The Executive committee of Bromley Council met on Wednesday 17 January 2024 to discuss the draft budget for 2024/25, the outcome of an Ofsted inspection of children's services, and software licence arrangements. Key decisions included the approval of the initial draft budget, which anticipates a significant budget gap in future years, and noting the outstanding Outstanding rating for children's services.

Draft Budget 2024/25 and Financial Strategy Update

The Executive approved the initial draft budget for 2024/25, while also noting that significant financial challenges remain, with a projected budget gap of £38.7 million per annum by 2027/28. The council's financial strategy highlights the need to address these issues over the coming years by forecasting available resources and budget pressures.

Key decisions made regarding the budget include:

• Approval of the initial draft 2024/25 Budget: This budget will be referred to relevant Policy Development and Scrutiny (PDS) Committees for consideration.
• Noting of financial projections for 2025/26 to 2027/28: These projections indicate a growing budget gap.
• Approval of a £1 million Transformation Fund: This fund, earmarked for 2024-2028, will resource the next phase of the Transformation Programme to help deliver future savings. It will be funded from the Growth and Investment Fund earmarked reserve.
• Agreement to increase rent levels: Rents for London Affordable Rents and Social (Formula) Rents will increase by 7.7% from April 2024. Councillor Will Connolly's group placed an objection to this proposed rent rise on the record. Councillor Colin Smith, Leader of the Council, explained that most London Boroughs are having to raise rates by the maximum permitted to ensure the viability of future housing projects.
• Delegation of schools' budget setting: The setting of the schools' budget, primarily met through the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), will be delegated to the Education, Children and Families Portfolio Holder, Councillor Kate Lymer, following consultation with the Schools Forum.
• Agreement on contribution to the London Boroughs Grant Committee: A contribution of £247,872 for 2024/25 was agreed. Councillor Smith's advice from the Director of Corporate Services and Governance was emphatic that withholding funding from the London Borough Grants Committee was not permissible.

The report detailed significant cost pressures, including general inflation, growth/cost pressures across various service areas, and the impact of post-Covid usage of freedom passes. It also highlighted Bromley's low council tax level despite receiving the second lowest settlement funding per head of population in London. The council continues to lobby for a fairer funding system.

Outcome of Ofsted Inspection of Children's Services

The Executive noted the findings of the Ofsted report, which awarded Outstanding judgments across all areas for children's social care services in Bromley. This includes the impact of leaders on social work practice, the experiences and progress of children needing help and protection, children in care, and care leavers, as well as the overall effectiveness of children's services.

Councillor Kate Lymer, Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Families, highlighted that Bromley was one of only three councils in the country to be judged outstanding. The report praised the exceptionally strong services and the impressive strategic and operational leadership, allied with strong corporate and political commitment. An area identified for improvement was the continued strengthening of practice for children experiencing increasing risks that may lead to the pre-proceedings stage of the public law outline. The Executive recognised the remarkable team effort and extended thanks to various individuals and teams involved in achieving this outcome.

Academy Information System and Aspien Corporate Debt Management System Software Licence and Maintenance Arrangements

The Executive approved the renewal of licence agreements for two key IT systems:

• Academy Information System (now Capita One Revenues & Benefits): Renewal until 31 March 2027 at an estimated annual cost of £182,000, totalling £546,000 over three years.
• Aspien Corporate Debt Management System: Renewal until 31 January 2027 at an annual cost of £9,900, totalling £30,000 over three years.

These renewals are necessary to ensure the continued operation of systems used for billing and collecting council tax, business rates, and managing corporate debt. The report noted that the review of these systems had been delayed due to the pandemic. While a report from Liberata recommended migrating to the NEC Revenues & Benefits system, discussions with Liberata are ongoing, and the council is also exploring greater use of automation within the existing Academy system. The renewal of the Aspien system is considered to be below the threshold requiring a new procurement procedure, while the Academy system renewal falls above this threshold and requires compliance with Regulation 72 of the Public Contracts Regulations 2015. The estimated cumulative spend to date with Capita Business Systems for the Academy contract is £2.58 million, and with Ash Information Systems Limited for Aspien is £76,000. The total cost for these renewals over three years is approximately £576,000, which is covered by existing Exchequer Services revenue budgets.

Questions

Two questions were received for the meeting: one for oral response and one for written response. The question for oral response, from Mr Dermot Mckibbin to the Portfolio Holder for Children, Education and Families, concerned the installation of solar panels on schools. The reply confirmed that the council does not plan to re-open discussions with SELCE (South East London Community Energy) as the decision not to proceed was mutual, based on the council's decision to fund the capital expenditure costs of the solar panels themselves, which did not fit SELCE's community leasing model. The council is finalising feasibility work to procure and install photovoltaic solar panel arrays at three schools this year, with an estimated cost of £96,000. The question for written reply, from Ms Helen Alswoth, requested a list of Bromley maintained schools assessed for solar panels, their costs, and details of schools with renewable energy in place. The reply listed three schools assessed by SELCE and detailed ongoing sustainability improvements at various schools, including the installation of photovoltaic solar panel arrays and air source heat pumps.

Apologies for Absence

Apologies were received from Councillor Yvonne Bear.

Declarations of Interest

There were no declarations of interest made by councillors.

Confirmation of Minutes

The minutes of the meeting held on 29 November 2023 were agreed and signed as a correct record, subject to a minor amendment to Minute 101.

The meeting ended at 7:55 pm.