Agenda and minutes

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on16 January 2024 as an accurate record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 January 2024 were agreed as an accurate record.

Members are invited to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests (DPIs) and other registrable and non-registrable interests they may have in relation to any item(s) of business on today’s agenda.

There were no disclosures of interest made at the meeting.

To receive notice of any business not on the agenda which in the opinion of the Chair, by reason of special circumstances, be considered as a matter of urgency.

Under urgent business, the Chair highlighted to the Committee that the South West London & Surrey Joint Health Overview & Scrutiny Committee (JHOSC) had responded to an NHS consultation on the reconfiguration of children’s cancer services. The concerns of Croydon had been fed into the process by the Council’s representatives on the JHOSC, Councillors Richard Chatterjee and Eunice O’Dame.

A formal response setting out these concerns had been submitted to the JHOSC before the deadline of 12pm on 12 February to confirm the issues for Croydon depending on the outcome of the NHS review to move Children’s Cancer Services to either St Georges Hospital or Evelina Hospital.

The Scrutiny & Overview Committee is presented with the Period 8 Financial Performance Monitoring report for its information. The Committee is asked to: -

1.     Review the information provided in the report on the 2023-24 Period 8 Financial Performance Report, and

2.     Consider its conclusions on the latest budget position for 2023-24

3.     Consider whether there are any recommendations to bring to the attention of the Mayor.

The Committee considered a report set out in the agenda supplement that provided an overview of the latest budget position for 2023-24 up until the end of Period 8 (November 2023). This report was included on the agenda as part of the Committee’s ongoing scrutiny of the delivery of 2023-24 budget.

·       Councillor Jason Cummings – Cabinet Member for Finance

·       Katherine Kerswell – Chief Executive

·       Nick Hibberd – Corporate Director for Sustainable Communities, Economic Recovery & Regeneration

·       Debbie Jones – Corporate Director for Children, Young People & Education

·       Susmita Sen – Corporate Director for Housing

·       Jane West - Corporate Director for Resources & Section 151 Officer,

·       Simon Robson –Director for Adult Social Care Operations

·       Allister Bannin - Director of Finance & Deputy Section 151 Officer

·       David Courcoux - Director for Policy, Programmes & Performance

·       Helen Reeves – Interim Head of Strategy & Policy

During the introduction to the report, the following points were noted: -

• The budget position at the end of Period 8 (November 2023) was predicting there would be a budget underspend at the year end, with all departmental budgets improving in comparison to the Period 7 forecast.
• There remained an overspend within the Children’s Service, but the forecasted amount had reduced from Period 7 and could be balanced against underspends elsewhere in the budget.
• Based on the current forecast, the Council would not need to use any of the £5m Corporate Contingency Fund. It was not expected that the current position would worsen and it was possible there may even be further improvement.

Following the introduction, the Committee was given the opportunity to ask questions on the information provided in the Period 8 report. The first question sought an explanation for the increase in the predicted underspend within the Adult Social Care budget. It was confirmed that the predicted underspend had increased from £1.1m to £1.3m since Period 7 due to a small reduction in placement costs. This was the result of transformation work within Adult Social Care over the past three years, which was aimed at managing the cost of placements.

As a follow-up, reassurance was sought that the transformation work was not aimed at gatekeeping the service by reducing the number of placements, which may result in vulnerable residents being unable to access the services and care they required. It was confirmed that the number of placements provided had remained consistent over the past three years. The transformation programme was aimed at ensuring the right level of care was provided, at the right time, through improving reablement services for patients after a hospital stays and having a better range of options to improve outcomes for residents needing care support. At the same time the service was managing providers to ensure there was a sustainable care market in Croydon. It was highlighted that social workers had regulated standards which meant their assessments had to be based on an individual’s care needs and not the potential cost factors. The Director of Adult Social Service (or Corporate Director for Adult Social Care & Health), Annette McPartland,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14/24

The Scrutiny and Overview Committee is provided with a Cabinet report setting out the Mayor’s Budget Proposals for 2024-25. The Committee is asked to:-

1.    Note the feedback from the Scrutiny Sub-Committee meetings focussed on their respective budget areas.

2.    Note the Cabinet report presenting the Mayor’s proposed Budget for 2024-25.

3.    Consider the conclusions of the Committee on 2024-25 budget, to be submitted for the consideration of the Mayor at the Cabinet meeting on 14 February 2024, including:-

a)    Are the savings deliverable, sustainable and not an unacceptable risk?

b)    Is the impact on service users and the wider community understood?

c)    Have all reasonable alternative options been explored and do no better options exist?

d)    Consider whether there are any further conclusions on the 2024-25 budget the Committee would like to bring to the attention of the Mayor.

