Item 6 - General Services Budget Setting 2024/25 and 2025/26 to 2028/29 Budget Estimates (inc. App 1-3)
West Dunbartonshire Council · 6 March 2024
Back to West Dunbartonshire Council — 6 March 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
Page 1
WEST DUNBARTONSHIRE COUNCIL Report by Chief Officer - Resources Council: 6 March 2024 Subject: General Services Budget Setting 2024/25 and 2024/25 – 2028/29 Budget Estimates 1. PURPOSE 1.1 This report summarises the key issues relating to the revenue budget estimates and setting of Council Tax for 2024/25. It also provides budget estimates for 2025/26 to 2028/29. Within the report the mid-range estimates are noted, with the best case and worst case estimates summarised at paragraph 4.14.1. 1.2 To seek Members approval to set the General Services revenue and capital budgets for 2024/25 through approval of options to close the 2024/25 revenue budget gap. 2. RECOMMENDATIONS 2.1 Members are asked to: a) Give consideration to whether any of the £4.589m of Scottish Government funding provided as a contribution to the 2023/24 pay award should be passed through to the Health and Social Care Partnership. b) Approve the options set out in Appendix 2 to be used to set the General Services revenue budget for 2024/25 and assist with future projected budget gaps including consideration of proposed saving options and use of reserves. c) Note the management adjustments set out in Appendix 3 to be used to set the General Services revenue budget for 2024/25 and assist with future projected budget gaps. d) Agree the 2024/25 Council Tax rate. e) Approve the proposed updated capital plan set out in Appendix 5 from 2024/25. f) Approve the 2024/25 West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust management fee of £3,658,373 3. BACKGROUND 3.1 The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2024/25 was
Page 2
published on 21 December 2023. Initial analysis of the settlement by COSLA indicated that, on a national level, the settlement was a cash decrease of £62.7m when compared to the 2023/24 general revenue grant. This was less favourable than the previous assumption of a flat cash settlement reported to Council. Council was advised of this early analysis as a verbal update provided at the 20 December 2023 Council meeting. 3.2 After the publication of the provisional settlement there is a period of review where Directors of Finance across all Scottish Local Authorities can raise queries with the Scottish Government. This year the number of queries exceeded 100, which reflects the complexity of the settlement and the need for it to be closely scrutinised and checked. 3.3 A report to Council on 20 December 2023 reported an estimated 2024/25 budget gap of £16.970m in the mid-range and provided a range of options for Member consideration to close that gap. As a result of decisions made by Council to approve a number of these options, in addition to a range of management adjustments and agreeing to smooth the financial benefit generated by changes to the Strathclyde Pension Fund (SPF) employer contribution, the 2024/25, and future year mid-range budget gaps were reduced as set out in Exhibit 1. Exhibit 1: Mid-Range Budget Gap After 20/12/23 Council Meeting 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 20/12/23 Council Report 16,970 23,894 32,115 40,466 49,316 Saving Options Agreed 20/12/23 (1,352) (1,504) (1,504) (1,504) (1,504) Management Adjustments Reported 20/12/23 (973) (1,011) (1,011) (1,011) (1,011) SPF Contribution Benefit (5,332) (5,332) (5,332) (5,332) 0 Updated Cumulative Budget Gap 9,313 16,047 24,268 32,619 46,801 3.4 This position has been updated to reflect changes since 20 December 2023. The revised position is set out in the remainder of this report. 4. MAIN ISSUES 4.1 Scottish Government Settlement to Councils 2024/25 4.1.1 The Scottish Budget was announced by the Deputy First Minister on 19 December 2023 and the Local Government Finance Circular 08/2023 was published on 21 December 2023 providing detail of the provisional total revenue and capital funding allocations for 2024/25 (one year only). The provisional total funding allocations form the basis for the annual consultation between the Scottish Government and COSLA ahead of the Local Government Finance (Scotland) Order 2024 presented to the Scottish Parliament. The Finance Order was laid before Parliament on 7 February with Stages 1-3 between 8 February and 27 February with the Finance Order Debate taking place on 28 February.
Page 3
4.1.2 The Circular outlines that the Scottish Government will work in partnership with local government to implement the budget and the joint priorities in return for the full funding package worth £13.9 billion which includes: • £950.9m of funding now baselined into the General Revenue Grant, as part of the commitment under the Verity House Agreement to review ring-fenced funding • £230m to deliver the payment of £12 per hour minimum pay settlement for adult social care workers in commissioned services via agreed contract uplifts • £11.5m to support the uprating of Free Personal and Nursing Care rates • £6m to support the expansion of the Free School Meals policy • £6.8m for Discretionary Housing Payments • £145.5m to support additional teachers and support staff • £242m to support teacher pay uplifts • £266.2m to support local government pay. 4.1.3 The 2024/25 Scottish Government Draft Budget also provided £144m to fund a Council Tax freeze nationally. This funding is equivalent to a 5% net increase in Council Tax nationally. 2024/25 Scottish Government Funding for West Dunbartonshire Council 4.1.4 Officers have analysed the Scottish Government settlement to confirm the Council’s total 2024/25 funding compared to the funding made available in 2023/24 before adjusting for changes in funding which have associated commitments. This is summarised in Exhibit 2. 4.1.5 Exhibit 2 – Summary of 2024/25 Funding vs 2023/24 Funding £,000 2023/24 Revenue Support Grant as per Budget Book 216,826 Add Share of Kinship and Foster Care Funding 319 Add Share of Self Directed Support Funding 5 Add additional 2023/24 Local Government Employees Pay award funding 4,744 Add additional 2023/24 Teaching Pay award funding 3,635 Updated 2023/24 Projected Funding 225,529 Impact of Settlement on Income (1,584) 2024/25 Revenue Support Grant 223,945 4.1.6 As reported to Council on 20 December 2023 there is an estimated cost pressure of £1.5m due to the outcome of the 2020 valuation of the Teachers’ Pension Scheme resulting in an increase in the employer contribution rate, to take effect from 1 April 2024 to ensure that the scheme continues to meet present and future obligations. The UK Government has confirmed that it will provide additional funding to cover the rate increase for directly funded scheme employers (e.g. schools) in England and there should therefore be Barnett Consequentials that flow through to Scotland for this. The Scottish Government confirmed on 2 February 2024 that any funding associated with
Page 4
this will be passed onto Local Government. There is a risk that the funding quantum is insufficient or there is a shortfall due to the distribution formula, however, at this stage we are estimating that the additional cost of £1.5m will be fully funded. 4.2 Future Years Scottish Government Funding 4.2.1 Given the reduction in income to the Council in the 2024/25 settlement, it may be prudent to assume a funding reduction in the mid-range scenario for future years. However, there is a further estimated £45m of Barnett consequentials due to additional funding being made available to English councils and the UK’s Spring Budget may also impact on Scotland’s wider funding position. In a letter to COSLA on 8 February 2024 the Deputy First Minister stated: ‘when I have confirmation of consequentials and the net impact of the Spring Budget on our funding position, I will be in a position to confirm the approach to the approximate £45 million expected in consequentials resulting from the announcement of funding for councils in England. ‘ Given the uncertainty over the current 2024/25 funding positon, current assumptions, of flat cash have been retained in the best case and mid-range scenario and a 1% reduction in funding in the worst-case scenario. This assumption will be kept under review throughout 2024/25. In the event that no further general revenue funding is made available, it is likely a more pessimistic assumption will be adopted. 4.3 Council Tax 4.3.1 The Council Tax budget for 2023/24 was set at £40.254m. This included a 5% increase and a 0.5% growth in the Council Tax base. This is the starting position for 2024/25. 4.3.2 Throughout the year as the setting of Council Tax is subject to a political decision no assumptions were made about any increase in 2024/25 or future years. However a modest growth in the Council Tax base was assumed over the next five years. 4.3.3 The 2024/25 Scottish Government Draft Budget has made available £144m to fund a freeze in Council Tax across each of Scotland’s 32 local authorities. In a letter to COSLA dated 2 February 2024 the Deputy First Minister confirmed it is the Scottish Government’s intention to allocate the funding based on each council receiving the better for them locally as between two distributions we have examined: either a share equivalent to what they would expect to obtain from a 5% rise locally, net of the Council Tax Reduction Scheme reflecting the revenue a Council would actually collect; or, a distribution by council based on their share of gross national revenue. Based on this, the Council’s indicative allocation will be £2.219m. Exhibit 3
Page 5
sets out the estimated Council Tax income over the next five years assuming the Council accepts the funding for the Council Tax freeze (refer to paragraph 4.12.2 for further information) and making no assumptions over any future Council Tax increases Exhibit 3: Estimated Council Tax Income 2024/25-2028/29 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 Council Tax Income (before any increase) 40,254 40,254 40,254 40,254 40,254 Estimated Council Tax Base Growth 274 487 700 915 1,130 Council Tax Freeze Funding 2,219 2,219 2,219 2,219 2,219 Total Council Tax Income 42,747 42,960 43,173 43,388 43,603 4.4 Total Funding 4.4.1 Exhibit 4 summarises the total estimated funding over the next five years within the mid-range scenario. Exhibit 4: Estimated funding 2024/25-2028/29 Para 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 General Funding 4.1.5 223,945 223,945 223,945 223,945 223,945 Teacher’s Pension Contribution Increase 4.1.6 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 Council Tax Income 4.3.3 42,747 42,960 43,173 43,388 43,603 Total Funding 268,192 268,405 268,618 268,833 269,048 4.5 Base Budget 4.5.1 The base budget for 2024/25 starts off as the 2023/24 revenue budget of £265.160m and is then adjusted for the changes set out in the following paragraphs. 4.5.2 There are elements of Scottish Government funding that are provided as part of the settlement with the expectation they are used to deliver the service/policy intended. The base budget needs to be adjusted to reflect the additional costs of delivering on these funding commitments and the budget increase is limited to the funding. These commitments, or changes to previous commitments, are set out in Exhibit 5. Exhibit 5: Funding Commitments 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 HSCP Personal Nursing Care 109 109 109 109 109
Page 6
Adjustment for Self Directed Support (1) (1) (1) (1) (1) Reduction in Scottish Disability Allowance Funding (73) (73) (73) (73) (73) COUNCIL Reduction in Gaelic Specific grant (3) (3) (3) (3) (3) Increase in Pupil Equity Funding 8 8 8 8 8 Increase in Free School Meals Funding 74 74 74 74 74 Net Funding Commitments 114* 114 114 114 114 *Note the £114k of funding commitments creates an overall base budget adjustment of £423k as there was additional income in 2023/24 for Kinship and Foster Care which was formally notified as part of the 2024/25 settlement 4.5.3 There are a number of base budget adjustments required to reflect prior year decisions, one off costs in 2023/24, decisions taken at the 1 March 2023 Council meeting or in year issues already reported to Council. These are: • Modern apprenticeship funding of £250k per annum agreed by Council 9 March 2022 for four years, therefore removed from 2026/27 onwards. • Adjusting for historic assumption about ongoing recurring and procurement savings – it has been assumed no further savings will be made from 2025/26 onwards. (reported to Council 1 March 2023) • Adjusting for profiling of loss of rental income cost pressure (reported to Council 1 March 2023) • Council growth items approved at 1 March 2023 Council meeting • Adjusting to reflect a review of sundry services budget (reported to Council 28 June 2023) • Adjusting for erosion of PPP Sinking Fund (reported to Council 25 October 2023) • Adjusting to reflect 2023/24 LGE pay award (reported to Council 20 December 2023) • Adjusting to reflect 2023/24 Teachers pay award (reported to Council 20 December 2023) 4.5.4 In addition there are two new base budget adjustments. These are summarised below. 4.5.5 Base Budget Adjustment 1 - Net Zero Cooperation Agreement The Council’s climate change strategy and action plan sets out actions and objectives to move towards net zero. To progress toward delivering our net zero ambitions the Council is engaging with a neighbouring authority to introduce a collaborative agreement to share expertise, skills, resources and infrastructure. There will be a number of workstreams identified including development, design and delivery of key areas of activity including delivery of energy sustainability, transition to electric fleet, waste strategy and sustainable transport solutions. In addition to progressing toward compliance
Page 7
with our net zero requirements it is anticipated this will deliver financial savings to the Council. Whilst it is not possible to accurately estimate the net saving to the Council at the current time an estimate of £400k per annum has been made. This estimate will be kept under review through the Council’s normal financial monitoring processes and, if required, further budget adjustments will be reported to Council during 2024/25. A more detailed report on this will be considered by the Council’s IRED Committee on 21 February 2024. 4.5.6 Base Budget Adjustment 2 – Right size Dunbartonshire and Argyll and Bute Valuation Joint Board (DABVJB) Requisition During routine budget monitoring in 2023/24, it became apparent the budgeted requisition for the DABVJB did not include the Scottish Government Barclay review contribution of £50,000, which is received separately by the Council and paid over to the DABVJB as part of their total revenue requisition. The funding made available to the DABVJB was the appropriate amount, it is just the budgeted amount that was incorrect. This adjustment corrects that omission. 4.5.7 The revised base budget is shown in Exhibit 6. Exhibit 6: Revised Base Budget Para 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 Base Budget 4.5.1 265,160 265,160 265,160 265,160 265,160 Funding commitments 4.5.2 432 432 432 432 432 Modern apprenticeship scheme 4.5.3 0 0 (250) (250) (250) Recurring saving and procurement assumption 4.5.3 (600) (600) (600) (600) (600) Profiling of loss of rental income 4.5.3 (47) (47) (47) (47) (47) Profiling of March 2023 Council Growth Items 4.5.3 (60) (60) (180) (180) (180) Sundry Services Budget 4.5.3 (97) (97) (97) (97) (97) PPP Sinking Fund 4.5.3 758 758 758 758 758 23/24 LGE pay award 4.5.3 3,694 3,694 3,694 3,694 3,694 23/24 LGE Teachers pay award 4.5.3 3,670 3,670 3,670 3,670 3,670 Net Zero Cooperation 4.5.5 (400) (400) (400) (400) (400) Right size VJB Budget 4.5.6 50 50 50 50 50
Page 8
