fuel savings and income over the winter and further information around budgeting their income in a private tenancy, as well as addressing debt. There was also the opportunity for those who needed additional help to complete a financial health check with our Welfare Rights Advisor
We have taken the opportunity, while hosting an event in another area (Bolton), to try other ways of engaging clients and delivering this advice and support while soliciting feedback on the client’s needs and opinions on the ways in which we provide our services to them going forward. Following the success of having Bolton Money Skills and Bolton At Home’s tenancy support service at this event, going forward into 2015/16
Page 90 we will invite additional services delivering support in the private rented sector with specific reference to providing specialised and tailored financial education and support such as DWP, Step Change, floating support services, Housing Benefit and Council Tax along to these larger events which will take place on a monthly basis.
What are the outcomes for the individuals you have supported with this grant ? We have had 50 individuals attend financial education group-work through this project between August 2014 and 31 March 2015. In addition to the topics covered at the 6 workshops, 2 drop ins and coffee morning, we have completed Financial Health Checks for 237 individuals in private-rented accommodation in Rochdale since funding was awarded. Since 1 April 2015 we have helped private tenants in Rochdale apply for a total financial gain of £437,650 This equates to an average of £1,847 per person.
Case Studies (names have been changed to protect anonymity)
Filip Filip was living in Leopold Court in August 2014, having been evicted from his RBH tenancy a few months earlier. He had accrued arrears through sanctions on his benefits as he had failed to maintain the conditions of his claim due to a bereavement, depression and issues resulting from alcohol misuse. He had exhausted his options to stay with friends and family.
In October 2014 his hostel- worker put him in contact with The Bond Board and he was invited along to a Quids In workshop at Sparth Community Centre. At the workshop the benefits and concerns of living in the private-rented sector were covered along with the expectations, obligations and the benefits of engaging with support services available in the borough. Budgeting in a tenancy, income, expenditure and managing debts were discussed and the group looked at financial statements, discussed setting up direct debits and looked at a case study of a person budgeting on Universal Credit.
Following on from the workshop Filip began working with our Bond service and floating support team. He successfully:
• moved into a new tenancy, • applied for a DCF grant to furnish his property, • contacted us when he had concerns over the delay in payment of his Local Housing Allowance for assistance ensuring he did not get into arrears (backdate awarded £1292) • accessed our Bare Essentials Service when he struggled with the start-up costs in his new property
In December 2014 Filip moved into work at Minky in Rochdale. He is continuing to successfully manage his property independently.
Caroline
Caroline, is a single mother who was living with relatives in Rochdale. She has bipolar disorder, anxiety and depression and a referral had been made for a child protection conference for her daughter following concerns that at the age of 5, she had moved home over 15 times.
Page 91 Caroline was seeking settled accommodation in the private-rented sector and was referred to The Bond Board by Rochdale Council’s Homelessness Team. She was invited along to a workshop and following on from the discussions around the importance of budgeting for your private-rented tenancy and managing debts, Caroline expressed concerns that she had great difficulty in managing her spending in the past, and was concerned about having her rent paid directly and her ability to stick to a budget plan.
She also discussed her acute need to establish a settled home and put down roots or risk losing her daughter. Caroline was made an appointment for a Bond interview and was advised to consider areas that she thought she might struggle with and also to consult with her social worker so that she attended her interview with as much supporting information as possible.
Following on from the workshop, Caroline was interviewed and accepted for a bond with a referral made for resettlement support. She has successfully:
• moved into a new tenancy • applied for and been awarded a DCF grant for furniture • had her rent payments made directly to her landlord • engaged with support to manage her tenancy independently • had a backdated claim for LHA and Council Tax awarded (£2148) • been referred onto The Lighthouse Project’s Budgeting Course • maintained her tenancy successfully, now approaching 5 months • retained residential care of her daughter
Customer Feedback and Impact of Services We began using The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale (WEMWBS) to measure the impact of our service on the individuals who are accessing it. Those who have completed both stages of this process have demonstrated improvement in their mental well-being. However, this tool was not found to be as effective in measuring the impacts on our service users in other ways such as general health, alleviation of poverty and financial exclusion. For this reason The Bond Board has commissioned Salford University to carry out an independent evaluation of the impacts of some of the services that we deliver. The financial education workshops will be examined within this study, which is due to be completed in July 2015.
“The help I’ve received off The Bond Board has helped me a great deal over the last 2-3 months, as I feel I been a lot less stressful with their help.” A client who received help maximising his income and taking his appeal for welfare benefits successfully to tribunal.
“I was overwhelmed by the help” “All pressure on my shoulders is less” Clients directed into Bare Essentials service following financial health check
In addition, we have used feedback forms and questionnaires to consult with our clients both after they have accessed our services and take the opportunity to invite them to do this at group events.
Page 92
What have we learned during this grant period that will help us in the future? Getting the workshops up and running and establishing a successful format has been the greatest challenge for this project. We sought to achieve greater success with the numbers of individuals completing the workshops. Following initial delays in recruiting and training we determined that a programme or pre-tenancy workshops which were heavily weighted towards financial education and planning in the private sector worked most effectively alongside alternative ways to access this service for established private sector tenants in the form of drop ins and information sharing coffee morning events.
We have been able to increase promotion of these events and numbers reached while reducing costs using social media and online SMS marketing tools.
Going forward into 2015-16 we anticipate greater results and attendance now that these are established and the resources to deliver them are in place and will be complimented by the advice delivered through peer-mentors in local community bases.
Finding appropriate engagement techniques to get those in need along to financial inclusion workshops delivered by has ourselves proved challenging. Greatest success has been achieved by hosting groups for those that we are already in contact with and are aware are experiencing financial difficulty.
In reaching others we have found that contacting already established groups has been a more accessible way to deliver our services. In the future when looking at developing this scheme we would look at incorporating even greater collaborations and formal partnerships into the planning especially with respect to delivering larger events and referrals into the workshops.
Back to Work Discretionary Fund Case Studies
Client J Client J started part time work at the end of 2014. Through the Back to Work Fund we assisted her with funding for her gas and electricity whilst she awaited her first pay cheque as she had to work a fortnight in hand and a benefit calculator was completed with The Bond Board in order to give the client an idea of how much income she would receive once in work. She was supported by The Bond Board in completing a change of circumstances form for Housing Benefit and over the following 5 weeks the clients submitted her weekly wage slips to Letting Out who then emailed them to Housing Benefit. Contact was maintained throughout this period to ensure support was available to the client should she need assistance with her working tax credit application whilst also not pressuring for full rent due to working with Housing Benefit. The client was awarded a 4 week run on of Housing Benefit and has continued to make rental payments and has now been in employment for over 4 months, with no arrears on her account and the property being maintained to a high standard.
Client CD CD was referred to The Bond Board by Rochdale Homelessness Department after a relationship breakdown with his girlfriend. He had since been ‘sofa-surfing’ at friends and families. With help from The Bond Board, CD quickly found a suitable private rented tenancy.
Page 93 The Bond Board provided a written guarantee for the property. We also applied to the Discretionary Crisis Fund to help CD with obtaining some basic household items to help his re-settlement, along with an application for DHP in respect of a £3.46 per week short-fall. CD also attended one of The Bond Board’s ‘Quids-In Groups’ where he received advice around benefits and utility payment issues. Shortly after moving in, CD found employment and sought further advice from The Bond Board. He was awarded funds from our Back to Work Scheme to ensure he had gas and electric whilst waiting one month for his first pay cheque, along with benefits advice in connection with his change of circumstances. The Bond Board supported CD to notify Housing Benefit about his change of circumstances and liaised with his landlord to ensure his tenancy is not at risk due to rent arrears whilst his amended claim for LHA was being processed and he waited for his first pay cheque so he could pay the rent short-fall and additional Council Tax he owed. Unfortunately, despite having written confirmation from his new employer about his hourly rate and weekly hours, at the end of CD’s first month of employment, the employer told him his job was ‘commission only’ and failed to pay him any wages. CD had to sign back on for Job Seekers Allowance and reapply for Local Housing Allowance and Council Tax support. CD also experienced food and fuel poverty issues due to his lack of income and delay in benefits being processed. The Bond Board supported CD with a referral to the food bank and further advice around his rent account and relationship with is landlord. He was also advised to use ACAS’s telephone advice line in respect of advice around employment law. CD also attended a further ‘Quids in Groups’ where he received advice and an information pack about welfare reform and Universal Credit.