The Committee considered a report on pages 21 to 32 of the agenda and in the supplementary agenda which set out the Mayor’s proposed budget for 2024-25 for review. The report also included a summary of the conclusions reached by the four Scrutiny Sub-Committees from their own reviews of elements in the budget relevant to their specific remits.

·       Councillor Jason Cummings – Cabinet Member for Finance

·       Katherine Kerswell – Chief Executive

·       Nick Hibberd – Corporate Director for Sustainable Communities, Economic Recovery & Regeneration

·       Debbie Jones – Corporate Director for Children, Young People & Education

·       Susmita Sen – Corporate Director for Housing

·       Jane West - Corporate Director for Resources & Section 151 Officer,

·       Simon Robson –Director for Adult Social Care Operations

·       Allister Bannin - Director of Finance & Deputy Section 151 Officer

·       David Courcoux - Director for Policy, Programmes & Performance

·       Helen Reeves – Interim Head of Strategy & Policy

During the introduction to the report by the Cabinet Member and the Section 151 Officer, the following points were noted: -

• The Council was in a position of being able to put forward a balanced budget for 2024-25, which was not the case for all local authorities.
• This year’s budget setting had built on the processes put in place last year, which had led to a smoother process than was previously the case.
• Since the last Committee meeting on 16 January, the previous budget gap had been closed by a combination of factors including a higher than originally forecasted allocation from the Local Government Settlement and a lower than anticipated contribution requirement for Freedom Passes.
• A proposed £1.1m saving relating to the realignment of the staffing budget for the Children, Young People & Education directorate had been removed from the budget, as it had been concluded it was not deliverable.
• As a £5m unidentified gap had remained, it had been decided to remove the £5m economic pressures budget.  Although this would increase the potential risk within the budget, it could in part be mitigated by other existing contingency funds.
• The Government had recognised the financial pressure on local authorities and has suggested either using existing reserves or capitalisation as a means of managing these pressures. As the Council was not in a position to use reserves to bridge the budget gap, it had been decided that reducing the economic pressures budget was the preferred option for delivering a balanced budget.

Following the introduction, the Committee proceeded to scrutinise the Budget papers. The first question asked for more information on the £3.8m Adult Social Care Grant allocated to the Council.  It was advised that the grant was split into two parts, one to support the effective flow through the hospitalisation and discharge process. The other part was to manage market pressures and improve stability within the local care market.

Regarding the removal of the proposed £1.1m saving from the realignment of the staff budget for the Children, Young People & Education directorate, it was advised that the reduction in contributions paid by the Council for the Freedom Pass scheme had  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15/24

The Scrutiny & Overview Committee is asked to

1.    Approve the recommendations made by its Sub-Committee’s for submission to the Executive Mayor for his consideration.

2.    Review the response provided by Mayor to recommendations made by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee.

The Committee considered a report set out on pages 33 to 42 of the agenda which presented recommendations proposed by the scrutiny sub-committees for sign-off ahead of submission to the Executive Mayor. It also presented the response of the Mayor to previous recommendations submitted by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee for consideration.

Resolved: The Scrutiny & Overview Committee agreed to: -

1.    Approve the recommendations made by its Sub-Committee’s for submission to the Executive Mayor for his consideration.

2.    Note the response provided by Mayor to recommendations made by the Scrutiny & Overview Committee.

For the Scrutiny & Overview Committee to agree any in-year amendments to the membership of its sub-committees (if required).

A vacancy had arisen on the Children & Young People Sub-Committee following the resignation of Mike Bonello as a Croydon Councillor. Councillor Tamar Barrett was nominated to fill the vacancy.

Before the appointment was agreed, the Vice-Chair of the Committee extended his thanks to Mike Bonello for his insightful input while a member of the Children & Young People Sub-Committee.

Resolved: That Councillor Tamar Barrett be appointed as a member of the Children & Young People Sub-Committee for the remainders of the municipal year.

The Scrutiny & Overview Committee is asked to: -

1.     Note the most recent version of the Scrutiny Work Programme presented in the report.

2.     Consider whether there are any other items that should be provisionally added to the work programme as a result of the discussions held during the meeting.

The Committee considered a report set out on pages 43 to 66 of the agenda which presented the most recent version of the work programme for the Scrutiny & Overview Committee and its Sub-Committees.

Resolved: The Scrutiny & Overview Committee agreed to note the most recent version of the Scrutiny Work Programme 2023-24.

The following motion is to be moved and seconded where it is proposed to exclude the press and public from the remainder of a meeting:

“That, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act, 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information falling within those paragraphs indicated in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, as amended.”

This motion was not required.