Item 11 Appendix 03
West Dunbartonshire Council · 20 December 2023
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 20 December 2023 and its agenda
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Appendix 3 – Detailed Political Saving Options 2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham/Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: CCF01 Saving Title West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust Management Fee Summary of Savings Proposal The 2023/24 management fee paid by the Council to WDLT was projected to be £4,218,951. This fee reflected the base 2022/23 fee adjusted for: • The impact of the 2022/23 pay award • 10% reduction agreed when the Council set its 2023/24 budget • Assumed 2023/24 pay award of 4% This is summarised in the table below £ 2022/23 Base Mgt Fee 4,161,077 2022/23 Pay Award* 318,389 Revised 2022/23 Mgt Fee 4,479,466 10% Reduction Agreed 1 March 2023 (447,946) Assumed 4% 2023/24 Pay Award* 187,431 2023/24 Management Fee 4,218,951** *Since the Trust was founded in 2012 the Council has underwritten uplifts in employee costs. The Trust is bound to honour Council terms and conditions for employees and also any nationally agreed pay increases for the local government workforce. ** The Management fee was further adjusted from the proposed amount above to account for closure of community facilities. The 23/24 fee as set out in formal offer letter to WDLT was £4,071,721. Only Napier Hall has been transferred and is now being leased to a community group. Glenhead will be transferred on 1 February There is therefore a requirement to continue to meet running costs in interim. It should also be noted that for 2023/24, the Council did not meet the uplift in utility costs for the Trust. As at 1 April 2023 the status of WDLT’s reserves is as follows
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£ General Reserves as at 31 March 2023 £1,530,409 Surplus Reserves as at 31 March 2023 610,956 Prudential Target (7.25% of total costs) (665,035) Available Reserves 1,476,330 Estimated Use in 2023/24 (882,755) Unearmarked Available Reserves 593,575 It can be seen that: 1. WDLT has a relatively high prudential target of 7.25% of total budgeted expenditure (as agreed by the WDLT Board in November 2021) 2. After adjusting for the prudential target and projected use of reserves in 23/24, WDLT would still have available reserves of £593,575 If the Council meets the uplift in utility fees for 24/25 this would increase the base management fee to £4,699,711, (this excludes the yet to be calculated impact of 23/24 pay increase. projected impact of 24/25 increase and anticipated pension benefit). Under this option, the management fee would be reduced. The fee reduction would be a set percentage, which for illustration purposes would equate to • 30% reduction – £1,409,916 • 20% reduction – £939,944 • 10% reduction – £469,972 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The Council has an SLA with the Trust around delivery of service. There is a risk that delivering savings results in a reduction of provision of services, facilities or staffing, and in turn this impacts on the community. This could be mitigated, in part, by the Board opting to use some of its reserves in 2024/25 including considering reducing their prudential reserves target. There is a small risk that the Leisure Trust would require to generate additional income and use to support activities.
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Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option 1 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 30% 1,409 0 1,409 0 1,409 0 20% 940 0 940 0 940 0 10% 470 0 470 0 470 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A It is for the Trust to ascertain how it would make the saving and therefore there is no currently known FTE impact. Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 834
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2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU08 Saving Title Reduce Management Time in Primary Schools Summary of Savings Proposal Primary school staffing formulas include management time as part of their basic staffing entitlement. This is calculated based on school roll. Promoted staff are entitled to non- teaching time to carry out management duties within the school. This is allocated based on the size of the school and make-up of the school leadership team and agreed through the Local Negotiating Committees for Teachers. In addition, staffing formulas allocate additional management time to most schools. This is calculated by a formula based on total classes and pupil numbers. In total, the FTE equivalent of additional management time across our schools is 24.91. This option would reduce the additional management time by 8 FTE posts, an average reduction of 0.25 FTE per school. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Reduced additional management time will impact on the organisation of classes in schools. Whilst the basic staffing entitlement is based on school roll, the availability of additional management time is required to support some school classification structures, in particular where composite classes are required. Senior teachers will have less time to fulfil management duties or meet the range of ad-hoc needs that arise during the school day, as there would be limited Senior Leadership availability due to teaching commitments. This would impact on the capacity in all primary schools to deliver the improvement agenda whilst also supporting the range of challenges our children and families face post pandemic in particular the support of our dysregulated children. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 0 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 304 5.3 456 8 456 8 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Note that the FTE Impact is an estimate – if the saving option is approved then the Chief Officer will assess the most effective way of delivering the saving target. Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 850
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2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU11 Saving Title Reduce General School Budgets Summary of Savings Proposal West Dunbartonshire’s 40 schools utilise approximately £800,000 in delegated school budgets (DMR) to fund 55 school service areas such as staff absence cover and learning and teaching resources such as paper, pencils, textbooks; health & safety resources; education activity expenditure; repairs and maintenance; fixtures and fittings; printing; and the maintenance of PE equipment. Under this proposal, a budget would be maintained for these services, with three options available for consideration: Option 1: budget of £720,000 retained (10% reduction) Option 2: budget of £760,000 retained (5% reduction) Option 3: budget of £780,000 retained (2.5% reduction) Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Head Teachers have identified that previous reductions in DMR budget as part of 2023/24 budget process means they have insufficient devolved budget to cover the costs for teaching staff absence, upkeep and maintenance of fixtures and fittings and provision of learning resources. This reduction would impact the budget utilised to address the needs of children, young people and families adversely affected by deprivation who require increased levels of support. The table below sets out the impact of the three options on a small, medium and large school’s DMR allocation. 23/24 Allocation After 2.5% Reduction After 5% Reduction After 10% Reduction Small £4,819 £4,699 £4,578 £4,337 Medium £7,093 £6,916 £6,738 £6,384 Large £9,282 £9,050 £8,818 £8,354 Saving (Cumulative) Option 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE
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1 80 0 80 0 80 0 2 40 0 40 0 40 0 3 20 0 20 0 20 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 851
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2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES07 Saving Title Christmas Office Closure Summary of Savings Proposal Under this proposal, the majority of Council office accommodation and depots would close over the Christmas period. Employees undertaking key statutory functions and essential services as identified by Chief Officers requiring access to office accommodation will retain access. There are two options to consider (3 day closure and 6 day closure). The exact closure days will vary year on year based on when weekends and bank holidays fall but, by means of illustration, the days over the next three financial years for each option are set out below: Option Period of Closure 24/25 25/26 26/27 Saving (£) 1 3 Days 27 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec 29 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec 29 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec £3,500 2 6 Days 23 Dec 24 Dec 27 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec 03 Jan 22 Dec 23 Dec 24 Dec 29 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec 22 Dec 23 Dec 24 Dec 29 Dec 30 Dec 31 Dec £7,000 Employees would be required to take the above dates as part of their annual leave entitlement with the exception of those carrying out functions that are required by statute or are essential during this period. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There would be no detrimental impact on the delivery of statutory functions or essential services as a result of this proposal. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE
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1 3.5 0 3.5 0 3.5 0 2 7 0 7 0 7 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 843
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2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR03 Saving Title Reduce Hybrid Committee Meeting Provision Summary of Savings Proposal The majority of the Council’s committee meetings are currently available on a hybrid basis, meaning they can be attended virtually as well as in person. When hybrid meetings were introduced during the Covid pandemic it was necessary to increase the number of committee officers to cope with the additional demands of the service. There are two options to consider: Option 1 – £25,000 - Retain hybrid meetings but in a reduced capacity. A fixed camera would be retained (focussed on the chair, lead officer and legal officer) but would not be operated by a Committee Officer. The Zoom system would still require an additional officer other than the committee officer taking the minutes to control the Zoom access during the meeting and operate the audio-cast recording. This would enable the Committee team to reduce its current establishment by 0.5 FTE. Option 2 - £41,000 - Committees would revert back to the pre-pandemic approach, with in person attendance only. This would enable the committee team to return to its existing establishment, removing one FTE post without impacting on the service. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Option 1 – This option would mean members and officers participating in the meeting from home will not be able to see every speaker but would still hear every speaker. This would have no impact on any equalities group as the hybrid service would continue to operate and members and officers could participate remotely. The additional committee officer is currently on a temporary contract which can be terminated or reduced at no cost to the Council. A decision on whether a part-time post (17.5 hours per week) should be added to the establishment permanently or deleted is required by the end of February 2024. Option 2 - This would remove the option of attending meetings remotely for those members who prefer to do so and, in particular, any members with a disability. This would also impact on the IJB meetings, in particular as they are attended by NHS members who do not reside in West Dunbartonshire. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE
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1 20.5 0.5 20.5 0.5 20.5 0.5 2 41 1 41 1 41 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 (deletion or reduction of temporary post) Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 855
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