Decision:
Cabinet RESOLVED to;
1. Receive the recommendations arising from the meeting of the Children & Young People Sub-Committee on 16 July 2024 (Appendix 1) and the Streets & Environment Sub-Committee on 22 July 2024 (Appendix 2).
2. To provide a substantive response to the recommendations (a Scrutiny Stage 2 Report) at the Cabinet meeting on 20 November 2024.
Minutes:
The Executive Mayor introduced the Scrutiny Stage One and Scrutiny Stage Two reports, advising they would be taken together. It was noted that the Executive Response to Scrutiny recommendations arising from the Scrutiny and Overview Committee on 17 September 2024 regarding the Libraries Service Review had also been published.
Councillor Leila Ben-Hassell, Chair of Scrutiny and Overview Committee noted their recent appointment as Chair and advised of their intention to work closely with the Executive Mayor, Cabinet Members, Officers, Community Groups and Residents. They expressed their thanks to the previous Chair of Scrutiny and Overview Committee, Councillor Rowenna Davis for their hard work and commitment.
On 17 September 2024 the Scrutiny and Overview Committee had discussed the Financial Performance Reports for Periods 2 and 3 of 2024/25 and the proposals set out within the Libraries Service Review. The Chair of Scrutiny and Overview Committee stated:
Financial Performance Reports for Periods 2 and 3 of 2024/25
- The council had reported an in year projected overspend of £15.6 million as detailed in the 2024/25 Period 2 Financial Performance Report and an in year projected overspend of £23.9 million as detailed in 2024/25 Period 3 Financial Performance Report.
- The Committee had expressed disappointment that the council’s financial position as of May 2024 had not been raised with Members earlier than September 2024. Previous commitments to provide financial reporting as early as possible were noted and it was felt there had been opportunity for this to be raised at the Council and Committee meetings which had taken place during the intervening period.
- The Committee welcomed the Cabinet Member for Finance’s offer to keep the Committee informed of the evolving financial position and the associated risks going forward.
- The three key areas of overspend were children’s social care, placements for homeless families and home to school transport for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).
- The Committee had raised questions regarding the robustness of the modelling used for the 2024/25 Budget setting process and on the detail of the recovery plans currently in development.
- Due to the scale of the overspend and its attribution to the council meeting demand for statutory services, the Committee supported the Executive’s cross departmental approach in achieving targeted savings of at least £3 million in each directorate.
- Concerns had been raised regarding the safety of council services in the context of these savings, in addition to the savings requirements set out in the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy.
- The Committee would continue to review the transformation workstreams and recovery plans.
Libraries Service Review
- The Committee stated the loss of even one library was hard for communities and needed to be carefully mitigated by working closely with community partners and residents to provide alternative provision.
- The national context of library closures, particularly in areas with high levels of deprivation and the similar challenges experienced in Croydon were noted.
- The success of the proposals would be dependent on their effective delivery, particularly regarding outreach services, mitigation and working collaborative with residents to meet their aspirations.
- The Committee recognised the significant work undertaken for the review. Whilst the consultation response had been higher than in previous library consultations, the Committee recommended there should be a review of the promotion of future consultations, to ensure all community voices were heard.
- The legal risks to the council were noted and it was recommended that this legal exposure needed to be further explored by the Executive. The Committee had been advised work had been undertaken to mitigate these risks as much as possible.
- The wider range of options available, beyond community asset transfers, were welcomed by the Committee.
- The importance of further consultation with community groups to discuss the alternative future provisions was noted.
The Chair of Scrutiny and Overview Committee accepted the Executive Response received and advised of the Committee’s intention to undertake a 1-year review of the proposals, along with a review of the use of ‘Open Plus’ before it being rolled out across further sites.
It was advised the upcoming Scrutiny Streets and Environment Sub-Committee would discuss the mobilisation and monitoring of the future waste contract.
Councillor Jason Cummings, Cabinet Member for Finance thanked the outgoing Chair of Scrutiny for their work and noted the collegial conduct of Scrutiny during their time as Chair. Scrutiny had made positive comments about the council’s performance and improvement whilst holding the Executive to account. The rigid time keeping of Scrutiny was also commended.
Cabinet RESOLVED to;
1. Receive the recommendations arising from the meeting of the Children & Young People Sub-Committee on 16 July 2024 (Appendix 1) and the Streets & Environment Sub-Committee on 22 July 2024 (Appendix 2).
2. To provide a substantive response to the recommendations (a Scrutiny Stage 2 Report) at the Cabinet meeting on 20 November 2024.
Supporting documents: