Agenda item

9.1

It was moved by Councillor Mike Levery, and seconded by Councillor Shaffaq Mohammed, that this Council:-

(a)      notes with concern several recent high-profile Section 114 notices, particularly in Birmingham;

(b)      notes that Government funding has squeezed councils’ budgets over recent years, although, as with Birmingham, in Sheffield there are other factors;

(c)      notes that of the £70m reserves set aside in 2021/22 to cover overspends and balance future budgets:-

(i)       the Co-Operative Executive, during the final year of the strong leader model, used £19.8m to cover the 21/22 budget overspend, and £15m to balance the 22/23 budget; and

(ii)       since then, under the committee system and no overall control, £5m was used to cover the 22/23 budget overspend, and no reserves were used to balance the 23/24 budget, leaving approximately £30m to cover future deficits;

(d)      believes that:-

(i)       had the spending profile of 21/22 been repeated in 22/23, the remaining reserves would have been exhausted; and

(ii)       this outcome would have forced the Council to draw on the £12.8m of un-earmarked reserves, which would have been insufficient to balance the Council’s budget for 23/24, and the Council would have been required to investigate further financial resources;

(e)      believes the introduction of the committee system and Liberal Democrat involvement has led to significantly improved financial management, as evidenced above;

(f)       however, there are Budget Improvement Plans (BIPs) not delivered within Policy Committee Budgets and notes in particular the:-

(i)       Education, Children and Families Committee, for which 55% of the Committee’s BIPs are not deliverable this year; and

(ii)       Housing Revenue Account, within which £3.1m of the account’s £19.7m savings are not deliverable this year, including £1.5m of savings improving void rent loss and £0.9m savings in disrepair management, despite a 23% increase in the repairs budget;

(g)      notes that construction inflation is compromising the Stock Increase Programme, and believes the Council must consider alternative approaches to increasing affordable housing, including closer work with Housing Associations; and

(h)      therefore, resolves that the Council implement:-

(i)       a relentless focus on delivering this year’s budget and BIP initiatives;

(ii)       a commitment for all budgets from the start of 2025/26 to include no undeliverable BIPs;

(iii)      a budget setting and BIP process that clearly identifies the quarter in 2024/25 that each BIP will impact, and the part year savings clearly identified if not at the start of the financial year; and

(iv)      a clear plan on how BIP savings will be delivered.

9.2

Whereupon, it was moved by Councillor Zahira Naz, and seconded by Councillor Mary Lea, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the addition of the following content at the end of paragraph (b) – “and in particular:-

(i)       notes that since 2010 Sheffield has suffered from 13 years of austerity from the Coalition and Conservative governments;

(ii)       notes that this Council’s funding has been cut by 29%, or £856 per resident in real terms since 2010, compared to the national average of 20% and £581 per resident; and

(iii)      believes government needs to step-up and provide fairer funding, and as a Council we should continue being vocal in our demands;

2.       the deletion of paragraph (c) and the addition of a new paragraph (c) as follows:-

(c)(i)   notes that the Council has always balanced its budget; and

(ii)       notes that the Co-Operative Executive, when developing proposals for 2022/23, faced immediate challenges brought about by the covid pandemic and what this Council believes to be the woeful government settlement, most acutely in social care;

3.       the deletion of paragraph (e) and the addition of a new paragraph (e) as follows:-

(e)      believes that the Council must spend every pound carefully, prudently and transparently;

4.       the deletion of paragraph (f) and the addition of a new paragraph (f) as follows:-

(f)       believes that all BIPs as part of the 2024/25 budget must be deliverable, and also:-

(i)       notes that the Medium-Term Financial Analysis (MTFA) highlights particular areas of pressure; high-cost placements for children in care, temporary accommodation, homelessness, and adult social care;

(ii)       notes that nationally more children than ever are in the care system and their outcomes are getting worse, believes that the Government needs to support them significantly better and reduce cost of care packages, and notes that locally we are already working to ensure that the right costs for placements are being met and high-cost placements are being reviewed;

(iii)      notes the continuing impact of the pandemic, with the high cost of care packages put in place during this time having a significant impact carrying into 2023/24; and

(iv)      believes that the homelessness support provided by Government is woefully inadequate, noting that the Council is spending nearly £6million to bridge the gap between the amount accommodation costs to procure and the amount recovered via housing benefit;

5.       the substitution of “2024/25” for “2025/26” in sub-paragraph (h)(ii). 

9.3

It was then moved by Councillor Douglas Johnson, and seconded by Councillor Angela Argenzio, as an amendment, that the Motion now submitted be amended by:-

1.       the addition, at the end of paragraph (c)(ii), of the words “and thanks officers throughout the Council for their work in addressing very challenging budgets”.

2.       the deletion of paragraph (d).

3.       the addition of a new paragraph (d) as follows:-

(d)      believes the committee system in No Overall Control has led to better and more robust decision-making;

4.       the substitution, in paragraph (e), of the words “the Council being in No Overall Control” for the words “Liberal Democrat involvement”.

