Issue - meetings

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Mace)

Report of Corporate Director (Finance & Performance)

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Mace)

The Corporate Director (Finance and Performance) submitted a report informing Members about the release of further administration subsidy for 2009/10 from the Department for Work & Pensions and seeks authority for this income and future additional income earmarked for benefit purposes to be used solely for that purpose in the current or future years.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

Option 1 is to agree to the recommendations in the report which are in line with the Governments intentions for the use of the additional subsidy.  In effect, this would allow the additional subsidy to be used to fund additional expenditure on the benefits service (over and above that already budgeted).  For the current year, as an example, this would allow the service greater resources to help deal with the increasing caseload, to help maintain service standards.

Option 2 is to use the additional subsidy simply to fund existing budgeted expenditure on the benefits service.  For the current year, as an example, this would mean that service standards would deteriorate, in order to make some budget savings.  This would go against the purpose for which the subsidy was awarded, and may attract adverse comment from the DWP.

Option 1 is the officer preferred choice for the reasons stated above

It was moved by Councillor Mace and seconded by Councillor Langhorn:-

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

Members then voted:-

Resolved unanimously:

(1)         The additional unbudgeted administration subsidy totalling £66,947 notified to the Council under HB/CTB Circular S2 & S4/2009 be utilised in full to meet additional unbudgeted costs of benefits administration in the current and future years.

(2)       That Cabinet reaffirms its decision that future additional specific subsidies earmarked for meeting administrative costs in benefits be utilised in full solely for those purposes.

(3)       That the Head of Financial Services be given delegated authority to update the Revenue Budget accordingly.

(4)       That in principle any underspend of these additional specific subsidies in the financial year in which they are received be held in an earmarked reserve, subject to the outturn on benefits and its performance overall for that particular year, and this be built into the Council’s Provisions and Reserves Policy for subsequent approval by Council.

Note: Councillor Ashworth was not present for the vote.

Officers responsible for effecting the decision:

Corporate Director (Finance and Performance)

Head of Revenue Services

Head of Financial Services

Reasons for making the decision:

The decision will ensure that the monies received to meet the costs of benefits administration arising from the economic downturn will be used for the purposes for which they were given.