This meeting was about examining the performance and finances of Gloucestershire County Council and planning the committee’s future work.

It included presentations and reports on a broad range of topics, including the council’s strategy and its performance against targets, the financial performance of different service areas, the implementation of recommendations following the council’s recent corporate peer review, an update on cybersecurity, an update on the Autumn budget, a report on proposals for a scrutiny review, and the confirmation of the committee’s budget scrutiny meeting.

The report pack notes that the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit currently stands at £46m and is projected to increase by a further £25.8m by the end of the financial year. It is described as a significant financial risk to the council. The report pack includes discussion on the fact that the council was expected to achieve 80% of its overall savings target in the current financial year.

Finance

The report pack included a forecast of the financial position of all of the service areas of the council. Economy, Environment and Infrastructure was forecasting a £1.017m underspend against the budget, driven by income generated by the Javelin Park Energy from Waste facility. Children and Families was forecasting a balanced budget, while Adult Social Care was forecasting an overspend of £4.983m.

The report pack also included a savings delivery forecast for 2024/25. £15.516m of savings have already been made, while a further £10.413m of savings are on track to be made in the current financial year. £6.504m of savings are considered to be “at significant risk of being under-delivered”.

The report pack shows that £39.408m of reserves will be required to balance the 2024/25 budget. This figure includes £27.358m from the Dedicated Schools Grant Deficit reserve to cover the forecasted high needs block deficit in the Dedicated Schools Grant. A further £2m of reserves is proposed to fund Broadband capital expenditure.

The forecast balance of the General Fund Reserve at the end of the current financial year is £31.682m. The forecast balance of the General Fund reserve, plus any further underspend during the current financial year, would then equate to 5% of the council’s forecasted net operating budget for 2025/26. The minimum balance of the General Fund Reserve is 5% of the net budget.

Council Strategy Progress Update

The report pack includes a progress update on the council’s ten priority objectives. Five were considered to be fully on target, while three were partly at risk. Two were deemed to be at risk.

The two objectives considered to be ‘at risk’ relate to transforming Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service (GFRS) and transforming Children’s Services. The three objectives that are considered to be ‘partly at risk’ relate to Tackling Climate Change, Sustainable Growth, and Delivering our Ambitions for Strategic Procurement Transformation and Business Intelligence.

Tackling Climate Change

The report pack states that while internal progress against targets is on track, “>…there was risk associated with a recognition of the wider challenge of delivering targets that required system change involving partners and communities.”

The report pack includes an update on progress against the council’s climate change action plan. This mentions that the ‘Wear not Waste’ and ‘Cycle September’ campaigns are underway. 300,000 leaflets relating to a food waste campaign were distributed across the county. It also notes that Six E-cargo bikes have been procured for use by NHS teams at Cheltenham General and Gloucester Royal hospitals. A Community E-bike scheme is due to launch in October in Stroud, Gloucester and Tewkesbury.

It also includes updates on the Gloucestershire Cycle Spine, the EV Charging points programme, the Integrated Care Board and NHS decarbonisation strategy, and the Fleet Replacement programme.

The report pack also notes that:

“>…the intention was to go live with the new One SAP system from the start of the next financial year.”¹

Sustainable Growth

The report pack notes that:

“>…the implementation of the Procurement Act had been delayed until February 2025, which gave the Council more time to consider its requirements. However, there was risk associated with the Council not yet having sight of the full detail of the requirements of the Act, which also impacted on the rollout of the new procurement management system as part of the wider SAP replacement programme.”

It also states that:

“>…in terms of business intelligence, there was risk relating to ensuring the right technology infrastructure was in place, as well was the right skills and capacity. It was noted that a new data strategy had been agreed by Cabinet earlier in the year which would start to drive forward progress with this ambition.”

Transforming Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service

The report pack mentions an update on GFRS fire risk inspection performance, stating that:

“>…the timeliness of inspections was improving for Quarter 1, and the backlog of inspections was beginning to be addressed.”

Transforming Children’s Services

The report pack notes that:

“>…there had been improvements with the Sufficiency Strategy for Children in Care, with more children being placed in County. Additionally, there had been an improvement in the timeliness of Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) which had led to a reduction in complaints upheld by the ombudsman.”

Delivering our Ambitions

The report pack notes that:

“>…the risk score had been increased for the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit and for the deterioration of the Council’s in-year financial position. On the other hand, the risk score had been reduced for the demand for EHCPs and for protecting the Council’s information.”

Corporate Peer Challenge 2023 Action Plan

The report pack includes a presentation about the progress with the action plan developed following the council’s 2023 Corporate Peer Challenge. The presentation mentions a number of actions that relate to equalities, diversity and inclusion (EDI), improvements to the council’s use of data, and communications.

Staff Survey Results Action Plan

The report pack includes a presentation on what actions were to be considered following the results of the council’s recent staff survey. It included discussions of common themes from the survey results, an overview of the action plan, and plans for the next survey. The common themes included: communication and leadership visibility, reward and recognition, health and wellbeing, career progression, change management, and EDI.

Autumn Budget Update

The report pack included a briefing note on the Autumn budget. It summarised the key elements of the budget that relate to local government and the potential impacts for Gloucestershire County Council.

Scrutiny Review Proposal

The report pack included a proposal to review the council’s scrutiny arrangements. It included an overview of the existing arrangements and a proposed timeline for the review.

Budget Scrutiny Structure

The report pack included a note that a Budget Scrutiny session would take place on 8 January 2025.

Work Plan

The report pack included an update to the committee’s work plan. It notes that an item on contract management and an update on the progress with ICT investment and efficiency improvements would be added to the agenda for the meeting in February 2025.

The report pack also included an action table, summarising the actions that were decided during the previous meeting. It also included a list of future meeting dates.