5.       the deletion, in paragraph (f), of all the words after “Policy Committee Budgets”.

6.       the deletion of paragraph (h) and the addition of a new paragraph (h) as follows:-

(h)      looks forward to ongoing, cross-party budget monitoring and budget-setting over the course of this financial year.

9.4

After contributions from four other Members, and following a right of reply from Councillor Mike Levery, the amendment moved by Councillor Zahira Naz was put to the vote and was carried, but in part.  Parts 1, 2, 4 and 5 of the amendment were carried [Part 2 to be an additional paragraph, not a replacement paragraph], and Part 3 of the amendment was lost.

9.4.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 39 Members; AGAINST - 24 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 2 Members.  Although Liberal Democrat Group Members voted against, they voted for sub-paragraph (iii) of Part 1 of the amendment. Although Green Group Members voted for, they voted against Part 3 of the amendment and against that part of Part 2 of the amendment that proposed the deletion of paragraph (c).)

9.5

The amendment moved by Councillor Douglas Johnson was then put to the vote and was carried, but in part.  Parts 1, 2 and 5 of the amendment were carried, and Parts 3, 4 and 6 of the amendment were lost.

9.5.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 41 Members; AGAINST - 22 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 2 Members.  Although Labour Group Members voted for, they voted against Parts 3 and 4 of the amendment and abstained on Part 6 of the amendment. Although Liberal Democrat Group Members voted against, they voted for Part 1 of the amendment.)

9.6

The original Motion, as amended, was then put as a Substantive Motion in the following form and carried:-

RESOLVED: That this Council:-

(a)      notes with concern several recent high-profile Section 114 notices, particularly in Birmingham;

(b)      notes that Government funding has squeezed councils’ budgets over recent years, although, as with Birmingham, in Sheffield there are other factors, and in particular:-

(i)       notes that since 2010 Sheffield has suffered from 13 years of austerity from the Coalition and Conservative governments;

(ii)       notes that this Council’s funding has been cut by 29%, or £856 per resident in real terms since 2010, compared to the national average of 20% and £581 per resident; and

(iii)      believes government needs to step-up and provide fairer funding, and as a Council we should continue being vocal in our demands;

(c)      notes that of the £70m reserves set aside in 2021/22 to cover overspends and balance future budgets:-

(i)       the Co-Operative Executive, during the final year of the strong leader model, used £19.8m to cover the 21/22 budget overspend, and £15m to balance the 22/23 budget; and

(ii)       since then, under the committee system and no overall control, £5m was used to cover the 22/23 budget overspend, and no reserves were used to balance the 23/24 budget, leaving approximately £30m to cover future deficits, and thanks officers throughout the Council for their work in addressing very challenging budgets;

(d)(i)             notes that the Council has always balanced its budget; and

(ii)       notes that the Co-Operative Executive, when developing proposals for 2022/23, faced immediate challenges brought about by the covid pandemic and what this Council believes to be the woeful government settlement, most acutely in social care;

(e)      believes the introduction of the committee system and Liberal Democrat involvement has led to significantly improved financial management, as evidenced above;

(f)       believes that all BIPs as part of the 2024/25 budget must be deliverable, and also:-

(i)       notes that the Medium-Term Financial Analysis (MTFA) highlights particular areas of pressure; high-cost placements for children in care, temporary accommodation, homelessness, and adult social care;

(ii)       notes that nationally more children than ever are in the care system and their outcomes are getting worse, believes that the Government needs to support them significantly better and reduce cost of care packages, and notes that locally we are already working to ensure that the right costs for placements are being met and high-cost placements are being reviewed;

(iii)      notes the continuing impact of the pandemic, with the high cost of care packages put in place during this time having a significant impact carrying into 2023/24; and

(iv)      believes that the homelessness support provided by Government is woefully inadequate, noting that the Council is spending nearly £6million to bridge the gap between the amount accommodation costs to procure and the amount recovered via housing benefit;

(g)      notes that construction inflation is compromising the Stock Increase Programme, and believes the Council must consider alternative approaches to increasing affordable housing, including closer work with Housing Associations; and

(h)      therefore, resolves that the Council implement:-

(i)       a relentless focus on delivering this year’s budget and BIP initiatives;

(ii)       a commitment for all budgets from the start of 2024/25 to include no undeliverable BIPs;

(iii)      a budget setting and BIP process that clearly identifies the quarter in 2024/25 that each BIP will impact, and the part year savings clearly identified if not at the start of the financial year; and

(iv)      a clear plan on how BIP savings will be delivered.

9.6.1

(NOTE: The result of the vote was FOR - 33 Members; AGAINST - 30 Members; ABSTENTIONS – 2 Members.  Although Labour Group Members voted against, they voted for paragraphs (a), (b), (d), (f), (g) and (h) of the Substantive Motion. Although Liberal Democrat Group Members voted for, they voted against paragraphs (b)(i) and (ii), (d) and (f) of the Substantive Motion.)