Revised Base Budget 272,559 272,559 272,189 272,189 272,189 4.6 Employee Costs 4.6.1 In terms of 2024/25 employee budgets, the expectation would be that the budget would reflect the 2023/24 budget plus any increase due to pay awards, incremental progression, and a small built in assumption of savings being generated through turnover. 4.6.2 The 2024/25 pay award has not been agreed yet and an estimate of 3% has been built into the budget in the mid-range (2% in best case and 4% in worst case). As the 2024/25 pay award, and any Scottish Government contribution toward meeting the cost of it, is not yet agreed there is a risk that it will differ from this estimate which may create a revenue cost pressure during 2024/25. Every 1% that the Council needs to fund above the assumed 3% would add a further £1.711m to the budget gap. 4.6.3 Exhibit 7 summarises the estimated changes to the employee budgets over the next five years for Council services. This includes an assumption that savings will be generated through turnover and a small increase year on year. The Council’s turnover target has been increased substantially in prior years and it is not considered viable for it to be increased further beyond this small increase. Exhibit 7: Estimated Employee Costs 2024/25-2028/29 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 Pay award 5,132 10,418 15,863 21,471 27,247 Increments 755 1,510 2,265 3,020 3,775 Turnover Saving Assumption (44) (88) (132) (176) (220) Total Employee Increases 5,843 11,840 17,996 24,315 30,802 4.7 Non-Pay Inflation 4.7.1 Inflation has been included in the 2024/25 budget estimates and in future year estimates where it is considered necessary to ensure budgets are adjusted to reflect expected increases in costs. An additional £0.500m annual general inflation has been built into the mid-range scenario (£0.250m in best case and £0.750m in worst case). 4.7.2 The overall additional budget requirement for non-pay inflation estimated over the next five years is summarised in Exhibit 8. Exhibit 8: Non Pay Inflation - 2024/25-2028/29 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 General Provision 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500
Page 9
Utilities – Gas 208 345 488 639 797 Utilities – Electricity 71 207 350 499 654 Utilities – Street Lighting 61 91 123 156 190 Non-Domestic Rates 22 44 66 88 110 ICT 32 64 96 128 160 Landfill Tax 12 24 36 48 60 Audit Fee 28 38 49 51 73 PPP Unitary Payment 470 745 1,026 1,313 1,606 Residential Care Costs 86 176 270 368 470 Increase in recharged income (76) (152) (228) (594) (960) Total 1,414 2,582 3,776 4,696 5,660 4.8 Cost Pressures 4.8.1 Services operate on the basis of having to contain any cost pressures within current resources wherever possible however that is not always achievable and it is necessary to ensure budgets are adjusted where necessary for unavoidable cost increases. 4.8.2 Cost pressures have been reported to Council over the course of 2023/24 as they have materialised. However there are five new cost pressures since the Finance Update reported to Council on 20 December 2023. Two of the five are material (in excess of £250k) and detailed in the paragraphs below. The other three are under £50,000 and summarised as: • £19k further reduction in Housing Benefit admin subsidy • £10k to meet statutory requirements for councils to support local communities to develop Local Place Plans. • £45k to provide budget to cover impact of changes to guidance on election pay rates for staff introduced by Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities in respect of the forthcoming UK general election and any other election /by-election which may be incurred by the Council. 4.8.3 Cost Pressure 1 – Education Cost Pressures A total of £1.538m of recurring costs needs to be added to the education budget in light of unavoidable cost pressures particularly within the budgets for residential and day placements. There are four primary reasons as set out in Exhibit 9. Exhibit 9: New Education Cost Pressures Area Reason (£,000) Residential Placements A post-COVID legacy has been an increase in the number of children requiring specialist educational services. The current caseload is 60% greater than the pre-pandemic figure. In addition the cost of increasingly specialist services has risen significantly. The average annual cost of a placement in 2023/24 is £294k compared to £225k in 2022/23 (increase of 31%). This increase partly reflects the decrease in the number of 696
Page 10
providers. Day Placements The number of children requiring day placements is significantly more than anticipated when creating the current budget. In addition the cost of such placements has also risen significantly – the average annual cost of a placement in 2023/24 is £41k compared to £32k in 2022/23 (increase of 28%) with some providers increasing their charges by significantly more. 613 Payments to other Councils for placements outwith West Dunbartonshire The cost of placements outwith West Dunbartonshire, often for specialist services (e.g. sensory impairment and complex learning needs), has increased significantly driven in part by pay awards and increased demand for services 121 Reduction in income from other Councils for placements in West Dunbartonshire Budgeted income from other local authorities placing children within the West Dunbartonshire schools estate is projected to be £108k adverse in 2023/24. This is not a direct corollary of the ‘Payments to other Councils cost pressure’ as West Dunbartonshire’s provision is not as highly specialised as some of the facilities we utilise outwith WDC. 108 Total 1,538 4.8.4 Cost Pressure 2 – Street Lighting / Traffic Lights The ongoing increases in electricity costs is creating an adverse variance in the 2023/24 budget for the cost of street lighting and traffic lights. An inflationary amount had already been built into future costs for street lighting however the costs have inflated at a rate beyond expectations when the inflationary increase was estimated. It is anticipated a further £260k will be required to be added to the budget in 2024/25. The estimated pressures for Council services are noted in Exhibit 10. Exhibit 10: Cost Pressures - 2024/25-2028/29 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 SEEMIS Membership Fees 2 4 6 8 10 Apprenticeship Levy 84 87 91 94 98 Impact of bank interest rate increases on loan charges 4,487 4,487 4,487 4,487 4,487 School Clothing Grants 115 115 115 115 115 School Transportation 415 415 415 415 415 Hosting Cloud Services 100 100 100 100 100 Reduction in Housing Benefit Admin Subsidy 49 59 69 79 89 2027/28 Local Government elections 0 0 0 200 0 Reduction in Housing Benefit Overpayment Recoveries 127 127 127 127 127
Page 11
Subsidy Insurance Costs 300 300 300 300 300 Local Development Plans 30 0 30 0 30 Secondary School Lets 111 111 111 111 111 Homeless furniture and fittings 150 150 150 150 150 Non-Domestic Rates Revaluation 460 617 1,520 1,710 1,710 Increase in Sustainable Rate for Early Years Providers 84 84 84 84 84 Homeless Recharges Income 41 41 41 41 41 W4U Income 61 61 61 61 61 School Meal Income 21 21 21 21 21 Expansion of Free School Meals to ASN Schools 21 21 21 21 21 Additional pay costs for West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust 208 423 644 872 1,106 Education Costs 1,538 1,538 1,538 1,538 1,538 Local Place Plans 10 10 0 0 0 Street Lighting and Traffic Light Electricity 260 260 260 260 260 Election Costs 45 45 45 45 45 Allowance for Unidentified Pressures 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 Totals 9,719 11,076 13,236 14,839 15,919 4.9 West Dunbartonshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) 4.9.1 The Council, at the budget meeting on 1 March 2023, agreed an HSCP requisition of £84.671m. In addition there was £1.697m passed through to the HSCP for Criminal Justice Partnership Funding. This resulted in an overall 2023/24 requisition to the HSCP of £86.368m Exhibit 11 sets out the adjustments made to the 20234/24 HSCP requisition during 2023/24 and the 2024/25 requisition after taking account of the impact of the settlement. Exhibit 11: In year adjustments to HSCP 2023/24 requisition and 2024/25 requisition £,000 Original Requisition 86,368 Adjustments in year Less Criminal Justice Specific Grant (now goes directly to HSCP) (1,634) Less Community Justice Transitional Funding (63) Scottish Recommended Allowance for Kinship & Foster Care (£16m) 319 Self Directed Support Transformation Funding (£0.176m) 5 Revised 2023/24 HSCP Requisition 84,995