Feedback from clients ‘Everybody’s extremely helpful, friendly and responsive. Very impressed with service from start to finish’ - Thank you so much for everything and all your assistance’ ‘Using this scheme has taken some of the worry away from me in regards to finding spare money out of my family’s budget for work clothing for an office environment, but with some help I am now able to dress appropriately for my new job. Thank you. ‘Very helpful providing support to get me back to work with both petrol and electricity costs’
Overcoming the challenges and the future plan The Back to Work scheme fund will be carried forward until June 2016. This is due to the initial slow take up of the Back to Work support from private tenants. We have engaged and prompted the Back to Work support scheme with Ingeus, Citizens Advice Bureau, local community centres, private landlords/agents, our local partner agencies and our private bonded tenants. However all and networking our marketing has yet to result in an increase in the take up of the Back to Work support offer. We are keeping the take up of this programme under constant review and should the take up from those living the private rented sector not improved we may seek to extend the offer to those living in social housing.
Page 94
Rochdale Connections Trust – Supportive Coffee Morning Project – Case Studies
Sarah Age 37 years Customer Background For five years of her life, Sarah tells us that she had been had been passed around from one place to another and her problems started when Sarah moved into a new flat, and at that time she managed to escape a violent relationship. Sarah wanted to find some kind of work, and tried different places and volunteer groups without any luck; these groups promised to help and keep in touch but they never did. Sarah felt let down, frightened and alone. Sarah has moderate learning difficulties and found it hard to fit in with other people.
Help Needed • To reduce isolation. • To find a focus. • To develop new skills • To access support for domestic violence • To access counselling • To maintain independent living
Help offered • Initial assessment with RCT established that Sarah needed some support with developing Communication skills and help with finding some voluntary work. Sarah also needed help with financial difficulties and coping with domestic abuse. • Sarah had one to one support with Family support Officer who visited her at her home address to assist with budget management and developing independent living skills. Sarah also attended RCT for cooking classes. • Sarah attended the coffee morning once a week to build her confidence, improve communication skills and make new friends. • Sarah accessed our counselling service.
Impact on Sarah’s life • Gained some understanding of recognising potentially abusive partners. • Successfully completed a volunteer placement • Developed social skills and engaged with positive social activities • Developed good mental health • Addressed debt problems • Developed independent living skills and remains in her own flat.
Page 95
Appendix 2 – Heywood Food Bank Case Studies
Name: Dorothy Age: 60 Status: Widow
In January of this year 2015, a 60yr old widow contacted the SVP after being rushed to hospital for quite a radical operation. She lived with her granddaughter who was unemployed. The lady was still employed though only able to get statuary sick pay whilst she recovered. The consultant and GP had advised that she stay at home for at least 12 weeks. Her income had previously been the minimum wage and whilst she had managed to live and pay the bills she had been unable to save for an emergency like this.
We visited the family and registered her on the foodbank. It was our decision to deliver food weekly and spend a small amount of time talking to the lady to explore the dilemma. She received weekly food from the foodbank and £70 was spent to fill her freezer to last for some weeks.
She has now been advised that she can return to work in the next four weeks. This small amount of help has helped her with her recovery and taken away some of the stress she was faced with during this troublesome time.
Name: Sheila Age: 43 Status: Single Mother
Angela is a single mother of five, (two of whom are adults). For one of these she is full time carer. St. Vincent de Paul Society has been helping this family for three and a half years. Angela had found herself in a dire situation when her partner of five years left and also left her with a substantial amount of debt. She was living in rented accommodation, living on child benefit and a small amount of income support.
Prior to having her youngest child of three years she had worked in a managerial role in a large supermarket. She had moved to Heywood with her then partner and did not know many people in Heywood. She had very little furniture, no beds, or table and a small amount of food and clothing. At this stage we were operating our support network from St Joseph’s Presbytery Heywood. We gathered things she needed from within the parish to furnish and clothe her family as well as supplying food.
We began making regular visits to Angela and her family, and made sure HomeStart and support workers were aware of Angela’s situation, as she had had a history of self-harm and mental health problems. Angela and her family have tried very hard to keep afloat on the small amount of basic food we were able to give her on a weekly basis, so she could use her benefit of fresh fruit and vegetables. We have helped Angela with Christmas presents for her children, school uniforms, and shoes.
Angela is now well on her way to becoming debt free, she has been able to return to work and is taking her NVQ in teaching assistance.
The SVP have worked hard along with the other support agencies to keep this family unit together and well. Angela and her family were recently visited by the Bishop of Salford on his visit to the town of Heywood.
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Name: Jane Age: 46 Status: Divorced
Jane is a mother of two teenage daughters, both in full time education. She is a very articulate, intelligent lady who, due to circumstances beyond her control, has found herself needing support from the Foodbank.
She is originally from Kent and moved here after her marriage. After her husband was made redundant strain was put on the marriage. The house was repossessed and Anna and her daughters were rehoused in Heywood.
Very recently she has obtained a new job in an office. However she no longer has appropriate clothing for office work. The SVP and foodbank has helped her obtain suitable clothing.
Because she will only be paid after one month, the foodbank has also given food parcels.
Name: Stan Age: 42 Status: Separated
Until 2013 Stan was with his wife and in full time employment. His wife left the marital home, Stan and the three young children.
We first helped Stan at Christmas 2013 when he approached us for help for presents for the children.
We provided regular assistance with toys, clothes and food. Stan has been a regular user of the Foodbank. He has had to give up work to look after his children, one of whom is under school age.
He experiences severe hardship because the child benefit is still being paid to his wife.
Page 97 Agenda Item 7b
Subject: 4th Quarter Corporate Complaints Status: Publication
Report to : Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Date: Monday, 22 June 2015 Committee
Cabinet Member: Councillor Neil Emmott
Report of: Deputy Chief Executive (Corporate Author : Carolyn Phipps Services) Tel: Tel: 01706 923508 Author Email: [email protected]
1 Purpose of Report
1.1 The report provides Members with a summary of corporate complaints and compliments received during the fourth quarter of 2014/15.
2 Recommendations
2.1 It is recommended that Members consider and scrutinise the information contained in the report and assess whether further information or explanation is required regarding any of the issues raised in the report.
3 Reason for recommendation
3.1 Part of the Council’s performance management process is to ensure the Authority’s ambition to continuously improve services is realised, actions or decisions may need to be taken to maintain improvement.
4 Background
4.1 The Customer Feedback Team manages both corporate and social care complaints. The Team also undertakes stage 3 reviews of corporate complaints in accordance with the Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy. 4.2 In order to provide a comprehensive reporting process, a complaints recording system is used to record, monitor and report on complaints at all stages of the complaints process, as well as comments and compliments received. The system is monitored to ensure compliance with complaint policy timescales and consistency of approach across services. The information recorded is also used to work with services to ensure lessons are learnt from complaints. 4.3 Under the Overview and Scrutiny arrangements the Committee is responsible for scrutinising the in-year performance of all Services and this includes complaints received by Services. Services provide details of complaints received via the complaints recording system, and the Customer Feedback Team extracts and report on the information recorded during the quarter period. This includes the number of complaints received at each stage of the
Page 98 process, the number investigated and responded to within timescale and the number of which were upheld. 4.4 Social care complaints are subject to a statutory framework. The handling of social care complaints is therefore distinct from the way in which corporate complaints are handled and details are provided in a separate report.
5 Service complaints – 4th Quarter 2014/15
5.1 Appendix 1 to the report provides complaints analysis in graph form for each Directorate. Appendix 2 provides a brief commentary relating to complaints and compliments received categorised by Service. Some complaints dealt with at stages 2 or 3 in this quarter may have originated in a previous quarter, and where this is the case this is identified in Appendix 2.
5.2 The format of the complaints report includes information on trends, which is shown in Appendix 1. The graphs included in this report display trend analysis for each quarter.
Appendix 2 also includes an example of how an individual complaint has been dealt with from receipt to resolution as requested by Members at a previous Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting.
5.3 The Customer Feedback Team are working with services to improve the quality of information recorded, and to ensure lessons are being learnt from complaints and action taken is recorded and reported.
6 Alternatives considered
6.1 None. Information has been compiled from the complaints recording system used by all services to record complaints, comments and compliments.
7 Financial Implications
7.1 None of the complaints reported this quarter had any financial implications for the Council.
7.2 Complainants have the opportunity to refer their complaint to the Local Government Ombudsman for up to twelve months from completion of the Council’s complaints process; therefore there is a risk that the outcome of a future Ombudsman investigation into a complaint may result in a recommended compensation payment. Complaints considered by the Ombudsman are reported to Overview and Scrutiny Committee annually on receipt of the Ombudsman’s annual report.
8 Legal Implications
8.1 No complaints reported in this report had any legal implications for the Council.
9 Personnel Implications
9.1 There are no specific personnel implications arising from this report.
10 Corporate Priorities
Page 99 10.1 Complaints are a valuable measure of customer satisfaction with Council services. Information gained from complaints is used to drive forward service improvements and improve the customer experience.
