Agenda and minutes

Please note that this meeting may be filmed or recorded by the Council for live or subsequent broadcast via the Council’s internet site or by anyone attending the meeting using any communication method. Although we ask members of the public recording, filming or reporting on the meeting not to include the public seating areas, members of the public attending the meeting should be aware that we cannot guarantee that they will not be filmed or recorded by others attending the meeting. Members of the public participating in the meeting (e.g. making deputations, asking questions, making oral protests) should be aware that they are likely to be filmed, recorded or reported on. 

By entering the meeting room and using the public seating area, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

The chair of the meeting has the discretion to terminate or suspend filming or recording, if in his or her opinion continuation of the filming, recording or reporting would disrupt or prejudice the proceedings, infringe the rights of any individual or may lead to the breach of a legal obligation by the Council.

The Chair referred Members present to agenda Item 1 as shown on the agenda in respect of filming at this meeting, and Members noted the information contained therein’.

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Felicia Opoku, Cllr Sheila Peacock, Ali Amasyali and Helena Kania. 

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business (late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with as noted below).

None.

A Member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a prejudicial interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered:

(i) must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest

becomes apparent, and

(ii) may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter and must withdraw from the meeting room.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests or the subject of a pending notification must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal interests and prejudicial interest are

defined at Paragraphs 5-7 and Appendix A of the Members’ Code of Conduct.

Cllr Pippa Connor declared an interest by virtue of her membership of the Royal College of Nursing.

Cllr Pippa Connor declared an interest by virtue of her sister working as a GP in Tottenham.

Cllr Mary Mason declared an interest as a Trustee of the Bridge Renewal Trust.

To consider any requests received in accordance with Part 4, Section B, Paragraph 29 of the Council’s Constitution.

None.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting.

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as an accurate record.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 16^th November 2023 be approved as an accurate record.

To scrutinise the revenue and capital proposals relating to the 2024/25 Draft Budget and the Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2024/25 to 2028/29.

Appendix 1 – Key lines of enquiry for budget setting

Appendix 2 – Cabinet report – Budget and MTFS (5^th December 2023)

Appendix 3 - Q2 2023/24 position (Adults and Health)

Appendix 4 - New Revenue Growth Proposals (Adults and Health)

Appendix 5 - New Revenue Savings Proposals (Adults and Health)

Appendix 6 - Capital Budget Proposals (Adults and Health)

Neil Sinclair, Head of Finance (People), introduced the report for this item, reminding the Panel that some of the finance tables illustrated details for the whole of the Adults, Health and Communities service but that, where possible, the information provided focused on details relating only to the Panel’s remit which was mainly adult social care and health services.

Neil Sinclair explained that significant financial pressures were ongoing across the service and that an overspend of around £20m was forecast in the current financial year. This position would not be sustainable going forward and so planning to deal with these pressures was required, including addressing the rising costs of delivering services across adult social care. Significant savings had been identified to reduce the financial gap and the budget papers reflected the position so far, but further work would need to be undertaken to deliver a balanced budget. A review of the capital programme had also been undertaken but no new capital schemes for Adults and Health were put forward in the papers.

Cllr Lucia das Neves, Cabinet Member for Health, Social Care and Wellbeing, noted that she had recently attended a national care conference and that it was clear that pressures were being felt across the country in terms of delivering more services for more people, higher interest rates and the cost of living crisis but without the required reform or financial support from the government. In this context, an injection of funds had been provided in the Haringey budget to help stabilise the budget while being realistic about the challenges faced.

The Cabinet Member and officers then responded to questions from the Panel:

• Asked by Cllr Brennan for clarification on the new growth figures in the table on page 19 of the agenda pack and the wide variation in the figures for each year, Neil Sinclair explained that the 2024/25 adjustment represented the upfront rebalancing of the budget as previously described and would remain in place in subsequent years but the challenge in the years beyond 2024/25 would be to manage ongoing rising demand and cost pressures. This position could change over the medium term but represented their current best estimate of the funding required to manage future costs. The Panel noted that, as set out in paragraph 5.10 of the main report, a total of £25.5m of growth was being invested from 2024/25, including £20.4m for adult social care but that further savings were also required going forward. 
• Cllr Mason expressed concerns about the possible impact of future cost pressures on the quality of care as contracts were negotiated, also noting that many care sector staff were already underpaid. Neil Sinclair responded that, for example, domiciliary care contracts with providers would need to include uplifts to take into account national/London-wide requirements on the National/Living Wage. There was therefore a balance required between managing the market effectively and addressing the Council’s financial challenges. Cllr Mason accepted this but suggested that further information was required to reassure residents that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

To consider any additions or amendments to the Panel’s current work programme.

Dominic O’Brien, Scrutiny Officer, informed the Panel that the items scheduled for the next meeting on 22^nd February 2024 included an update on aids and adaptations and a Cabinet Member Questions session with room for one more item to be determined.

It was noted that modern slavery was an item to be scheduled for a future meeting and Cllr Mason proposed that Police training as this issue should be considered as part of this item. (ACTION)

·         22^nd February 2024

·         22^nd February 2024