Page 12
Adjust for reduction in share of Self-Directed Support (£0.176m) (1) Adjust for reduction in share of Kinship & Foster Care (£16m) (1) Adjustment for reduction in Scottish Disability Allowance (73) Share of Personal & Nursing Care for Elderly (£11.5m) 109 2024/25 HSCP Requisition 85,029 Note that the 2024/25 requisition does not include the HSCP’s share of the £230m, for adult social care workers, which is currently undistributed. It is estimated that the HSCP’s share of this will be £4m however that is still to be confirmed. This will have no effect on the Council’s budget positon as neither the income or associated expenditure has been included in the figures in this report. 4.9.2 There is an ongoing assumption that the Council’s allocation to the HSCP will be on the basis of ‘flat cash’ plus the appropriate share of the Health & Social Care funding commitments detailed in the Local Government Finance Circular (adjusting for any one off funding not recurring). 4.9.3 As reported to Council on 20 December 2023 the £4.589m of funding made available by the Scottish Government for the 2023/24 pay award was based on the total local government workforce. However, councils have autonomy to allocate funding based on local needs and priorities. Therefore, Council, when agreeing the 2024/25 budget, needs to decide whether a share of the funding for the 2023/24 pay award funding is passed through to the HSCP. There has been no assumption made in this report about any political decision in relation to this funding. Consequently the budget gap presented in this report has been calculated with 100% of the funding retained by the Council. The HSCP makes up 35% of the overall Council staff costs (excluding Teachers) so if the full share was to be passed on this would amount to £1.606m and the budget gap for 2024/25 will increase by the amount passed on. Note this is an increase of £0.184m on the figure reported to Council on 20 December 2023. The increase was due to a miscalculation of the split of staff costs (31% reported on 20 December 2023). 4.10 Budget Gap Prior to Measures to Balance Budget 4.10.1 The estimated budget gap prior to factoring in any potential options towards balancing the budget is summarised in Exhibit 12. Exhibit 12: Estimated Budget Gap Prior to Measures to Balance Budget Para 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 4.5.7 Revised Base Budget 272,559 272,559 272,189 272,189 272,189 4.6.3 Employee Cost 5,843 11,840 17,996 24,315 30,802
Page 13
Changes 4.7.2 Non-Pay Inflation 1,414 2,582 3,776 4,696 5,660 4.8.5 Cost Pressures 9,719 11,076 13,236 14,839 15,919 Total Expenditure 289,535 298,057 307,197 316,039 324,570 4.4.1 Total Funding 268,192 268,405 268,618 268,833 269,048 Budget Gap Cumulative 21,343 29,652 38,759 47,206 55,522 4.10.2 Exhibit 12 shows a 2024/25 budget gap prior to measures to balance the budget of £21.343m. 4.11 Measures to Balance the Budget – Previously Agreed 4.11.1 There are a number of measures to balance the budget which were either agreed by, or reported to previous Council meetings or via the Council’s Long Term Financial Strategy. These are summarised in Exhibit 13. Exhibit 13: Previously Agreed Measures to Balance Budget 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 Savings Options (Dec 2022) 1,023 1,165 1,165 1,165 1,165 Management Adjustments (Dec 2022) 268 457 457 457 457 Savings Options (Mar 2023) 683 708 708 708 708 Management Adjustments (Mar 2023) (212) (212) (212) (212) (212) Savings Options (Dec 2023) 1,352 1,504 1,504 1,504 1,504 Management Adjustments (Dec 2023) 973 1,011 1,011 1,011 1,011 Release of Benefit from Strathclyde Pension Contribution Reduction (Dec 2023) 5,332 5,332 5,332 5,332 0 Service Concessionary Recurring Savings 3,259 3,963 4,328 4,249 3,323 Assumed 4% increase in sales, fees and charges 329 671 1,026 1,396 1,783 Total Previously Agreed Savings 13,007 14,599 15,319 15,610 9,739 4.11.2 Exhibit 14 sets out the estimated budget gap after previously agreed measures. This shows that there is a further £8.336m of measures required to balance the 2024/25 budget. Exhibit 14: Budget Gap After Application of Previously Agreed Measures 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 Cumulative Budget Gap Before Previously Agreed Measures 21,343 29,652 38,759 47,206 55,522
Page 14
Previously Agreed Measures (13,007) (14,599) (15,319) (15,610) (9,739) Cumulative Budget Gap After Previously Agreed Measures 8,336 15,053 23,260 31,596 45,783 4.12 Measures to Balance the Budget – For Council Approval 4.12.1 There are a further range of options to assist Members to balance the 2024/25 budget. These options are set out in the following paragraphs and can be categorised as either: Recurring Options • Council Tax • Saving Options • Management Adjustments • Sales, Fees and Charges One Off Options • Permanent Use of Reserves • Temporary Use of ER/VER Reserve • Amending the Council’s Prudential Target Council Tax 4.12.2 The setting of Council Tax should happen on the same day as the Council sets its revenue budget as once all proposals are considered, Council Tax is the balancing figure. The budget gap shown in Exhibit 14 is based on acceptance of the Council Tax freeze with and accepting the £2.219m funding from the Scottish Government. In order to get to a balanced budget the Council has the option to reject the Council Tax freeze, reject the £2.219m of compensatory funding and increase Council Tax by a determined percentage. If the Council decided to reject the Council Tax freeze, a Council Tax increase could be agreed however it would need to be in excess of 5% if this was to be a mechanism adopted to help balance the budget. Each 1% increase in Council Tax would generate approximately £0.405m in income and increase the weekly bill to a Band D taxpayer by £0.27. Exhibit 15 sets out the impact that increases between 6% and 10% would have on the budget gap and on the weekly bill for a Band D taxpayer (assuming they are liable for the full Council Tax charge). Exhibit 15: Impact of Council Tax Increases on Revenue and Band D Weekly Bill CT Increase 6% 7% 8% 9% 10% Band D Weekly Bill Increase (£) 1.61 1.88 2.15 2.42 2.69 Revenue Generated (£m) 2.430 2.835 3.240 3.645 4.050 CT Freeze Funding Rejected (£m) (2.219) (2.219) (2.219) (2.219) (2.219) Net Revenue Benefit (£m) 0.211 0.616 1.021 1.426 1.831
Page 15
4.12.3 Saving Options – In addition to the options considered by Council on 20 December 2023, officers have identified a further range of saving options for member consideration. A number of the saving options submitted for member consideration have multiple options contained within them. The total value of the ‘higher value’ saving options is a recurring saving of £5.132m in 2024/25 rising to £8.033m in 2025/26 and £8.060m in future years. These options are summarised in Appendix 1 with full details of each option set out in Appendix 2. 4.12.4 Management Adjustments – Officers have also identified management adjustments which do not result in either potential redundancies or changes to policy and can be implemented without political approval. The total value of these management adjustments is a recurring saving of £1.082m in 2024/25 increasing to £1.122m in 2025/26 and £1.172m in future years. These options are summarised in Appendix 1 with full details of each option set out in Appendix 3. 4.12.5 Sales, Fees and Charges - The Council’s financial planning currently assumes a 4% annual increase in sales, fees and charges which will generate an estimated £0.329m in 2024/25. This assumption is already built into the 2024/25 budget gap. The Council may wish to consider an option to increase fees and charges by a higher percentage. Each further 1% increase in the Council’s fees and charges would generate approximately £0.082m in income. Permanent Use of Reserves 4.12.6 The Council has limited reserves and it is possible for Council to use these funds where no committed spend has been set, or where commitments could be reversed. All reserves have been reviewed to determine what could be released to help balance the 2024/25 budget and Exhibit 16 sets out that as much as £1.366m could be released. It should be noted this option is one-off in nature, will not help reduce future year budget gaps, and once these reserves are exhausted they would not be available for the purpose for which they were originally set aside. Exhibit 16: Potential Use of Reserves Reserve Purpose 24/25 CF (£,000) S95 Officer Comment Max Release (£,000) Cost of Living Revenue Fund -Committed Committed money to fund projects identified to tackle the impact of the cost of living crisis 1,294 There are two Cost of Living initiatives not currently using their committed sums at the rate originally anticipated. The Energy Support Fund was allocated £375,000 of which it is anticipated, at most, £50,000 will be paid out by the end of 2023/24. In January 2024 the Cost of Living Working Group agreed to relaunch this 258
Page 16
fund as the West Dunbartonshire Council Household Grant fund with amended eligibility to try and increase the reach of the fund to people in need of support. It is anticipated this will increase uptake of the fund however there is scope to release a portion of the unspent balance whilst retaining an adequate amount to ensure the relaunched fund can be adequately supported. A maximum of £118,000 could be released which would leave £150,000 available for grants. The School Meal Hardship Fund was allocated £240,000 (£60,000 per year) of which it is anticipated, at most, £10,000 will be paid out by the end of 2023/24. It is anticipated there will be further demands on this fund in years 2- 4, higher than the £10,000 in year 1 but it is not as much as £60,000 per annum. Based on this a maximum of £140,000 could be released which would leave £90,000 (£30,000 per annum) for the remaining 3 years of the fund. Cost of Living Revenue Fund –Not Committed Funding made available to provide assistance to tackle the cost of living crisis 174 Balance of uncommitted Cost of Living Revenue fund could be released. This would mean there is no balance left to fund any new Cost of Living initiatives. 174 Smoothing Fund To offset any savings not met due to implementation delays resulting in only a part year saving. 2,297 It would be prudent to retain a material balance of £2m in the smoothing fund as it will be required in future years for the purpose for which it was established. 297 Unearmarked Reserves To provide a degree of protection against unforeseen circumstances 6,278 This balance includes the Council’s Prudential Reserve of £5.641m leaving £637k as free reserves. 637 Total 1,366 Temporary Use of Early Severance/Voluntary Early Retirement Reserve (ES/VER Reserve) 4.12.7 As detailed at paragraph 4.2.1 there is a possibility of further funding being made available to the Council after the Scottish Government has considered the impact of the UK’s Spring Budget. As the letter to COSLA from the Deputy First Minister on 8 February 2024 (refer to paragraph 4.2.1) only commits to confirming an approach to the Barnett consequentials rather than to a distribution, if any, to councils it would not be prudent for any assumption of future funding to be built into the Council’s 2024/25 budget estimates.
Page 17
Council may wish to consider a temporary use of some of the projected balance as at 1 April 2024 of the Council’s ES/VER Reserve in order to help deliver a balanced budget and request a report be brought back to Council in June 2024 to provide an update on any allocation of those Barnett consequentials and for options to replenish the ES/VER Reserve. The ER/VER reserve currently has an estimated balance to carry forward into 2024/25 of £6.962m after accounting for the need to make a provision for possible redundancy costs in 2024/25. As the Council’s S95 Officer, my professional judgement is that the financial challenges faced by the Council are not expected to improve in the short to medium term. As such there is likely to be a need to further reduce the workforce in future years which will have associated redundancy costs. Therefore I am of the view this full reserve will be required over the next few years and therefore any use of it now should only be temporary and capped at £2.5m. Amending the Council’s Prudential Target 4.12.8 The Council has a policy of maintaining a Prudential reserve of 3% of net expenditure (excluding requisitions). The exact amount required to meet this target varies depending on the agreed expenditure budget however it is estimated to require £5.641m in 2024/25. Reducing the prudential target from the 3% to 2.5% would free up £0.940m which could be used to help balance the budget. It should be noted that Council agreed to increase the Prudential target from 2% to 3% on 20 December 2022 to provide the Council greater protection at a time of great financial uncertainty. Whilst current projections are that interest rates are stabilising, thus reducing some of that uncertainty, there is still volatility in things like the utilities market and uncertainty over inflation and local government pay awards continue to create pressure on revenue budgets. Furthermore the Council have had to draw on reserves in recent years due to overspends. Therefore it is the S95 Officer’s view that any reduction in the Council’s Prudential Target should not exceed 0.5% which would leave a policy of maintaining a Prudential reserve of 2.5% of net expenditure (excluding requisitions). 4.13 Budget Gap After Measures to Balance Budget 4.13.1 The budget gap after applying all the measures to balance the budget is summarised in Exhibit 17. Exhibit 17: Budget Gap After Measures to Balance Budget Para 2024/25 £000 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 4.11.2 Estimated Budget Gap Prior to New Measures to Balance Budget 8,336 15,053 23,260 31,596 45,783
Page 18
4.12.3 Saving Options for Approval (5,132) (8,033) (8,060) (8,060) (8,060) 4.12.4 Management Adjustments (1,082) (1,122) (1,172) (1,172) (1,172) 4.12.6 Use of Reserves (1,366) 0 0 0 0 Remaining Cumulative Budget Gap / (Surplus) prior to Considering Council Tax 756 5,898 14,028 22,364 36,551 4.13.2 Exhibit 17 demonstrates that if Members agreed to all the proposals noted within this report, at their highest values, and agree to use the full £1.366m of reserves then there is still a budget gap of £0.756m needing to be bridged 4.13.3 Options to bridge that remaining £0.756m include: • considering rejecting the Council Tax freeze funding and setting an increase in excess of 5% (paragraph 4.12.2) • a different increase to sales, fees and charges (paragraph 4.12.5) • further use of reserves including the temporary use and adjusting the Prudential target (paragraphs 4.12.7 – 4.12.8) It should be noted that, while there are a number of savings options built into these figures that Council may choose not to take, accepting them now will assist with the continued challenging position in future years, especially as use of reserves is one-off in nature and, therefore, only delays the need to identify longer term recurring savings. This is illustrated by the projected budget gaps in 2025/26 and beyond in Exhibit 18. 4.14 Balancing Future Years Budget 4.14.1 The estimated cumulative budget (surplus) / gap in the period 2025/26 to 2028/29, assuming all 2024/25 saving options are approved is summarised in Exhibit 18. Exhibit 18: Future Year Estimated Cumulative Budget Gaps Budget Gap 2025/26 £000 2026/27 £000 2027/28 £000 2028/29 £000 Best Case (1,662) 3,706 9,187 20,424 Mid-Range 5,898 14,028 22,364 36,551 Worst Case 13,056 26,017 39,296 58,545 4.15 Capital Plan Update 4.15.1 An update of the Council’s 10 year capital plan was approved by Council on 1 March 2023. As previously reported to Council the plan has been subject to a comprehensive review during 2023/24 to reprofile the anticipated spend on
Page 19
projects to better align them to expected timescales. 4.15.2 The updated Capital Plan has some changes to projects from the previous plan agreed in March 2023 due to projects coming to the end of their natural life and reprofiling of ongoing projects as a consequence of a formal review carried out during 2023/24. 4.15.3 There are two material changes to bring to member’s attention. West Bridgend Community Centre - This project has a total capital budget of £2.375m of which only £95,000 has been spent to date. It has been subject to previous Council consideration. An application in 2023 to the Regeneration Capital Grant Fund to help fund the project was unsuccessful. Given the current economic climate and reductions in the Council’s general capital funding the project needs to be considered against other priorities and whether it delivers value for money. The Council will continue to engage with the community group to support any future applications for external funding and will progress a tender exercise to ensure any funding application can be supported by current costing estimates. This will ensure that the project is shovel ready should funding become available at a future date. However, it is recommended that, in the meantime, the project be removed from the Council’s capital plan. The project has been removed from the draft revised capital plan at appendix 5 to this report but can be reinstated at a future date if appropriate. Bus Rapid Development - This was a £0.214m capital project to assist with social distancing measures required as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and was to be funded through grant funding from Sustrans. However this work is no longer required and the grant funding is no longer available so the project has been removed from the capital programme 4.15.4 In addition the following projects have been removed from the draft revised capital plan as they were completed during 2023/24: • Choices programme • Environmental Improvement Fund • Replace Elderly Care Homes and Day Care Centres • Replacement of Compactors at Dalmoak Civic Amenity Site • Upgrade Obsolete Heating Controls across Council Estate • Valuation Joint Board ICT Refresh 2022/23 4.15.4 There are four appendices to this report in relation to the capital plan. • Appendix 4 shows the forecast 2023/24 outturn • Appendix 5 shows the anticipated spend on projects (revised capital plan) • Appendix 6 shows the current resources available • Appendix 7 provides information linking the capital plan to the Council’s Asset Management Plans.
Page 20
The loan charges linked to the capital plan reflect the values within the draft budget book. There are no new projects proposed for 2024/25. 4.15.5 In terms of affordability of the proposed plan it is the view of the Council’s Senior Management Team that while the plan is affordable in 2024/25 assuming a balanced revenue budget is agreed it does create significant pressures on the revenue budget due to the cost of borrowing. However, it will have revenue implications for future years and these will require to be planned for in the normal manner through long-term financial strategies and budget planning processes. This may require the capital programme to be subject to further review in future if it is deemed to be placing an excessive pressure on the revenue budget. 4.16 West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust Management Fee 4.16.1 At the 7 February 2024, Corporate Services Committee a report was approved in relation to the West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust (WDLT) 2024/25 Business Plan. The plan was approved with a budget gap of £0.621m with WDLT planning on a one-off use of reserves to bridge the gap. The Committee agreed the draft WDLT management fee of £3,658,373 set out in the report should be included in this Council report to ensure it is considered as part of the 2024/25 revenue budget setting process. It is recommended that Council approve that management fee. 4.17 Growth Bids 4.17.1 Due to the scale of the financial challenges facing the Council in 2024/25 and beyond there was a strict approach taken to officer developed growth bids for this budget. Growth bids would only be considered if they were either cost neutral or ‘spend to save’ projects. There are no growth bids for member consideration as part of this budget report. 5. PEOPLE IMPLICATIONS 5.1 The potential staffing implications are shown within the savings options appended to this report and will be subject to consultation processes where appropriate and managed in accordance with the Council’s Switch Policy (Organisational Change). While the aim is to secure enough volunteers to allow achievement of agreed savings without delay, any shortfall in this area would necessitate progression to consideration of compulsory redundancy. A redundancy policy, including appropriate and equality proofed selection criteria, was agreed with the trade unions and approved by Corporate Services Committee in August 2023. 6. FINANCIAL AND PROCUREMENT IMPLICATIONS 6.1 The Financial implications arising from the budget process are detailed in the report and appendices. There are no specific procurement implications arising from this report. 7. RISK ANALYSIS
Page 21
7.1 Some of the capital plan projects have an assumption of match-funding and grant funding from Scottish Government and other agencies. There is a risk that some or all of these are not received. The business cases for these projects will require to be updated as funding becomes clearer and Members may be required to consider the financial affordability of continuing with the projects. The risk and impact of the saving options are detailed in the appendices. 8. EQUALITIES IMPACT ASSESSMENT (EIA) 8.1 All individual savings options have been screened and where relevant, impact assessed. The Equality Impact Assessments are appended to this report (Appendix 8) 9. CONSULTATION 9.1 The views of all Chief Officers have been requested on this report and feedback incorporated herein. Discussions on the issues herein have been undertaken with the Trade Unions and a summary copy of the saving options was provided to Trade Unions, political group leaders and the workforce in the week commencing 12 February 2024. 10. STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT 10.1 Proper budgetary control and sound financial practice are cornerstones of good governance and support Council and officers to pursue the four strategic priorities of the Council’s Strategic Plan. 10.2 The General Services revenue budget contributes to all categories by providing funding in specific areas to help the Council achieve and develop these priorities. Laurence Slavin Chief Officer - Resources Date: 21 February 2024 Person to Contact: Laurence Slavin, Chief Officer - Resources, Church Street Offices, Dumbarton E-mail: Appendices Appendix 1 – Summarised Saving Options and Management Adjustments Appendix 2 – Detailed Saving Options Appendix 3 – Detailed Management Adjustments Appendix 4 – Capital Plan – 2024/25 – Forecast Outturn Appendix 5 – Capital Plan – 2024/25 – Proposed Spend Appendix 6 – Capital Plan – 2024/25 – Proposed Resources Appendix 7 – Capital Plan – 2024/25 – Links to Asset Management Plans Appendix 8 – Equality Impact Assessments Background Papers
Page 22
Long Term Finance Strategy Report – 20 December 2023 Financial Update Report to Council - 20 December 2023 Financial Update Report to Council – 25 October 2023 Budget Conversation 2024/25 - Engagement Results– 25 October 2023 Financial Update Report to Council – 28 June 2023 Budget Report to Council – 01 March 2023
Page 23
Appendix 1 – Summarised Saving Options and Management Adjustments 2024/25 BUDGET SAVING OPTIONS 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Ref: CO Saving Option Saving (£,000) FTE Saving (£,000) FTE Saving (£,000) FTE CCF02 AG Reduce opening hours of Clydebank Town Hall 40 0 40 3 40 3 CCF03 AG Remove staffed Citizen Services Provision at Church Street 30 1 30 1 30 1 CCF04 AG Reduce or remove grant funding of Shopmobility 48 0 48 0 48 0 CCF05 AG Reduce or remove grant funding of Antonine 74 0 74 0 74 0 CCF06 AG Reduce investment in materials in library service 50 0 50 0 50 0 CCF11 AG Reduce financial commitment to the Highland Games 14 0 14 0 14 0 CCF15 WDLT Reduce West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust with community centres, pitches and pavilions transferred back to the Council 0 0 1177 0 1177 0 CCF19 AG Review core library staffing (outwith branch libraries) and remove one post 18 1 36 1 36 1 CCF20 AG Review menus in educational establishments to reduce waste whilst ensuring compliance with nutritional guidance 60 0 60 0 60 0 CCF21 AG Reduce Contact Centre establishment from 9 posts to 8 which would increase call wait times 15 1 30 1 30 1 CCF24 AG Reduce or remove the Community Budgeting fund reducing money available for community groups to bid for 53 0 53 0 53 0 CCF25 AG Reduce or remove the Community Engagement budget reducing the number of events supported 43 0 43 0 43 0
Page 24
CCF26 AG Review the Communities team reducing the delivery of community based services 87 2.6 117 2.6 117 2.6 EDU01 LM Reduce the School Clothing Grant for primary school pupils to the statutory level of £120 52 0 79 0 79 0 EDU02 LM Increased use of Pupil Equity Funding to pay for associated support service costs 70 0 70 0 70 0 EDU03 LM Reduction of Education Maintenance Allowance to statutory level 75 0 114 0 114 0 EDU05 LM Introduce Early Start Clubs at schools with associated fees for pupils not entitled to a free school meal 187 0 280 0 280 0 EDU09 LM Remove Out of School Care Service at St Eunan’s Primary School and Linnvale Primary School 29 2.5 43 2.5 43 2.5 EDU12 LM Reduce secondary school management time through reduction in Depute Head Teachers (based on school rolls) 0 0 54 3 81 3 EDU13 LM Remove 1 of 2 Education Officer posts responsible for quality assuring and monitoring the performance of West Dunbartonshire schools 75 1 75 1 75 1 EDU14 LM Reduce the number of ELC Early Stage Teachers from 16.4 FTE to 11.4 FTE across the entire ELC learning estate 219 5 328 5 328 5 EDU15 LM Reduce the number of Early Learning Childcare Posts from 223 FTE to 217 FTE across the entire ELC learning estate 134 6 201 6 201 6 EDU16 LM Remove ELC Lead Officer in Bellsmyre and Dalmonach ELC with remaining management team required to take over aspects of their remit 62 2 92 2 92 2 EDU17 LM Reduce the Collaborative Support Service from 251.6 FTE to 242 FTE by redesigning Services For Children, Young People and Families 310 9.6 310 9.6 310 9.6 EDU18 LM Reduce use of SMS text messages with schools communicating with parents using Groupcall. 10 0 10 0 10 0
Page 25
EDU20 LM Review the current flexibility in primary school classification and allocate class structures based on numerical information which aligns with statutory obligations. 400 7 600 10 600 10 HE01 PB Reduce or remove funding provided to West Dunbartonshire Citizen Advice Bureau 262 0 262 0 262 0 HE02 PB Reduce or remove funding provided to YSortIt 117 0 117 0 117 0 HE03 PB Reduce the funding provided to support the Modern Apprenticeship Pathway 60 0 60 0 60 0 HE04 PB Reduce the Working4U services which are paid for by the Council's general revenue grant - retaining those elements funded through external grants 341 11 455 11 455 11 HE06 PB Reduce or remove the general fund contribution to Lomond and Clyde Care and Repair Service leaving them the £446k of capital funding 81 0 81 0 81 0 PT04 VR Reduce pay preservation period to either 3, 6 or 12 months 33 0 33 0 33 0 PT10 VR Reduce occupational health provision to required statutory level 138 0 166 0 166 0 PT13 VR Reduce Corporate Administration Support team by between 1.7 and 6.1 FTE 190 6.1 190 6.1 190 6.1 RES01 LS Remove the Elderly Welfare Grant or remove half and donate the balance to elderly charities 110 0 120 0 120 0 RES02 LS Reduce or remove Voluntary Grant Funding 150 0 150 0 150 0 RES09 LS Reduce number of Council Officers from 3 to either 2 or 1 51 2 68 2 68 2 RN01 GM Review the provision of school crossing patrollers 57 6 114 6 114 6 RN02 GM Introduce charging for garden waste collection 180 0 360 0 360 0 RN03 GM Review or remove provision of footway gritting 64 4 128 4 128 4 RN04 GM Amend roads service activities to support education to statutory level 37 2 74 2 74 2
Page 26
RN06 GM Lease or close the 2 bowling clubs at Whitecrook and Goldenhill and transfer responsibility for 4 veteran bowling clubs to the club committees 50 2 101 2 101 2 RN07 GM Close Dalmuir golf course or reduce it to a to 12 hole course 22 5 106 5 106 5 RN08 GM Cease the provision of the Care of Gardens scheme 176 2 176 2 176 2 RN09 GM Review levels of street cleaning in residential estates, public parks and town centres 73 6 147 6 147 6 RN18 GM Reduce the Consultancy Services/Capital Investment Team by up to 50% 20 10 50 10 50 10 RN20 GM Review of park maintenance 181 10.5 363 10.5 363 10.5 RN21 GM Reduce the roads operations service from 29 FTE to 26 FTE which will reduce resilience in the team 80 3 140 3 140 3 RN22 GM Reduce maintenance costs through replacing 6 under utilised grass pitches with 3 new 4G pitches 10 2 50 2 50 2 RN23 GM Implement new approach to road defect repairs which will capitalise costs previously charged to revenue 200 0 200 0 200 0 RN25 GM Recharge WDLT for grass cutting and 4G pitch maintenance 96 0 96 0 96 0 RN26 GM Reduce weed killing from twice a year to once a year 50 0 50 0 50 0 RN27 GM Increase charges model for commercial waste collection or cease service provision 45 0 45 0 45 0 RR01 AD Remove £12,500 of Nightzone West funding provided to Police Scotland 12.5 0 12.5 0 12.5 0 RR08 AD Reduction in paralegal support to contracts and property section 90 2 90 2 90 2 TOTALS 5,132 112.3 8,033 121.3 8,060 121.3
Page 27
2024/25 MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENTS 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Ref: CO Saving Option Saving (£,000) FTE Saving (£,000) FTE Saving (£,000) FTE CCF16 AG Review Arts and Heritage service 24 0.5 24 0.5 24 0.4 HE05 PB Removal of general fund contribution to Housing Asset and Investment Team 50 0 50 0 50 0 PT08 VR Review compliance with Strategic Operating Model to identify areas where teams or posts can be merged 200 2 300 4 350 6 PT09 VR Restructure of Transactional Services to remove one vacant G10 post 30 1 30 1 30 1 RES06 LS Increased Council Tax on Second Homes 82 0 82 0 82 0 RES18 LS Remove Empty Property Relief for listed buildings 34 0 34 0 34 0 RES22 LS Remove vacant posts in asset management 99 2.1 99 2.1 99 2.1 RES23 LS Remove facility assistants at Aurora House bringing service in line with that provided at Clydebank Town Centre Office 54 0 54 0 54 0 RES25 LS Generate income from Levengrove Pavilion and associated land 63 0 63 0 63 0 RES26 LS Right size water authority income budget 25 0 25 0 25 0 RES27 LS Outsourcing management of retail assets 33 0 33 0 33 0 RR09 AD Transfer cost of solicitor support for the Council House Building programme to the HRA Capital budget 60 0 60 0 60 0 RR11 AD Remove vacant Contaminated Land Officer post 29.5 1 29.5 1 29.5 1 RR13 AD Reduce support to Planning and Building Standards by removing a vacant part time Technical Support Assistant post 15.5 0.5 15.5 0.5 15.5 0.5
Page 28