10.2 There is a requirement for details of complaints received to be submitted to Overview and Scrutiny Committee on a quarterly basis as part of the performance management process.
11 Risk Assessment Implications
11.1 There are no specific risk issues for members to consider arising from this report.
12 Equalities Impacts
12.1 Workforce Equality Impacts Assessment
There are no workforce equality issues arising from this report.
12.2 Equality/Community Impact Assessments
There are no equality/community issues arising from this report.
Background Papers Document Place of Inspection
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Appendix 2
Corporate complaints
The Council’s Corporate Complaints Policy consists of a three stage process, providing a point of appeal at stage three via the Customer Feedback Team for complainants who remain dissatisfied with the outcome of their complaint to a service.
Complaints reported are categorised by service at each stage and are also reported by ward in appendix one. Numbers of complaints reported by ward are dependent upon customers providing their address details, and staff have been requested to record all details available to them. The graph in appendix one also indicates where address details have not been provided or the complainant resides outside of the Borough.
A large number of complaints received are in fact service requests, which are not included in this report. Cross cutting complaints involving more than one service receive a coordinated response, however they are also shown under each of the services involved. Details of complaints relating to partner organisations are reported directly to the Committee by the Service.
In total, 222 new complaints were received during the fourth quarter. 217 complaints were dealt with at stage one, only 8 of which escalated to stage two. 5 complaints were dealt with directly at stage two and a further 4 complaints that had been dealt with at stage one in a previous quarter escalated to stage two during this quarter. 4 complaints were dealt with at stage three.
Compliments and comments
Compliments and comments received from customers either directly by services or via the online feedback form and generic e-mail address are recorded for each service and are included in this report. A total of 67 compliments were recorded across all service areas during the fourth quarter. Details of the compliments received are included under the service headings below.
All compliments and comments received by the Customer Feedback Team via the above channels are coordinated and forwarded to the relevant service.
Agilisys
Council Services Delivered:
• Corporate Contact Centre • Service Desk
The types of complaints received
10 new complaints were received during this quarter: - 10 Corporate Contact Centre
10 complaints were dealt with at stage one
2 complaints were upheld:
Page1 107 Appendix 2 • 1 Handling of call re missed bin • 1 Incorrect information given by Advisor re garden waste collections
5 complaints were partially upheld: • 2 Handling of call by Advisor • 1 Refusal to take complaint details by telephone • 1 Advisor unable to locate previous call logs • 1 Refusal to provide information to enquiry re local GPs
3 complaints were not upheld.
9 complaints were resolved at stage one and 1 complaint escalated to stage two.
1 complaint was dealt with at stage two
1 complaint was partially upheld: • 1 Contact Centre o Handling of call re missed bin
The complaint was resolved as this stage.
Lessons learned
The complaints relating to information given and call handling by Contact Centre Advisors were addressed by the Manager as a training need with the Advisors concerned. An apology was given to the complainant in each case.
Following the complaint regarding a customer’s request for details of local GP surgeries, the Advisor was not aware that there was a walk-in GP service and would not expect to receive calls of this nature. As a result of this complaint, the non- emergency medical number has been supplied to all Advisors should this question arise again in the future.
With regards to the complaint that Advisors were unable to locate a complainant’s previous calls, the relevant staff were spoken to. Advisors have been reminded to ensure that they provide a reference number to the customer to quote on future calls. An apology was given to the complainant.
Compliments
In addition to the complaints detailed above, the following compliments were also received:
Customer rang in to say thank you for a quick response, and to thank the Advisor for good customer service.
“Thank you to the Advisor for being patient as I am hard of hearing. The Advisor slowed down and spoke clearly throughout the whole conversation which was good.”
Resident called to thank the Advisor for her assistance in helping to arrange for bins to be delivered and her waste collected. The resident said she has called on
Page 2108 Appendix 2 numerous occasions but no one has been as understanding and as helpful as this Advisor. The resident wished to thank her for all she has done and to say she is a credit to the Service.
“I would like to say how pleased I was with the very helpful customer service I received when I phoned the Council in connection with getting an alternative sized garden waste bin for my house. It was necessary for me to phone three times early evenings as I needed to check some details with my neighbour, and each time the staff I spoke to were extremely helpful and provided me with timings regarding my replacement. Also I didn't have to wait for my phone call to get through to the office which is also a positive. Thank you.”
“Thank you for your email. Very impressed with the way you have handled my query. Keep me posted and keep up the good work!”
“The bins were emptied this morning. We are all grateful to you. The quickest response ever. You are most appreciated. Many, many thanks.”
Customer would like to thank the Advisor for arranging for her bin to be emptied.
“Just wanted to compliment the member of staff for dealing really well with my queries in an efficient & polite way. Good service deserves a compliment and a thank you.”
Customer would like to thank the Advisor in the Contact Centre for helping and being such a lovely lady.
Customer was very happy with the way the calls were dealt with at the Contact Centre.
“Thank you so much to the lovely lady who I spoke to this morning regarding the fly tipping at the rear of the houses. I was delighted to see that all the waste items that had been dumped at the back of our house a week or so ago had disappeared whilst I was at work this afternoon. Myself and neighbours are extremely grateful.”
“I would like to thank everyone who I have spoken to on the telephone over the last couple of years. I am sure it’s not an easy job trying to sort out tax and benefit problems but everyone has always been polite, helpful and genuinely interested in trying to help. They are all a credit to the department and should be congratulated on their 'customer service'. I am very grateful for all the help that they have provided.”
Customer was very thankful to the Advisor for resolving his summons issue, she put him at ease.
“I would like to say a very big thank you to the Advisor who dealt with my case and got my street cleaned very quick and efficiently.”
“Thank you very much to the Advisor for being very helpful and pleasant when I lost my bin, he helped me order a replacement one and gave me all the information I needed.”
“I would like to say that I was greeted by someone rather pleasant, more than some of the people I speak to. I found right from the beginning she was very helpful.”
Page3 109 Appendix 2
“I reported a pothole outside my drive and it was repaired today. I would just like to compliment you for your efficiency in dealing with this matter, from the charming lady who took my telephone report to the speedy repair. Thank you.”
“I would like to give my praise to the lady who took my call this morning. I had my bin taken during a 'Bin Snatch' which I had no idea about. The lady I spoke to on the phone was lovely and understanding, so please would you kindly pass on my gratitude to the lady concerned.”
“I would just like to thank you for your efficient and prompt manner in replacing the broken bin in our communal bin store. Special thanks to the Advisor for setting the wheels in motion. Job well done! Many thanks, that's what I call service.”
Customer advises that the whole street was filled with litter, one call to the Advisor and the street got cleaned up in no time. Customer would like to say a big thank you.
Resident’s daughter would like to say a big thank you to the Council as a whole and all the departments that helped her, including the Contact Centre staff and Customer Services on the ground floor. They were all very helpful and made the process easy.
“Just like to let you know how helpful the Advisor from the Revenues and Benefits Team was today. Nothing was too much trouble. She directed me to other agencies and provided useful contact numbers and websites. It's good to speak to pleasant and helpful staff.”
Customer wanted to express how grateful she was with the way the Advisor dealt with her enquiry, she was very pleased.
A customer advised that she was extremely impressed with the Advisor’s knowledge and the fact that she could deal with several different enquiries. Customer says that the Advisor is a true asset and was extremely impressed with the Service she received.
Customer called to thank the Advisor for dealing with her enquiry; she says that she was very polite, professional, friendly, helpful and a credit to the Service.
Customer wished to thank the Advisor who dealt with her calls on the switchboard this morning; she says she was very pleasant and polite.
Resident said that she was extremely impressed with the Advisor as she took the enquiry seriously and ensured she was kept up to date throughout the day.
Customer wanted to thank the Advisor for promptly dealing with her problem regarding her bin being missed.
Customers & Corporate
Responsible for services provided by:
- Legal, Health & Safety and Insurance - Governance and Committee Services/Townships/Elections
Page 4110 Appendix 2 - HR and Payroll - Public Service Reform - Learning and Development - Customer Services - Libraries - ICT - Community Safety - Coroners and Registrars
The types of complaints received
8 new complaints were received during this quarter: - 5 Legal, Health & Safety and Insurance - 2 Community Safety - 1 Customer Services
8 complaints were dealt with at stage one
1 complaint was partially upheld: • 1 Customer Services o 1 Lack of privacy at NR1 Customer Services when using free phones and waiting times to speak to an Advisor
7 complaints were not upheld.
6 complaints were resolved at stage one and 2 complaints subsequently escalated to stage two.
3 complaints were dealt with at stage two
All 3 complaints related to Legal Services. 2 complaints were dealt with at stage one in this quarter and 1 complaint was dealt with at stage one in the third quarter.
3 complaints were not upheld and all were resolved at this stage.
2 complaints were dealt with at stage three
1 complaint was partially upheld: • 1 Community Safety o Incorrect information provided re a Public Right of Way
1 complaint was not upheld.
Both complaints were dealt with at stages one and two in the third quarter.
Lessons learned
Customer Services
Further to the complaint regarding the length of time a customer waited to speak to an Advisor, an apology was given to the complainant. The customer was advised that the Council was experiencing a very high volume of calls due to the Council Tax
Page5 111 Appendix 2 yearly billing week. A message was placed on the telephone lines to ensure customers were aware of the delays that were being experienced. With regards to privacy when using the free phones, these are set up to provide some sound protection. However, if customers are not comfortable using these for enquiries where financial details need to be given, using their own phone is an alternative and the contact Centre’s 0300 number is a low-rate number, which is often free for people with certain phone packages.
Community Safety
Further to the stage three complaint for Community Safety, an apology was given for the incorrect information provided. An explanation was given that the Council acts in an advisory capacity with regards to events, and encourages the event organiser to contact the land owner as a matter of good practice.
Compliments
In addition to the complaints detailed above, the following compliments were also received:
Customer Services
Resident emailed to thank the team for taking the time to investigate a complaint on behalf of her mum (in relation to her Blue Badge application). Her mother found the assistants at Heywood Library very helpful and approachable (excellent customer service) and also the Advisor who telephoned her mum after she had visited the library for help and assistance.
Libraries
“I just want to say that I recently had occasion to scan a copy of the Heywood Advertiser normally kept in the library. On this occasion the library staff had received a copy of the paper but someone had taken it off the premises (possibly a member of the public). The library staff made every attempt possible to locate a copy and searched the premises thoroughly on more than one occasion but without success, they also followed up with telephone calls informing me that they had been unable to locate a copy and finally they purchased an additional copy so that I was able to scan and record a copy of the statutory notice. I consider that they were most helpful and went above and beyond what was expected in assisting me to obtain a copy. They could simply have said that a member of the public had taken a copy off the premises and therefore they didn’t have one available.”
Long live Spotland Library. A valuable local asset with a great atmosphere. Staff are always helpful, friendly and smiling.
Children from Hopwood Primary School gave a short performance in Number One Riverside as part of World Book Day. They wanted to thank the Service for the opportunity and also the great welcome that they received.
Community Safety
Page 6112 Appendix 2 Resident wished to say a massive thank you for everything the officer had done to assist him with regards to the installation of the alley gates, and he felt that the officer had gone above and beyond. Resident said he felt that the officer worked to a high caliber and he was extremely grateful.
Economy & Environment
Responsible for services provided by:
• Environmental Management • Highways, Property & Facilities Management • Planning & Building Control/Capital Projects • Economic Affairs • Strategic Housing • Public Protection/Regulation
The types of complaints received
178 new complaints were received during this quarter: - 131 Environmental Management - 35 Highways, Property & Facilities Management - 9 Planning & Building Control/Capital Projects - 2 Public Protection/Regulation - 1 Strategic Housing
173 complaints were dealt with at stage one
76 complaints were upheld:
• 63 Environmental Management o 19 Missed bin collections o 12 Delay in delivery of new/replacement bins o 6 Missed garden waste collections o 5 Actions/manner of refuse collection crew o 2 Lack of response to service request o 2 Missed bulky waste collection o 2 Failure to remove unused bin o 2 Bins not returned to collection points o 2 Shrub/tree maintenance o 1 Missed assisted waste collections o 1 Bin removed as part of bin snatch operation o 1 Debris left following recycling collection o 1 Poor condition of replacement bin o 1 Street sweeping o 1 Condition of subway path o 1 Dog fouling o 1 Conduct of officer at Middleton Cemetery o 1 Not happy with relocation of waste bins o 1 Location of bin collection point o 1 Concerns over Right of Way • 13 Highways, Property & Facilities Management
Page7 113 Appendix 2 o 3 Road maintenance and pot holes o 2 Lack of response to service request o 1 debris left following resurfacing o 1 Concerns re actions of Crossing Patrol o 1 New road markings causing traffic congestion o 1 Missing gully lid o 1 Gully missed during cleaning process o 1 Uneven footpath o 1 Inconsiderate parking by Council Officer o 1 Lack of wheelchairs available at Rochdale Town Hall
15 complaints were partially upheld:
• 11 Environmental Management o 1 Missed collections o 1 Missed brown bin collections o 1 Missed rural collections due to vehicle breakdown o 1 Garden waste not collected due to contamination o 1 Delay in delivery of new bin o 1 Actions/manner of refuse collection crew o 1 Lack of response/action to enforcement issue o 1 Street cleansing/lack of waste bins o 1 Street cleansing o 1 Condition of play area o 1 Unsafe pathway in park • 4 Highways, Property & Facilities Management o 1 Parking issues outside school o 1 Road works causing congestion o 1 Conduct of Highways Officer o 1 Parking issues from local business/actions of Traffic Warden
80 complaints were not upheld.
1 complaint was withdrawn.
1 complaint is still ongoing for Highways Service.
168 complaints were resolved at stage one and 5 complaints escalated to stage two.
13 complaints were dealt with at stage two
5 complaints were also dealt with at stage one in this quarter and 5 complaints were dealt with directly at stage two due to the amount of previous correspondence and the complex nature of the concerns. 3 further complaints were dealt with at stage two which had been previously dealt with at stage one in a previous quarter.
3 complaints were upheld: • 3 Environmental Management o 1 Issuing of Fixed Penalty Notice o 1 Missed assisted collections o 1 Missed garden waste collections
Page 8114 Appendix 2 4 complaints were partially upheld: • 2 Planning Service o 1 Lack of enforcement action o 1 Process/decision for Planning Application • 1 Environmental Management o 1 Procedure for returning for missed bin • 1 Highways Service o 1 Conduct of Highways Officer/delay in investigation
1 complaint was outside procedure as it was established that it related to Rochdale Boroughwide Housing.
5 complaints were not upheld.
2 complaints were dealt with at stage three
1 complaint was partially upheld: • 1 Highways Service o Conduct of Highways Officer/delay in investigation
1 complaint was not upheld.
Lessons learned
Environmental Management
In response to complaints regarding missed general waste collections, missed garden waste and missed recycling collections, an apology was offered to the residents and the bins concerned were emptied. Future collections will be monitored. Two complaints were partially upheld as in one instance the collection was missed due to vehicle breakdown, and in the other instance access was blocked by parked vehicles. In both cases the crew returned and the bins were emptied.
In response to complaints regarding a delay in delivery of new bins, and a damaged replacement bin, an apology was given to the resident in each case and new bins were delivered.
Following the complaints regarding the actions/manner of refuse collection crew, in each case the Supervisor spoke to the crew concerned and apologies were given to the resident.
An apology was given in response to two complaints regarding a lack of response to service requests and the service was carried out. The Manager revisited procedures to prevent this from happening in future.
Following the complaints regarding missed bulky waste collections, the residents concerned were given an apology and the collections were made.
In response to the complaints regarding the failure to remove unused bins from a resident’s property, an apology was given and arrangements made for the bins to be removed.
Page9 115 Appendix 2 Following complaints regarding bins not being returned to the collection point, the Supervisor investigated the matter and spoke to the crews concerned to bring the matter to their attention. The crews were reminded of the Council's policy to ensure for safety reasons that bins are not left blocking driveways and pathways. The Charge Hand will monitor future collections and an apology was given to the residents for any inconvenience or upset caused.
Following the complaints relating to tree and shrub maintenance, the areas were inspected and an apology given to the complainants. Arrangements were made for works to be undertaken on the trees concerned, and for shrubs to be cut back and the area to be maintained in future.
Following a complaint regarding missed assisted collections, apologies were given to the resident and the crew was spoken to in order to ensure future collections take place.
In response to a complaint about bins being removed as part of the bin snatch operation, an apology was given to the resident for the delay in replacing the bin, and a new bin was provided.
Further to complaints regarding street sweeping, and debris being left following waste collections, the matter was raised with the crews concerned. An apology was given, and one of the residents was offered a site visit to observe the extent of the problems in order for them to be addressed.
Further to the complaint regarding the condition of a subway path, the area was cleared of fly tipping, broken glass and weeds.
Following the complaint about issues with dog fouling, an Enforcement Officer spoke with the resident to discuss possible ways to deal with the problem and the issues were resolved.
Following the complaint regarding the conduct of an officer at Middleton Cemetery, the complainant was provided with an apology and an explanation. The officer concerned was from an agency and his employment was terminated immediately.
Further to the complaint raised by a resident who was unhappy with the relocation of waste bins, arrangements were made for the bins to be moved to another location as soon as possible. Apologies were also given for any inconvenience the siting of bins has caused to the residents.
