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There is no summary of this meeting yet. Summaries are written once the council publishes the minutes, which are its official record of what a meeting decided. They usually appear a few weeks after the meeting.
Chris Holley declared a personal interest.
No declarations were made.
No questions were received.
Councillors Louise Gibbard and Hayley Gwilliam along with relevant officers attended and went through the proposed budget proposals in relation to Adult Services, Child and Family Services and Poverty and Prevention, highlighting the main issues and answering questions. The Panel agreed the following views and recommendations on the budget proposals in relation to Social Services it would like to make to Cabinet: • The Panel is encouraged to see an increase in the overall budget for Social Services for 2023/24 and welcomes the way Social Services has operated with a higher level of efficiency. • Overall, the Panel understands that £6 million savings is necessary but is concerned about the 10% increase in fees and charges and the effect of this on the 25% of people affected by the increase, who are already hard pressed. • The Panel understands there is a proposed saving of £1 million to be raised from vacant posts but is concerned this could result in increased use of agency staff and will be monitoring this at future meetings. • The Panel understands savings of £500k are proposed by reducing placements in Child and Family Services and hopes this is achievable in the current climate. • The Panel is interested in the idea of strengthening organisational co-production and supports a common approach. • The impact of re-commissioning services is not fully understood, in terms of the budget set, and will have to be monitored closely. The Convener of the Service Improvement and Finance Panel will attend Cabinet on 16 February to feed in the collective views of the scrutiny performance panels and write a letter to the Cabinet Member.
Councillors must say when they have a personal link to something being discussed, such as a job, a property or a family member. A prejudicial interest is one strong enough that the councillor usually leaves the room and takes no part.
Declarations are read from the minutes once they are published.
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