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Cabinet - Wednesday, 25th June, 2025 10.00 am

June 25, 2025 View on council website
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Summary

The Doncaster Council Cabinet met on 25 June 2025 and approved the receipt of additional Adult Skills Funding, and noted both the Q4 Finance and Performance Improvement Report, and the St. Leger Homes of Doncaster Limited Key Performance Indicators and Tenant Satisfaction Measures.

Adult Skills Fund Allocation

The Cabinet approved the receipt of an additional £640,000 in Adult Skills Fund (ASF) allocation for 2025/26, supplementing the existing £814,000. They also delegated authority to the Executive Director for Children, Young People and Families, Riana Nelson, to approve the detailed delivery plan for ASF 2025/26 and 2026/27, in consultation with Councillor Sue Farmer, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families.

Councillor Sue Farmer, Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, explained that the additional funding from the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA) would enhance the Adult Family and Community Learning Service, with new wraparound services and improvements across four key areas: Skills for Life, Creative & Digital, Family Wellbeing & Volunteering, and Sector Skills.

Finance and Performance Improvement Report

Mayor Ros Jones presented the 2024-25 Quarter 4 Finance and Performance Improvement Report, noting an improving but uncertain economic context. Inflation remained above the UK target, but local employment rates were strong. The council continued to focus on key priorities such as re-opening the airport and delivering the City Centre Strategy.

The outturn position at year end was balanced, with a net overspend of £1.1m funded from earmarked reserves. Key variances included:

  • A £7.6m overspend in Adults Social Care due to increased demand for care home places and supported living.
  • A £1.1m overspend in Corporate Resources related to homelessness, due to temporary accommodation costs.
  • One-off underspends of £7.2m within council-wide budgets, against contingency budgets.

The Cabinet approved the release of £2.70m of earmarked reserves in 2024/25 and the earmarking of £1.62m. The additional funding requirements identified since the approval of the 2025/26 budget included funding for Doncaster Culture & Leisure Trust (DCLT) to cover income loss from closures and additional site maintenance, as well as funding for a Local Plan review.

St. Leger Homes of Doncaster Limited (SLHD) Performance

Councillor Glyn Jones, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Environment, Housing and Safer Communities, presented the St. Leger Homes of Doncaster Ltd (SLHD) Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and Tenant Satisfaction Measures (TSMs) update for Quarter 4. Of the 40 KPIs agreed with the council, 17 were met or within agreed tolerances.

Key points from the report included:

  • Exceptional performance on KPI 1, percentage of current rent arrears against annual rent debit, with the target exceeded.
  • KPI 15 continued to exceed the target due to improvements in case management.
  • Areas of concern included KPIs 2 and 3, relating to rent loss on void properties and the time taken to let properties.
  • KPI 10 showed steady progress throughout the year, with the introduction of the one repair service showing positive early signs.
  • Tenant Satisfaction Measures showed further increases in all but one area.

Councillor Glyn Jones, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Environment, Housing and Safer Communities, noted that the quartile results were benchmarked with other housing associations and councils, and St Leger Homes had improved two of their quartile results from Quarter 2 to Quarter 1, demonstrating positive performance nationally.

The Cabinet acknowledged the ongoing work to improve the position regarding void properties and welcomed the improvements in the satisfaction survey results.

Decisions to be made in this meeting

Attendees

Profile image for Councillor Glyn Jones
Councillor Glyn Jones  Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Environment, Housing and Safer Communities •  Labour •  Hexthorpe and Balby North
Profile image for Councillor James Church
Councillor James Church  Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Public Health •  Labour •  Bentley
Profile image for Councillor Sue Farmer
Councillor Sue Farmer  Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families. •  Labour •  Balby South
Profile image for Councillor David Nevett
Councillor David Nevett  Cabinet Member for Adults, Wellbeing and Culture •  Labour •  Edenthorpe and Kirk Sandall

Topics

No topics have been identified for this meeting yet.