In response to concerns raised regarding a Public Right of Way an apology was given for the delay in responding to a pre planning consultation letter. The Officer advised that they would ensure that the definitive map is checked in order to check the status of the Right of Way and contact the resident further at that point.
Further to the complaint regarding the condition of a play area, an explanation was given that unfortunately there had been delays with regards to delivery of equipment, and inclement weather. The team was due to finish the site in the following few weeks but in the meantime the officer requested that stones were pushed back from the pathway and lowered in height to alleviate any risk. The Officer also arranged for an
Page 10116 Appendix 2 Enforcement Officer to carry out some ad-hoc patrols in the area to address the issue of dog fouling.
In response to a complaint regarding an unsafe pathway in a park, the area in question is used to contain the arisings from the park maintenance. As a result of the complaint, the Officer will look at alternatives to how the containment wall is constructed. An apology was given and assurance that parks are well maintained and safe places to visit.
Highways, Property & Facilities Management
With regards to the complaint regarding a lack of wheelchairs for customers’ use at the Town Hall, the previous wheelchair had to be removed as it was not fit for purpose. The Manager has ordered a new wheelchair which should be received in the next few weeks. Should a wheelchair be required in the interim, the Manager is able to obtain one from another Council building. An apology was given to the customer for the inconvenienced caused.
In response to the complaint regarding the condition of the road on which a resident lives, Officers discussed the issue with the contractor to establish what went wrong and why, and confirmed proposals for rectification.
An apology was for offered for a delay in responding to the report of a pot hole. An inspector met with the complainant on site and arranged for a temporary repair. A substantial structural patch repair was arranged to be undertaken in the following few weeks.
Further to the complaint regarding new road markings, the Service explained that these have been introduced to improve pedestrian and vehicle safety. An apology was given to the complainant for the delays which had been due to the final adjustments to the traffic signal controller not being fully completed.
Further to complaints regarding gullies, the missing gully lid was replaced and arrangements were made for the gully that was missed during the cleaning process to be cleaned.
As a result of a complaint regarding a lack of response to a service request, an officer met with complainant and arranged for the service request to be actioned. An apology was given to complainant for the initial lack of response.
Following a complaint received regarding a School Crossing Patrol, the Patrol was reminded of the need to be polite and courteous on the crossing point. Additional visits have taken place and the Patrol will be monitored to ensure they are operating the point in the expected manner.
In response to the complaints received regarding poor road maintenance, roads were inspected and required works were arranged.
As a result of the complaint received regarding inconsiderate parking, the Manager discussed this with the Officer concerned who has provided assurances that they will park their vehicle in a more suitable location in the future.
Page11 117 Appendix 2 Further to the complaint regarding congestion caused by road works, an explanation was given that a utility company was using the public highway to undertake necessary works. An apology was given to the complainant for the inconvenience caused.
Following a complaint regarding parking issues outside a school, an explanation was provided to the complainant regarding the actions of the Enforcement Officer and the procedures followed. The Service is aware of the problems and the location is a priority and therefore receives the maximum enforcement.
With regards to a complaint regarding a Highways Officer the Manager spoke to the Officer concerned and reiterated the importance of portraying the RBC image; being polite, professional and courteous and to ensure a high visibility vest is worn at all times.
With regards to a complaint about illegal parking from a local business, an explanation was provided regarding the procedures for ensuring parking restrictions are adhered to throughout the Borough. The Service has arranged for enhanced enforcement to be carried out in the area.
Compliments
In addition to the complaints detailed above, the following compliments were also received:
Environmental Management
“I would like to thank the bin crew who empty my bin, I am on Assisted Collection and they are a credit to the service. Thank you so much.”
“The bin men today were a massive support to me when I accidentally locked my baby in the car! I am so grateful.”
Compliment received following request for graffiti to be removed from the subway.
A resident advised that the Waste Crew were really nice and helpful when she stopped them to bring to their attention that they had missed collections on a new estate. They immediately made the collections.
“I can clearly see that the Officer is very customer focused and demonstrated this by simply phoning me and speaking to me and sorting the problem out.”
“The driver of the sweeper has done an excellent job, spending time ensuring the pavement and road were free of debris and leaves.”
“Thank you to the Officer for completing the work outside my house.”
“Thanks to the Officer for his excellent and quick response and telephone call – the matter was dealt with professionally, timely and responded to the issues.”
“I reported a lot of litter on the street on Tuesday and it was cleaned up by Friday. I want to say thank you for cleaning this up so quickly.”
Page 12118 Appendix 2 “I would like to pass on thanks to the Manager of the persons who carried out the work cutting back the bushes near the Waggon and Horses pub on Bury and Rochdale Old Road - they have done an amazing job.”
“I am an almost daily user of this park which I walk my dog in. The park continues to be kept in as good a condition as the small amount of staff permit. The two men whom I regularly see do a grand job, the toilets are cleaned well daily, and the rubbish that can be strewn around is cleared quickly. Also these men are both friendly and courteous and their presence does give a feeling of safety to us lady walkers.”
A resident called to ask for a compliment to be passed to the young man who maintains the shrubs and grassed area at Courthouse Way, Heywood. She wants him to know what a fantastic job he has done.
“I would just like to thank you for your efficient and prompt manner in replacing the broken bin in our communal bin store.”
“I would like to say what a really good job the men are doing clearing the road and the path on Bury Road, Rochdale.”
“I have been reporting the state of George Street, Rochdale many times and want to thank the gentleman that knocked on my door to ask which parts needed cleaning and has done a wonderful job.”
A resident wanted to say that three men from Street Services have been doing an excellent job clearing up near the motorway bridge on Manchester Road, Castleton for the last two days. She was very impressed with their work.
“Please pass on my thanks to the Street Services team. It seems almost the day after your email to me, they strimmed down the overgrowth and removed a lot of the litter. It’s heartening to see Rochdale Council still able to respond quickly to the needs of the community despite the challenging economic times.”
“People at work were talking today about how they went to a funeral at the crematorium last week and what a fantastic job was done of clearing the snow. On behalf of the people of Rochdale I would like to say a big thank you to all concerned.”
“I would like to say thank you to the crew that came and cleared the rubbish on Lyndhurst Avenue.”
“A very big thank you to the service for getting the fly tipping that I reported removed the very next day.”
“As a resident of West Street, I would like to thank you for cleaning our street today, it made such a difference, thanks again.”
Resident would like to say a big thank you to the team who have been out and cleaned up all the litter near the bus stop on Kingsway. They have done a very good job.
“Thank you to the Council employees who removed all the terrible mess (fly tipping) - myself and neighbours are extremely grateful.”
Page13 119 Appendix 2
“Compliments for clearing the path.”
“A tree fell onto my car which was reported to your department. Your team came to assist within an hour and were polite and efficient. I really appreciated what I considered to be an excellent service.”
Highways, Property and Facilities Management
“I am writing to thank you for your swift response to my reporting of the pothole, which has now been filled, outside the entrance to our School. This is the second time your department has handled a request from the school quickly and effectively. The last was a request to make a waterlogged subway passable, which again was dealt with in a very timely manner. I would just like to compliment you on this and send our thanks and appreciation.”
“You are awesome, genuinely. I would like to advise RBC of how helpful you have been. Thank you once again”. (Compliment for Property Services)
Planning & Building Control/Capital Projects
Compliment received about the Planning web pages, in particular pre-application advice.
Compliment received from an agent and residents for support and guidance received from planners in assistance with an application.
“Helpful and courteous service received from Planning and Building Control.”
Finance Services
Responsible for services provided by:
• Finance • Procurement • Revenues & Benefits • Link4Life Client
The types of complaints received
26 new complaints were received during this quarter: - 25 Revenues and Benefits - 1 Finance
26 complaints were dealt with at stage one
5 complaints were upheld: • 5 Revenues and Benefits o 1 Suspension of Housing Benefit / issuing of Court Summons o 1 Suspension of Housing Benefit o 1 Incorrect Council Tax bill
Page 14120 Appendix 2 o 1 Reduction in Housing Benefit o 1 Information for Housing Benefit claim mislaid
12 complaints were partially upheld: • 11 Revenues and Benefits o 3 Delay in processing Housing / Council Tax Benefit claim o 1 Length of time to award Discretionary Housing Payment o 1 Conflicting information re Housing Benefit/ Council Tax claim o 1 Delay in refunding overpayment of Housing Benefit o 1 Incorrect information on Council’s website re exemptions for empty properties o 1 Demand for repayment of overpayment o 1 Incorrect information on Council Tax bill o 1 Outstanding Council Tax account for previous address o 1 Delay in dealing with appeal for Council Tax claim • 1 Finance o 1 Attitude of staff member and failure to provide information
7 complaints were not upheld.
