Warwickshire County Council’s 2010/11 Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan and how it may affect the Voluntary & Community Sector.

The County Council’s full Draft proposal from Cabinet is available on the County Council website click here to view

Background Information
The Warwickshire County Council Cabinet meeting on the 17th December 2009 resolved that:

• That the County Council plan its budget framework for 2010/11 on the basis set out in the attached appendix.
• That this draft budget proposal forms the basis of scrutiny between now and Cabinet on 28 January 2010.
• That, during this period, the other political groups are invited to bring forward and discuss with Cabinet any suggestions for inclusion in the 2010/11 budget resolution.
• That Strategic Directors begin preparatory work necessary to deliver the savings plans detailed in the proposals (attached appendix).

Overview & Scrutiny
An Overview and Scrutiny Committee were due to meet on the 6th January 2010 to review the pressures outlined within the Draft budget – this meeting could not be held due to the current weather issues – it is unclear when this meeting will be reconvened at this point however when minutes of this meeting (once held) are available they will be posted here.

The purpose of the meeting is to scrutinise Cabinet’s budget proposal for 2010/11, focusing upon identified spending pressures and Medium Term Savings Plan.

Membership
The Chairs, Vice Chairs and Group Spokes of all the Overview and Scrutiny Committees are:

John Appleton, Peter Balaam, Sarah Boad, Les Caborn, Richard Chattaway, Chris Davis, Richard Dodd, Michael Doody, Mike Gittus, Barry Longden, Tilly May, Brian Moss, Tim Naylor, Carolyn Robbins, Jerry Roodhouse, John Ross, Dave Shilton, Ray Sweet, June Tandy, Sid Tooth, Angela Warner, John Whitehouse.

The draft budget report highlights the current economic climate:

Economic Climate
The economy is currently in recession. As an authority we are faced with low inflation and pressure to keep pay increases to a minimum. The recession has also meant that the demand for our services has increased. The additional financial strain on some of the most vulnerable people in our communities will inevitably increase the pressure on services further as, for example, with the increasing numbers of children coming into care.

The draft 2010 Budget proposals are open for scrutiny until Cabinet meets again on the 28th January.

Some of the key points within the document that directly and obviously impact upon the sector are listed within the Medium Term Savings Plan section of the document (Appendix B) and include threats and opportunities for the sector:

Adult, Health and Community Services

• Re-commissioning of the PHILLIS service with a view to reducing costs through delivery by the voluntary sector and/or existing teams with anticipated savings of £300,000 over 2 years.
• Increase the charges for community based adult social care services. This will include reviewing the level of and subsidy, raising the ceilings on charges and reducing the minimum income protection provided saving £769,000 in 2010/11 and over £2,000,000 in 2011/2012.
• Reduce the provision of day care services (voluntary sector, internally and externally provided) and reinvest 50% of the savings into personalization saving over £1,000,000 over 4 years
• Rationalise transport services in line with the day services review saving £198,000 over 4 years.
• Review care packages with low contact hours to ensure compliance with the substantial or critical level of care need required for continued funding saving £154,000

Children, Young People and Families

• Streamline IYSS activities and places of service delivery to reflect the level of need in a locality, using Youth Panels and Youth Forums to reprioritise service provision
• Reduce the number of grants given out to third sector organisations under Youth Services Development Grants saving £25,000 in 2010/11.

Customers, Workforce and Governance

• Reduce Equality & Diversity grant schemes saving £31,000 over the next 3 years
• Reduce Community Grants by £189,000 over the next 3 years (£106,000 in 2010/11)

Appendix C also sets out Area Based Grant funded activities and where savings can potentially be made against these allocated funds through ‘top-slicing’ percentage savings.

The current economic climate presents a huge challenge for all of us across all sectors as we face the almost impossible task of meeting increased demand with less resources overall. We can only realistically achieve any part of this by working jointly across our sectors to deliver efficient services and support to endure that the effects of the recession do not hit the most vulnerable in our society hardest.

The County Council is fully subscribed to the COMPACT and as such we can be assured that whilst difficult decisions have to be made that these decisions will be made openly and transparently with full compliance with COMPACT.

If you are concerned about the potential effects of the Budget setting process, please make sure that you are having an open dialogue with the relevant department of the County Council and Portfolio Holder.

As the effects of the Recession become more and more apparent we at Warwickshire CAVA are working harder and harder with groups and organisations to identify and successfully secure funding. Visit our Funding Portals found at http://www.wcava.org.uk/funding or call any of our local offices for support.

 Warwickshire County Council’s 2010/11 Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan