Agenda item

Report of the Corporate Director for Finance and Resources

Shabana Kausar, Head of Finance and Deputy S151 Officer presented a report which provided an update on the progress made against the Council’s Finance Improvement Plan at October 2023. The following information was highlighted:

a)  The Finance Improvement Plan (FIP) was set up to deliver a comprehensive and coordinated improvement of the Council’s financial management arrangements.

b)  Of the 232 clearly defined financial improvement actions identified as at the end of October 2023, 33% have been completed, 37% in progress, and 23% not started yet due to dependencies on other actions which are currently in progress. 5% are now classified as business as usual activities, and the remaining 2% are on hold due to dependencies on other activities and action.

a)  Overall, good progress is being made on the FIP considering capacity issues within the Finance Team. The Head of Finance outlined how resourcing has affected the delivery of the FIP including capacity issues to deliver the improvements and various restructuring which had been a longprocess.

b)  The Adult Social Care Improvement plan which has been developed by the service was discussed and how the Finance Team have assisted in shaping the financial improvement elements of it such as forecasting and assurance.

c)  A Financial accountabilities framework has been developed and the Council is in the process of consulting the Corporate Leadership Team and Human Resources to ascertain views before it is rolled out to services in the new year.

d)  The Establishment Control work commissioned to PWC is progressing as expected and is a key part of the HR improvement plan but has a clear link with the FIP. It is expected to go to Corporate Leadership Team for sign off in the coming months.

e)  The Council is experiencing significant pressures relating to increase in demand and complexity of need and costs of social care. At the end of Period 6, the Council is forecasting a net pressure of c£23 million with over 80% of the forecasted net pressure within People’s Services. Since July 2023 the Council has implemented a Financial Intervention Strategy intended to mitigate the Council’s in-year pressures.

f)  An update was provided on the Control Remediation Project which was completed by EY in September 2023. All 38 remediation activities identified have agreed controls in place. 68% have been fully implemented with 32% with implementation in progress.

During the discussion and in response to questions from the Committee, the following points were made:

g)  Purchase to pay, as part of the Controls Remediation Project will be implemented by April 2024.

h)  Resourcing has been challenging in regard to implementing the FIP due to vacancies and capacity issues.

i)  The Committee received clarification that the EY report was a 12 week focused controls and remediation project which sought to ensure that the Council establishes financial grip by designing, enhancing, and implementing a number of controls to help mitigate risks.

j)  Stronger compliance and adherence to rules is now becoming more evident, with the Council better understanding risk and the importance of good governance

k)  70% of the 232 actions are either active or complete showing that the Council is transitioning towards a financially controlled environment and that there is an appropriate and balanced focus on the improvements made.

l)  The Committee is pleased to see that RACI methodology has been adopted. A more comprehensive review will be brought back to a future Committee meeting but in summary it will set out clear responsibilities and financial accountability across the Organisation.

Resolved that:

1)  The Committee receive a further update on the adopted RACI methodology once the consultation period has ended and as part of a future FIP update; and

2)   the Committee note the progress to date on the Finance Improvement Plan and remediation controls project and that the Committee continue to receive regular updates on its progress.