24 complaints were resolved at stage one.
2 complaints were withdrawn.
Lessons learned
Revenues and Benefits
In response to the complaint regarding suspension of Housing Benefit and the issuing of a court summons, the customer was advised that her entitlement to support had been recalculated and separate letters sent out. An apology was given for the shortfall in the level of service experienced.
Following the complaint regarding suspension of Housing Benefit, the Service contacted the customer to advise that the claim would be looked at as a matter of urgency and subsequently to advise that the Council Tax and Housing Benefit support had been recalculated.
In response to the complaint regarding overpayment of Housing Benefit, this was discussed with the Benefits Team Leader and the complainant was offered the option of making a payment arrangement.
Following the complaint regarding a delay in processing a Housing Benefit claim, the case was immediately assessed and the complainant’s concerns resolved.
On receiving the complaint relating to a delay in processing a refund for overpayment of Housing Benefit, the Service arranged for the refund to be processed and confirmed payment would be paid into the complainant’s bank by end of the following week. An apology was given for the delay.
Page15 121 Appendix 2 Further to a complaint regarding a delay in processing a Housing Benefit and Council Tax claim, the process was explained to the complainant, and an apology given. The case was reviewed and a back payment made.
In response to the complaint regarding a complainant’s supporting information being mislaid, the claim has been processed and an apology given for the delay.
Following the complaint regarding the reduction of housing benefit an apology was given for incorrect advice/information being given to the complainant. The Service has confirmed the current situation and a revised letter was sent out separately .
An apology was offered in response to a complaint regarding conflicting information being provided to the complainant about Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. The claim was re-calculated taking into account a change of circumstances and letters sent providing information for Council Tax & Housing Benefit entitlement.
Further to a complaint regarding a delay in processing a Housing Benefit claim following a chance of circumstances, the claim was reviewed and payment will be made direct to the landlord. An apology was provided for the delay in reviewing the claim .
In response to the complaint for the length of time to award Discretionary Housing Payment (DHP), an explanation was given that the Service was waiting for requested information to be provided. Following the information being received the case was assessed and DHP was awarded. An apology was given for the delay however, this was due to a delay in information being received.
Further to the complaint regarding an incorrect Council Tax bill, an apology was given for the delay in issuing the complainant with an amended bill. The Service confirmed with complainant that the balance had been paid.
Following the complaint regarding information on the Council website, an apology was given and information on the website has been updated to reflect other scenarios which could result in no exemption or discounts being awarded.
In response to the complaint regarding a delay in dealing with a Council Tax appeal, letters have been previously sent from the Service to the complainant to explain the reasons for the delay, which was to due officers requiring relevant information to make an informed decision. An apology was given to the complainant for the delay in dealing with his appeal.
Further to the complaint regarding incorrect information on a Council Tax bill, an apology was given to the complainant and an explanation that the bill had been based on outstanding balances. Confirmation was provided to the customer that the account is up to date.
Following the complaint regarding an outstanding Council Tax account for a previous address, an explanation was provided with a breakdown of the costs. The Service advised that as a one off gesture, if the outstanding amount owed was paid by an agreed dated, the court summons would be withdrawn and the associated costs cancelled, and the customer was invited to contact the Service to make the appropriate arrangements.
Page 16122 Appendix 2
Finance
Following the complaint regarding the conduct of a staff member, the Manager apologised that the customer found the service to be below standard. The Manager addressed the issue with the officer concerned.
Compliments
In addition to the complaints detailed above, the following compliments were also received:
Finance
“Schools Budget Officer has been fantastic supporting me this year as a new Headteacher. He has been amazing giving support, advice and training to me. He is an asset to your team and he goes above and beyond; nothing is ever too much trouble to him.”
“A huge thank you. Things are going really well in relation to finance and year end, in no small part thanks to the School Budget Officer's (SBO) support. The SBO has been fantastic in supporting re the schools finance management system, staying on the phone for 2 hours on one occasion all issues were resolved and school's finances are now balanced and up to date. I know some are quick to criticise when things are not quite right so I think it is important to pass on feedback when things are above and beyond what is expected. As always, School's Finance has delivered superb service. Please pass onto staff member our thanks for all her support. It is so nice to be back in Rochdale.”
Revenues and Benefits
Compliment for the Blue Badge Team from a resident who had applied for a Blue Badge for her mother, and throughout the process the team were extremely friendly, helpful and professional. She said they were a pleasure to deal with - an exceptional service. Well done.
“I just wanted to drop you a line to say thank you so much for processing my Grandma’s Blue Badge so quickly. You replied to all my e-mails promptly and helpfully. You've been really kind so I wanted to let you know. People are quick to complain but not always to say kind things and a thank you. Show this to your line manager as I think your attitude to your work and people should be recognised.”
Complaint Example
The following is an example of how a complaint has been dealt with from receipt to resolution.
Complaint regarding the Environmental Management Service & Contact Centre
Page17 123 Appendix 2 A complaint was received regarding the cancellation of garden and food waste collections at the end of January, and that residents were not notified in advance. The resident had made a telephone call to the Contact Centre and was unhappy with the information provided, following which the complaint was made to the Environmental Management Service and the resident’s Ward Councillors.
On receipt of the complaint, the Waste Minimisation Officer looked into the issues raised, and wrote to the resident explaining the reasons for the requirement to suspend the garden and food waste collections on the date in question. The recording of the telephone conversation with the Contact Centre Advisor was also listened to, and it was established that the information given was in some part inaccurate. This was followed up with the Advisor concerned.
The Service’s main priority when there is difficulty in servicing properties due to weather conditions is the collection of refuse from the general waste bins. Because of road conditions earlier in the week the crews were unable to service all properties on the waste collection and recycling rounds. To help to collect the backlog of general waste the Service increased the number of vehicles available by supplementing the normal fleet of seven vehicles by utilising the four garden waste collection vehicles which enabled them to empty the majority of general waste bins despite the difficult road conditions that were present off the main road network.
Details were provided of the dates the garden and food waste had to be cancelled, and an explanation that as it is not possible for the Service to predict how severe the local impact of bad weather conditions may be, it would be impossible to inform residents of cancellation of the service by letter as the resident had requested. This would also be very costly as to write to all properties that are able to receive a garden waste collection would require letters to approximately 40,000 houses at considerable cost to the Council and its council tax payers.
The Service used all communication channels available at the time and informed the Contact Centre to let callers know of their actions.
The resident thought that the collections were being cancelled due to the content of bins being frozen, however this was not the case and an explanation was provided that in most cases the Service would not suspend garden and food waste collections for this reason alone as the amount of frozen contents will obviously vary from property to property and in most cases the majority of the bin can be emptied correctly.
It was agreed that a comment made to the resident by the Contact Centre Advisor regarding the way in which the food and garden waste service is funded was not helpful and it was confirmed that the entire refuse management service amongst other Council activities is paid for by the public through their council tax.
The resident was also advised that as part of planned service improvement to be implemented later this year the Service will be looking at providing a food (organic) waste collection service to all 88,000 properties in the borough.
An apology was given to the resident for any inconvenience caused. The date of the next scheduled garden waste collection was confirmed with an assurance that the
Page 18124 Appendix 2 Waste Minimisation Officer would ensure that the resident’s collection would take place on that date.
On receipt of the letter of response, the resident contacted the Waste Minimisation Officer by email with a further query which was responded to. At this point the complaint was resolved.
Customer satisfaction with the process
The Customer Feedback Team monitor complaints received and recorded across the Council to ensure compliance with complaint policy timescales and consistency in implementation of the process.
During the fourth quarter, a total of 217 new complaints were received at stage one, and of these only 8 escalated to stage two, indicating that the customer was satisfied with the response and action taken by the service concerned at the lowest level.
Page19 125 Agenda Item 9 4.
GMCA AND AGMA SCRUTINY POOL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON FRIDAY 13 MARCH 2015 AT MANCHESTER TOWN HALL
PRESENT
Bolton Council ClIr Carol Burrows
Bury Council CIIr David Jones
Manchester CC ClIr Angeliki Stogia CIIr Ahmed Ali
Oldham MBC CIIr Cohn McLaren CIIr Cath Ball CIIr John Dillon
Rochdale MBC ClIr Terry Linden CIIr Michael Holly
Salford CC Cllr John Ferguson
Stockport MBC CIIr Ben Alexander ClIr Walter Brett ClIr Syd Lloyd
Tameside MBC Cur John Bell
Trafford Council Chlr Pam Dixon ClIr Barry Brotherton Cllr Alan Mitchell
Wigan MBC CIIr John O’Brien (Chair) Cllr Pam Stewart
IN ATTENDANCE
Item
6 Youth Employment Nic Hutchins, Head of Youth Initiatives, New Economy Sarah MacLoughlin, Senior Policy Officer, Youth Initiatives, New Economy.
