This meeting covered a wide array of issues relating to Derbyshire County Council's activities, including treasury management, performance monitoring, climate change adaptation, community safety, and the allocation of funds for children with special educational needs and disabilities.

Budget and Performance

The Council is forecasting a net overspend of £28.104m against its approved Revenue Budget for 2024-25, a substantial increase from the £20.163m overspend forecast in the previous quarter. Much of this increase is attributed to Children's Services, and in particular placements. The forecast overspend on placement costs has increased due to revisions to expected move dates for children changing placements, the report states. Changes to children’s care arrangements must be made at their pace and taking account of changing circumstances. This, coupled with a lack of suitable foster care placements internally and externally, is resulting in continued use of high cost residential placements.

This comes on top of an overspend of £25.068m on the Adult Care portfolio, due mainly to expenditure on care packages in excess of budget because of increased cost and demand, one-off grant funding no longer being available, and shortfalls on the delivery of some efficiencies.

The Council is introducing expenditure controls across the organisation, including vacancy management, a review of agency worker use, and reduced procurement. A cross-party Budget Commission has also been proposed to review the causes of the increased costs.

Savings delivery is reportedly on track in most areas, but 6% of planned savings are now deemed at significant risk of delay.

The report also noted that the Council's overall operating model costs are in the region of 14% higher than comparator councils. An independent external analysis was recommended to ensure that the council is challenging itself effectively and considering all available opportunities to reduce costs through rationalising and improving its operating model.

The forecast in-year deficit on the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) had also increased, from £17.4m to £26.1m, raising the projected cumulative deficit to £43.080m by 31 March 2025.

Climate Change

In a report for submission to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Council set out the climate change risks facing its services, and the work it is doing to adapt to them.

With Council services and functions under strain from economic pressures and the lasting impact of the coronavirus pandemic, it is imperative that risks from current and future climate change are understood and that plans are put in place to increase resilience.

Flooding, extreme heat, and their impact on infrastructure and the built environment were all identified as key risks. The report states that flooding is the most significant risk at present, but apart from flood risk management, there is less evidence of proactive planning and preparing for wider impacts, such as more frequent and severe high temperatures and drought.

The report notes that the Council is at an early stage of embedding climate change adaptation and that more needs to be done, but that a full adaptation action plan cannot yet be agreed. Further resources and technical support are required to further develop the work undertaken so far into a more detailed and robust plan, it states.

The Council's work in this area is guided by its Climate Change Strategy: Achieving Net Zero.

Treasury Management

The Council's Treasury Management Mid-Year Report 2024-25 reported that all treasury management activities undertaken in the first half of 2024-25 complied fully with the principles of the Treasury Management Code and the Council’s approved Treasury Management Strategy.

It also reported that the Council's net borrowing had increased by £7.755m, to £410.429m, as part of its strategy for funding the capital programme. The average rate on short-term borrowing was 5.11%

Disabled Facilities Grants

The Council reported on the outcome of a consultation on its proposals for future design services for Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs), which are administered by District and Borough Councils in Derbyshire but have previously been supported by the Council's in-house Disability Design Team (DDT).

Like every Council up and down the country, Derbyshire is facing significant financial challenges that are outside its control. This means in order to set a balanced budget as it is legally obliged to do, the Council must consider the continuance of discretionary provision of services against its statutory duties to assess and meet eligible needs of people in accordance with the Care Act 2014 and the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.

In response to the consultation, the Council proposed to discontinue funding the discretionary element of the DDT service, from 1 April 2025. It was suggested that District and Borough Councils use part of their DFG allocation to fund the discretionary DDT activity for up to a year while establishing their own design services.

The Council also proposed to retain a reduced DDT service for cases where it has a statutory duty to meet an eligible need under the above legislation, and to consult on a new adaptations funding policy governing projects requiring funding over the DFG threshold.

Community Safety

The Council also considered the Derbyshire Community Safety Agreement, setting out its priorities and commitments for the period 1 April 2024 to 31 March 2027.

The Agreement identifies eight Thematic Boards reflecting national, regional, and local priorities, including:

• Serious Violence
• Violence Against Women and Girls
• Serious Organised Crime and Exploitation
• Neighbourhood Crime and Anti-social Behaviour
• Domestic and Sexual Abuse
• Prevent
• Resettlement and Integration
• Online Harm

Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

The Council considered requests for funding from its SEND capital allocation, specifically for projects at three special schools:

• Bennerley Fields School - £2.6m to create 3 additional classrooms to accommodate up to 30 pupils.
• Stanton Vale School - £230,000 to meet increased tender costs for a project to increase places for pupils with SEND.
• Whitemoor Centre, part of the Holbrook School for Autism - £365,777 to reimburse the school for costs of a project to increase places for pupils with SEND.

The report notes that the projects had been identified through the SEND sufficiency survey and that further allocations would be made in the coming months.