Recommendations:
a) Note the latest position for the County Council’s 2020/21 Revenue Budget, as summarised in paragraph 2.1.2.
b) Note the position on the GWB (paragraphs 2.4.1 to 2.4.3)
c) Note the position on the ‘Strategic Capacity – Unallocated’ reserve (paragraphs 2.4.4 to 2.4.6)
d) Note the position on the County Council’s Treasury Management activities during the third quarter of 2020/21
e) Refer this report to the Audit Committee for their consideration as part of the overall monitoring arrangements for Treasury Management.
f) Extend the secured loan facility of up to £500k to Welcome to Yorkshire to 1 April 2022
g) If an extension is agreed, delegate authority to the Corporate Director for Strategic Resources and the Assistant Chief Executive (Legal & Democratic Services) to complete the necessary arrangements with Welcome to Yorkshire on existing terms.
h) Note the updated Q3 2020/21 Capital Plan; and
i) Note the additional funding requirement for the Kex Gill realignment scheme (paragraph 4.5).
Minutes:
Q3 Performance Monitoring and Budget report including: Revenue Plan; Capital Plan; Treasury Management and Prudential Indicators
Considered– A joint report ofthe Chief Executive and the Corporate Director for Strategic Resources, bringing together key aspects of the County Council’s performance on a quarterly basis.
County Councillor David Chance introduced the Quarter 3 performance report, confirming the Council continued to demonstrate good performance across all four of its ambitions. He provided a brief summary of the strengths and challenges in performance across the four ambitions. In particular, he highlighted:
· GCSE Results
· Low repeat referrals for children’s social care
· The final report arising from the Rural Commission, to be published in Spring
· The ongoing work of Stronger Communities, working with 23 community organisations around the county, helping an average of 2600 people a week
· The County Council’s approved plans to become a gateway organisation under the Governments Kickstart scheme, offering 33 placements for young people within the Council, and 205 within 46 partner organisations
· The number of staff working from home - 3,237 on average weekdays
· The reduction in mileage costs throughout the Covid period
· An increase in public satisfaction in Highways and transportation
· The ongoing challenge of supporting the recovery of local businesses
· The impact of Covid on voluntary organisations with concern mounting about their future - over a third had needed to use their financial reserves in order to survive
· 56% of permanent placements for older people were currently above the authority’s approved rates (87% in Harrogate)
· EHC Plans had increased to 3450 (a 13% increase from Qtr3 2020), with 145 new EHC Plans issued in the Quarter
· An increase in referrals from the Police (1780 in Qtr3 – up by 15%)
County Councillor Carl Les acknowledged the strong performance the County Council continued to deliver, and County Councillor Janet Sanderson introduced the in-depth focus of the performance report on ‘Every child & young person has the best possible start in life’. She drew particular attention to:
· The lack of Ofsted inspections and formal exams due to school closures, as part of the Covid-19 lockdown measures
· The challenge of keeping schools open to ensure all vulnerable children and those with complex needs continued to attend school
· Good attendance levels (85-90% of those children had attended each day)
· A rise in elected home education, with the offer of support provided by Early Help
· Full term and permanent exclusions reduced for a second Qtr running
· The increase in Police referrals, thought to be due to an increased awareness campaign run by the Police around safeguarding issues
· The timeliness of assessments
· Child Protection Plans remained stable with no spikes in demand but there was some concern around the level of second and subsequent Plans
· The anticipated rise in Looked After Children had not materialised
· A reduction in the number of dental checks was cause for concern – work would continue to lobby for good health and dental assessments
· 96.2% of Care Leavers were living in suitable accommodation – NYCC being the ... view the full minutes text for item 564