7 GM Place Planning Kirston Nelson, Assistant Director - Education, Wigan Council. Julie Hough, School Organisation Manager, Wigan Council.
GM Integrated Support Team Kerry Bond, Senior Democratic Services Officer
Page 126 4
15/17 APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from ClIrs Fairclough, Gartside, Strong, Walsh, Peet, Wilkes.
15/18 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Councillor Angeliki Stogia, Manchester CC declared an interest in Item 6 as a seconded officer to the New Economy. Councillor John Ferguson declared an interest in Item 6 as a Director at City West Housing, Salford.
15/19 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 13 FEBRUARY 2015
RESOLVED/
To approve the Minutes of the Scrutiny Pool meeting held on 13 February 2015.
As requested at the previous meeting, copies of minutes of the last four meetings of the North West Consortium Asylum Executive Board were circulated to members on a confidential basis.
RESOLVED/
Members agreed to note the confidentiality of the North West Consortium Asylum Executive Board minutes that were circulated at the meeting.
15/20 SCRUTINY POOL WORK PROGRAMME
RESOLVED/
To note the Work Programme.
15/21 YOUTH EMPLOYMENT
Nic Hutchins, Head of Youth Initiatives and Sarah MacLoughlin, Senior Policy Officer, Youth Initiatives at New Economy provided a presentation and report which gave an update on the youth employment and apprenticeship landscape within Greater Manchester. This included information on specific initiatives to deliver apprenticeships and reduce youth unemployment.
The update highlighted Three programmes of activity, linking to GMS prioirities NEET16-18 Apprenticeships Youth employment programmes Key priorities and headlines Challenges
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Page 127 4.
Questions and comments from the Scrutiny Pool included-
There is no mention in your report/presentation of BME communities, we have seen a 50% increase in these recently.
- This is something we need to look into, to reflect and understand this in Greater Manchester
• Phases 3 and 4 of universal credit works on postcode areas, is this looked at GM wide or via individual authorities?
- JCP postcode system is used, this is not necessarily mapped against local authority boundaries, will take back to JCP to look into.
• Do you have further information on the GM transport offer. There is a concern that young, low paid people will refuse job / apprenticeship offers due to the high cost of travel?
- Transport for Greater Manchester offers a range of fare concessions that are available for students, making it possible for them to travel across local authority boundaries to access their learning. We are currently working with TfGM and bus companies on an offer that could be made available for people on an apprenticeship.
• Work has been taking place for the past 20 years or so on this, eg. Sure start, how do figures compare from when this type of work began to now. Why are there 40,000 people in NEET when this work has been ongoing for so many years.
- Information will be collated and circulated to members.
• There is concern on how the younger age group are being treated by JCP, there seems to be a lack of communtication, for example, a claimant could be registered for a course but then be sanctioned.
- Officers from New Economy are working with JCP managers to ensure they understand the needs of the NEET group. • What can be done to address the problem around identifying candidates for post 16 vocational education?
- A support structure needs to be put in place to ensures schools and employers engage, ensuring they are joined up where it is most needed.
• We need a resource in schools to guide students into a career path.
• Statistics from the Fawcett Society show that there are less women employed compared to men, and that BME is disproportionate between men and women, a resource is needed to develop and promote education.
- Will look into demographic groups.
• Are there statistics available that show a breakdown of demographics, detailing where people come from, type of accommodation etc?
- Yes, will come back with next tier of data, this is mapped at postcode/ward level.
3
Page 128 4
MMU have launched a degree that can be done at apprenticeship level, over a 4/5 year working period, and without the university fees.
• There is a lack of apprenticeships available for trade skills, electrician, plumbers, bricklayers.
RESOLVED!
1. That the presentation and report be noted and the work supported. 2. That officers liaise with TfGM on concerns around the cost of public transport for young low paid people. 3. That the report and presentation be forwarded to Councillor Sean Anstee as lead portfolio holder for skills, employment and worklessness to raise concerns at GMCA level. 4. That the information on NEET be circulated to members. 5. That an update report be brought to a future meeting to include the next tier of data, a breakdown of demographics, detailing where people come from, type of accommodation etc, mapped at postcode/ward level.
15/22 GM PLACE PLANNING
Kirston Nelson, Assistant Director for Education and Julie Hough, School Organisation Manager, Wigan Council talked to a report updating members on the progress and findings of the GM Pupil Place Planning Report. This report was commissioned by the GM Place Planning Group to examine historical statistics and forecast figures on pupil numbers. This would enable the identification of particular pressure points by school planning area and inform neighbouring local authorities with which these issues are shared.
Questions and comments from the Scrutiny Pool included-
• The growth projected figures look at different analysis in each district, consistency is required across the GM figures.
- The guidance tells us how to work out the formula, we will work on a separate set of figures ensuring consistency across districts.
• Do the pan figures for primary include schools that have agreed figures?
- The general approach is that if we know the increasing pan figures they are include in the projection set. Will confirm at the next update where this is included.
• Why are the figures for the secondary age range for 11-15 years old, are figures for 16-19’s looked at?
- Yes but this is a separate piece of work, we will bring back detail in the next update.
• The narrative re mtow/outflow is disproportionate.
- It was suggested that members speak with their local authority officer when looking at individual district figures.
4
Page 129 4.
• We have moved a long way in terms of projecting figures, for example, in Wigan figures are scrutinised in more detail to ensure children are tracked from birth, this ensures a more accurate projection.
• In terms of migration, is there a ripple effect from Manchester to other districts, is there analysis on outflow?
- Each authority has an element of migration that is uncontrollable, will ask each district to write an appendices to attach to the report. Will circulate once complete.
• What are the outflow figures to outside of Greater Manchester? Conversations with cross border authorities is required to gain this information.
RESOLVED!
1. To note the content of the report. 2. That an update report be brought to a future meeting.
15/23 FUTURE SCHEDULED MEETING DATES
2015 17 April 2015 12 June 2015 10 July 2015 11 September 2015 9 October 2015 13 November 2015 11 December2015
All meetings will be held 1:00pm - 3:00pm at Manchester Town Hall
5
Page 130 4
6
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GMCA AND AGMA SCRUTINY POOL
MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON FRIDAY 17 APRIL 2015 AT MANCHESTER TOWN HALL
PRESENT
Bolton MBC Cur Carol Burrows
Bury MBC ClIr David Jones
Manchester CC Cur Angeliki Stogia
Oldham MBC ClIr Oath Ball ClIr Cohn McLaren
Rochdale MBC Clir Michael Holly Cur Terry Linden
Salford CC Cllr John Walsh
Stockport MBC Cllr Syd Lloyd
Tameside MBC Cllr John Bell
Trafford MBC: Cllr Barry Brotherton ClIr Alan Mitchell
Wigan MBC ClIr John O’Brien (Chair) ClIr Pam Stewart
IN ATTENDANCE
Item(s)
6. GM Investment Fund Eamonn Boylan, Stockport MBC
7. GM PSR Update Andrew Lightfoot, GM Strategic Director, PSR
Clerk Allan Sparrow, GM Integrated Support Team
15/17 APOLOGIES
Apologies were received from ClIr Ahmed All (Manchester CC); ClIr John Dillon (Oldham MBC); ClIr Ben Alexander (Stockport MBC); ClIr Pam Dixon (Trafford MBC) and ClIr Gary Wilkes (Wigan MBC).
15/18 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Page 132 4
Councillor John O’Brien (Wigan MBC), Councillor John Brotherton (Trafford MBC) declared a personal interest in Item 7 as they had business interests in the health sector.
Councillor Terry Linden (Rochdale MBC) declared an interest in Item 7 as a Chair of a local charitable food bank.
1 5/24 CHAIR’S ANNOUNCEMENT
The Chair reported that as this was the last meeting of the Scrutiny Pool he would like to place on record his thanks to those members who had regularly attended meetings. He added that the membership of the Scrutiny Pool would be reviewed following the local elections and the annual general meetings of the ten districts.
15/25 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 13 MARCH 2015
RESOLVED/
To approve the Minutes of the Scrutiny Pool meeting held on 13 February 2015.
15/26 SCRUTINY POOL WORK PROGRAMME
RESOLVED!
To note the work programme.
15/27 GREATER MANCHESTER INVESTMENT FUND UPDATE
Eamonn Boylan provided members with a paper to update the Scrutiny Pool on the status of the Greater Manchester Investment Fund (GMIF). The paper provided information on the status of business funds, property funds, outputs and fund profile as at 31 March 2015. It was reported that although the funding process was market, the GMIF was not a fund set up to compete with bank lending.
