Agenda, decisions and minutes

67.1

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Children and Families which outlined the proposal to introduce a more simplified system by which Care Leavers in Sheffield, aged between 18 and 21, could be supported to reduce their Council Tax liabilities.

67.2

RESOLVED UNAMIOUSLY: That the Finance and Performance Policy Committee:

1.    Approve the proposed change in approach to reducing Council Tax liabilities for Care Leavers Council Tax Exemption Scheme between the ages of 18 and 21 to take effect from 1st April 2025

2.    Approve the proposal to allow backdated applications to the start of the financial year in which the application is made (but no earlier than 1st April 2025)

3.    Agree to the clearing of current council tax arrears for Care Leavers.

4.    Agree that support for Care Leavers with a Council Tax Liability outside of the City be determined on a case-by-case basis based on the individuals’ circumstances

67.3

Reasons for Decision

67.3.1

The proposal to provide full Council Tax support to Care Leavers 18-22 is an excellent investment to improve the lives of Care Leavers giving them a strong start to adult life.

67.3.2

The approach will support young care leavers aspirations, growing independence and ability to deal with new financial responsibilities.

67.3.3

This has clear advantages in both the short and long term for the care leavers and the Council.

67.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

67.4.1

Provide full support until 25 years old - There are 104 care leaver accounts where the care leaver is aged between 22 and 25. The table below shows what the total net liability would be for this group once all statutory exemptions were applied to the accounts.

As for the 18-22 age group assuming similar numbers of Care Leavers in 2025/26, a 5% increase in Council Tax and paying the 15% precept to South Yorkshire Police and South Yorkshire Police and Fire the cost of fully supporting this age group would be c£147,000, Therefore, should the Council choose to offer support under the proposed scheme for all 18 to 25 year olds, then the overall cost would be c£242,000 for 2025/2026 This would have the same benefits as Option 1 and would provide support for longer. However, this may also increase the cliff edge for 25 year olds when statutory support from the Leaving Care service ends. It increases the overall cost to the local authority. The Leaving Care Service does not recommend this option be approved by Members

67.4.2

Provide full support to 18-22 year olds and graduated support until 25 years old -All LA’s who offer support to Care Leavers in relation to their Council Tax liabilities offer support to 18–21-year-olds, with some but not all, offering some support to 22- 25 year olds. One option considered would be to offer reduced support for this age group in order to provide some assistance but also to ready them for the move to a potential full charge when they become 25. The table below shows what this might look like for 2025/26 based on the assumption set out above regarding Council Tax increases and payments to precepting authorities.

This would provide the same benefits as Option 1to 18–21-year-olds and reduce the impact of responsibilities for young people as they “age out” of statutory support, allowing them greater time to adjust to this additional financial responsibility. However, this approach may increase the complexity of the offer to Care Leavers, which is something the recommended approach avoids, and it could increase administrative costs. The additional challenge is that after 21years, Care Leavers become increasing independent and young people choose to no longer receive ongoing individual support from the Leaving Care Service, therefore the opportunity to support young people to access and understand a graduated level of support will reduce. The Leaving Care Service does not recommend this option be approved by Members

67.4.3

No change to the current approach - By not changing the current approach the future cost of the scheme would not increase significantly, other than by the annual inflationary pressures of council tax increases. However, this approach has

• Already been criticised for not offering a clear, simple process of support to care levers

• Been shown to not offer the same support to all care leavers

• Been shown to be administratively burdensome and inefficient

• Been shown to create debt which is difficult to collect

For the above reasons the Leaving Care Service does not recommend this option be approved by Members.

68.1

68.2

The Finance and Performance Policy Committee considered a report of the Director of Finance and Commercial Services which included current, historic and comparator data for Outcome measures. In addition to measure data, the report included more detailed narratives provided by measure owners on strengths and challenges.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Finance and Performance Policy Committee: -

-       Note the Council Plan Outcomes Framework Q2 Report the measures that evidence our improvements and show distance travelled against each Council plan priority

-       Agree to continue to receive quarterly reports that provide an overview of performance against the Outcome measures, describing performance strengths, challenges, interventions taken, and the results of changes made

-       Consider, and ask all other policy committees to consider, if issues raised in this performance report should have further scrutiny through the scheduling of time on the appropriate committee work programme

68.3

Reasons for Decision

68.3.1

The Outcomes Framework underpins how we measure progress and monitor impact of the Council Plan. It is aligned to our four-year Medium Term Financial Strategy and the outcomes will increasingly become the focus for our budget, Directorate and Service Plans.