Members were informed that the Regional Growth Funding rounds 2 and 3 were now fully committed and when these were repaid they would replenish the funds. Members also received an update on the Evergreen Fund which was European funds primarily used for property and infrastructure. Evergreen funding had secured the planned transport logistics site in Bolton and the Biotech buildings at Manchester University. It was noted that Evergreen Funding was not restricted to the GM boundary and had funded schemes in Cheshire and Lancashire. It was also noted that discussions were underway on an Evergreen 2 programme which would operate as a different legal entity to the original Evergreen fund.
Questions and comments from the Scrutiny Pool included
Q. Could some examples be given of how the GMIF had achieved business growth? A. Members were informed that there had been a lot of successes e.g. GMIF had funded the creation of the City Labs complex which led to the creation of high tech engineering posts. The fund had also been used to regenerate the former Cutacre Coal site in Bolton into a freight transport logistics hub which would employ over 2,000 people. Eamonn
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Boylan undertook to circulate to members under private and confidential cover information on the schemes that had received funds from the GM IF.
0. Although the GM Loan Fund had an allocation of £20m why was it envisaged that no more than £14m would be drawn down at any one time? Also what was the average amount loaned to businesses? A. Members were informed that the Loans Fund carried more risks so GM needed to be prudent in order to cover any potential losses to avoid the scheme becoming exposed. On average applicants received loan sums of around £1 00k.
0. A Member asked what property funds were used for? A. It was reported that these funds were not for social infrastructure projects such as schools but infrastructure to support developments such as the construction of roads or the provision of utilities such as power or water etc.
Q. Members asked for further information to be given on how Evergreen funding had been used. A. Members were informed that most of the investment had been allocated in GM rather than the county areas. The funds had been invested in some areas of GM more than others and more support than anticipated was given to manufacturing. A success in this area included the Alliance Textile Project. Members noted that loans allocated through Evergreen had to be repaid and the funding allocated to City Labs had already been repaid in full and as a result could now be reinvested. It was reported that currently Evergreen had £30m of loans on its books that were going through due diligence.
0. Had the GMIF encouraged industry to make better use of brown field sites? A. It was reported that the GMIF was funding no schemes on greenbelt areas and most applicants were already established businesses that just required reinvestment. In terms of land use GM would encourage the use of brown field sites.
RESOLVED!
1. That Eamonn Boylan be thanked for his informative report.
2. That a paper be circulated to members under private and confidential cover detailing information on the schemes that had received funds from the GMIF including there locations.
15/28 PUBLIC SERVICE REFORM PROGRAMME UPDATE
Andrew Lightfoot provided members with an update presentation on the various elements of PSR which included:
• The reform elements from the Devolution Agreement and the use of the GM Development Fund to support reform activity across GM • The GM Troubled Families programme performance and the national roll out of TF2 and priorities. The update included the potential for a TF3 programme • An overview on the GM employment and skills reform (working well) which included a progress update and plans through devolution reforms to expand the scale and scope of this work, thereby supporting an increasing number of GM residents
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• An update on transforming justice, the use of Intensive Community Orders, details of how the GM Resettlement Consortium operated and the roll out across GM from September 2014 of the whole system approach for women offenders • An overview of the Early Years programme and the GM ambition to improve school readiness and programme implementation.
Questions and comments from the Scrutiny Pool included
0. A members asked if figures had been collated on how each district was performing against the PSR targets? A. Andrew Lightfoot reported that performance figures currently existed for the working well programme. He undertook to provide members with performance figures for each district and the overall figures for GM when PSR was due to report back to the Scrutiny Pool.
0. A comment was made that the presentation appeared ‘bullish’ regarding the success of the Ministry of Justice’s Local Justice Investment Pilots particularly as the scheme only commenced in June 2014 so not all the data would be available now? A. Andrew Lightfoot agreed that this was a fair comment, although the early signs were positive for the programme. The test would be in 12 to 18 months time but for now things were being tracked on a daily basis. He added that he would report back in 3 months with a clearer position and this would be provided to all stakeholders.
0. A member queried the presentation’s assumption that the Troubled Families programme had turned around 96% of the families served and asked how GM judged the assumptions? A. Members were informed that the figure of 96% was based on criteria established nationally. It would be difficult to meet the criteria described and accepted that the average person on the street would not agree with these figures. However, it was clear that the TF programme had transformed lives.
0. A member asked if any families had regressed following TF support? A. It was reported that regular discussions take place with districts as these statistics could impact on the credibility of the TF programme and when members receive a report back on the programme further information would be provided. He concluded that some families had regressed but most had improved under the programme.
0. A member referred to the devolution reform elements and the complex dependency pilot. The presentation outlined that the pilot had helped 50,000 people get into jobs - could a definition be given of this? A. The member was informed that a job was defined as an employment opportunity with more than 16 hours of work per week.
0. A member asked if the titled ‘Troubled Families’ should be changed to Strengthening Families’ and asked for further information to be provided on how the programme was operating in each district?
0. In terms of the working well overview a member asked for a further breakdown on the 5,000 ESA claimants leaving the work programme so this figure was broken down by district? Concern was also expressed regarding the quality of jobs being 4
Page 135 4 secured. Districts were now seeing record numbers of people using food banks and many were employed but on a low wage. A member referred to working well graph which indicated that GM was on track to see 1,000 people enter work and asked if this could also be broken down per district?
0. In terms of the devolution of the AGE grant to GM from April 2015, members asked for this information to be broken down by district.
0. A member referred to the reshaping and restructuring of further education and the use of EFA spend? A. Andrew Lightfoot reported that GM had no control over EFA funds but the EFA had made it clear that they would work with GM to reshape further education.
0. With regard to each district having an effective women’s centre to form a ‘hub’ where criminal justice staff are co-located with other key partners to deliver services, Members asked what the timeline would be for this? A. Members were informed that the hubs were now established in each district and details of these hubs would be supplied to members.
0. A member asked whose role it was to link all this work on transforming justice and to make it a success and was GM able to identify those that were slipping through the net due to heavy workloads on Social Services and GMP. A. Andrew Lightfoot reported that the transforming justice agenda sought to address problems at scale and the responsibility for ensuring the programme worked lay with districts and GMP.
0. The Scrutiny Pool agreed that there was an immense amount of work to be undertaken and what was the ambition for co-commissioning the working well programme? A. It was reported that the ambition for the programme was to achieve significant targets by 2017. Impacting on all this work would be a new government. GM was committed to expand the working well programme and this would be an opportunity to look at highlighted issues around payment sanctions and eligibility issues. The aspiration of the programme was enormous and this provided an opportunity to mix working well and BIS funds. The skills and employment relationship was clear though at the moment services were not joined up.
Members were informed that PSR had two main drivers. The Greater Manchester Strategy made it clear that GM would not achieve its potential if people were left behind. GM needed its residents to be well placed to take future opportunities. The second issue centred on future government cuts and these would be significant and therefore a more radical approach might be needed to ensure that the PSR agenda worked.
0. A member stated that partnerships were often put at risk when budgets were difficult and how would GM mitigate these difficulties? A. Andrew Lightfoot reported that this was a complex issue. The PSR agenda was about having a holistic approach. At a GM level partners have recognised this challenge and the need to work across boundaries to ensure effective change.
Reference was made to the recent closure of Hindley Remand Centre and the impact that had following the decision of a partner (Ministry of Justice) to close the facility. In 5
Page 136 4 response it was reported that Hindley could be closed as numbers going into remand had reduced and this could be seen as a sign that partnerships were working.
0.. A member commented that getting people into employment would be the only way that the PSR programme could become a success and avoid people regressing? A. Members were informed that the programme hoped to spend more on ‘in work’ benefits rather than ‘out of work’ benefits.
The Chair reported that it was important for the Scrutiny Pool to understand what has and hasn’t worked as the PSR agenda was one of the biggest changes ever in local government history. Though the bigger picture was clear evidential proof that it was working at grass roots was not so clear. The Scrutiny Pool highlighted the fact that it fully supported the work being undertaken and accepted that the devolution issue was very new and time was needed to get things right.
RESOLVED!
1. That Andrew Lightfoot be thanked for his informative presentation.
2. That a further update report be brought back to a future meeting of the Scrutiny Pool which provides performance figures on the overall PSR programme and the performance for each district in terms of: Local Justice Reinvestment Pilots • Further information regarding the performance of Troubled Families programme per district and the number of families which have regressed • A further breakdown per district on the 5,000 ESA claimants leaving the work programme
3. That members of the Scrutiny Pool be provided with details of the locations of the GM Women’s Centres that would form a hub where criminal justice staff are co-located
15/23 FUTURE SCHEDULED MEE11NG DATES
12 June 2015 10 July 2015 11 September 2015 9 October 2015 13 November2015 11 December2015
All meetings will be held 1:00pm - 3:00pm at Manchester Town Hall
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