68.3.2

The Council Plan Outcomes Framework 2 performance provides measurable evidence of distance travelled against the Council Plan as part of a systematic process of robust corporate performance reporting.

68.3.3

To ensure that Finance & Performance Policy Committee contributes to the performance management process and drives improvement across the organisation.

68.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

68.4.1

Previous decisions made requires officers to proceed with implementing the full performance framework to underpin how we measure progress and monitor impact of the Council Plan. It is aligned to our four-year Medium Term Page 52 Financial Strategy and the outcomes will increasingly become enabling elements for our priority-based budget plans, Directorate and Service going forwards and set a key deliverable for the Council.

Beyond some nuance of how we implement some details of the framework, the measures, performance system and reporting cycles are agreed, removing the alternative options available for implementation of the framework.

69.1

The Finance and Performance Policy Committee considered a report of the Director of Finance and Commercial Services which outlined the progress to date in delivering a balanced budget for 2025/26. The report set out the current budget gap along with the associated assumptions, risks and opportunities to be considered in setting a balanced budget.

69.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Finance and Performance Policy Committee: -

1. Note the current budget gap stands at £1.7m for 2025/26.

2. Note the budget gap will likely change following the publication of the Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) on or before the 19th December 2024.

3. Note the pressures, savings and investments proposals set out in the closed appendix 1 of this report.

4. Note for consideration the ongoing budget assumptions, financial risks and opportunities set out in the report that will play a role in determining the future actions required to balance the 2025/26 budget.

69.3

Reasons for Decision

69.3.1

N/A

69.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

69.4.1

The Council is required by law to deliver a balance budget and therefore each Committee needs to delivery savings to achieve this. No alternatives have been considered at this stage.

70.1

The Finance and Performance Policy Committee considered a report of the Director of Finance and Commercial Services which outlined the progress in delivering a balanced budget for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for 2025/26. The report set out the current budget gap along with the associated assumptions, risks and opportunities to be considered in setting a balanced budget.

70.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Finance and Performance Policy Committee: -

1. Note the current budget gap stands at £6.7m for 2025/26.

2. Note the pressures, savings and investments proposals set out in the closed appendix 1 of this report.

3. Note for consideration the ongoing budget assumptions, financial risks and opportunities set out in the report that will play a role in determining the future actions required to balance the 2025/26 budget.

70.3

Reasons for Decision

70.3.1

N/A

70.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

70.4.1

The Council is required by law to deliver a balanced HRA budget and therefore we need to deliver savings to achieve this. No alternatives have been considered at this stage.

71.1

The Finance and Performance Policy Committee considered a report of the Director of Finance and Commercial Services which provided details of proposed changes to the existing Capital Programme as brought forward in Month 07 2024/25.

71.2

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That the Finance and Performance Policy Committee: -

1. That the Committee approve the proposed additions and variations to the Capital Programme listed in Appendix 1, Appendix 2, Appendix 3 and Appendix 4

2. That the Committee approve the proposed variation to the capital programme in Appendix 5 subject to a successful outcome to the bid for funding submitted to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority

3. That the delegate authority to the Executive Director of City Futures to accept the grant funding in relation to Attercliffe Waterside to subject to a successful outcome to the bid for funding submitted to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and finalisation of the terms and conditions

4. That the Committee delegate authority to the Executive Director of City Futures to approve the issuing of grant funding as identified in Appendix 7 subject to a successful outcome to the bid for funding submitted to South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and finalisation of the terms and conditions

71.3

Reasons for Decision

71.3.1

The proposed changes to the Capital programme will improve the services to the people of Sheffield.

71.4

Alternatives Considered and Rejected

71.4.1

A number of alternative courses of action are considered as part of the process undertaken by Officers before decisions are recommended to Members. The recommendations made to Members represent what Officers believe to be the best options available to the Council, in line with Council priorities, given the constraints on funding and the use to which funding is put within the Revenue Budget and the Capital Programme.