RR14 AD Remove a Service Co-ordinator in Environment Health team and invite two Service Co-ordinators to be interviewed for the Principal Environmental Health Officer post. The post is currently filled on acting up basis by one of the Service Co-ordinators. 68 1 68 1 68 1 RR15 AD Remove vacant Planning Compliance Officer post. The role has largely been subsumed into the workload of other officers. 30 1 30 1 30 1 RR16 AD Remove one of the three Building Standards Surveyor Posts (currently vacant) 53 1 53 1 53 1 RR17 AD Reduce hours of a solicitor from 5 days a week to 4 days a week (currently vacant) 12 0.2 12 0.2 12 0.2 RR18 AD Fund existing Grade 8 post from UK Towns Fund Support 60 0 60 0 60 0 RR19 AD Fund officer costs associated with Levelling Up from final year of Levelling Up Revenue Funding 60 0 0 0 0 0 TOTALS 1,082 10.3 1,122 12.3 1,172 14.2
Page 29
Appendix 2 – Detailed Saving Options 2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF02 Saving Title Reduce opening hours of Clydebank Town Hall Summary of Savings Proposal Clydebank Town Hall (CTH) is currently open to the public five days a week. High operational costs and low visitor numbers mean there is opportunity to make a saving by reviewing opening hours. Option 1 – CTH open three days a week (£40k) – CTH would continue to open on additional days as required to support booked events as the cost would be mitigated by the income generated. Access for elected members and support staff would be maintained on three week days. Option 2 - CTH open four days a week (£30k) - CTH would continue to open on additional days as required to support booked events. A review of usage and bookings would be undertaken to ascertain the most appropriate days for opening and closure. Access for elected members and support staff would be maintained on four week days. Option 3 - CTH operates five days with reduced hours daily (£27k) - CTH would open five days with reduced hours (for example 9am to 1pm or 1pm to 5pm). CTH would continue to open as required to support booked events as the cost would be mitigated by the income generated. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There will be engagement with current building users to identify the most suitable opening days/times and to publicise any change of opening. Elected members and support staff would continue to have access to the building three/four/five days a week with reduced hours with dates for committee and Council business protected. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 40 0 40 0 40 0 2 30 0 30 0 30 0 3 27 0 27 0 27 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 894
Page 30
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF03 Saving Title Citizen Services Provision at Church St Summary of Savings Proposal Citizen Services operates the Customer Contact Centre, Housing Repairs Contact Centre and provides a front of house service at Church Street. Under this proposal, two options are being considered: Option 1 - £30k – residents attending Church Street in person would access support by using free telephones currently provided in reception to call the contact centre or, in emergencies, contact the services directly. Option 2 - £15k – face to face support would continue to be provided on a part time basis (i.e. 0930 – 1300 daily), with residents able to use telephones in reception outwith these times. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is an expectation that Church Street offers face to face support, therefore a reduction to this offer carries a political and reputational risk. The number of residents presenting at Church Street, in particular those presenting in crisis, has increased in the last year. In addition, during extended opening hours introduced for children and families and social work services, employees from these services have noted demand for support from other areas. Many people are unable to access services online so maintaining alternative means of contacting the Council is important. The impact could be mitigated by providing part-time provision and the introduction of signage in Church Street to highlight alternative ways of contacting the Council including using freephones in reception area to call the contact centre or dial services directly in emergencies. There is a risk that residents would continue to attend in numbers as the building will remain open to the public from 8.30am to 5.30pm for social work. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 30 1 30 1 30 1 2 15 0.5 15 0.5 15 0.5 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 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: 886
Page 31
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF04 Saving Title Reduce or remove Shopmobility grant funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides £47,670 of grant support to Shopmobility who deliver a mobility scooter, manual and powered wheelchair service to residents from Clydebank Shopping Centre. Under this proposal, the current grant of £47,670 would reduce by between 25% and 100% Option Reduction (£) Remaining Grant (£) 1 – 25% reduction 11,917 35,753 2 – 50% reduction 23,835 23,835 3 – 75% reduction 35,753 11,917 4 – 100% reduction 47,670 0 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any reduction in service carries a political and reputational risk. Membership of Shopmobility costs £20 a year and the organisation relies on the Council funding to sustain its services. Reducing funding could impact on the future sustainability of the group. The impact could potentially be reduced if alternative funding streams could be identified. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 25% 12 0 12 0 12 0 50% 24 0 24 0 24 0 75% 36 0 36 0 36 0 100% 48 0 48 0 48 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 814
Page 32
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF05 Saving Title Reduce or remove Antonine grant funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides £74,156 of grant support to the Antonine Sports Centre, an independent charity which has offered access to sports and community facilities in Duntocher for over 30 years. The charity also receives a further benefit in that the Centre is leased to the organisation at a nominal rent of £5 per week (market rate would be circa £80k per annum). Under this proposal the grant (including £25,000 added as part of 2023/24 budget motion) would reduce by between 25% and 100%. Option Reduction (£) Remaining Grant (£) 1 – 25% reduction 18,539 55,617 2 – 50% reduction 37,078 37,078 3 – 75% reduction 55,617 18,539 4 – 100% reduction 74,156 0 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any reduction in funding may result in a reduction in the provision of sports and physical activity in the community of Duntocher and surrounding areas. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 25% 19 0 19 0 19 0 50% 37 0 37 0 37 0 75% 56 0 56 0 56 0 100% 74 0 74 0 74 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 813
Page 33
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF06 Saving Title Review library materials spend Summary of Savings Proposal Libraries encourage and support reading, personal development and wellbeing for all residents. The Council needs to ensure that an adequate range and balance of both physical and print materials is made available across the entire library network to meet statutory duties. Around £220,000 is spent each year on library materials including physical and digital resources for public lending use. This includes all physical and digital books and audio books, physical and digital newspapers and magazines as well as the suite of online learning and literacy resources provided by the service and the library management system. Following changes made to the library estate during the 2023/24 financial year, this option looks at reducing the budget for library materials by £50,000. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any reductions to the library offer in West Dunbartonshire carries political and reputational risk. A thorough review will be undertaken to identify where the spend can be rationalised across the eight physical community libraries, five school libraries and one mobile library to ensure best value, while ensuring that an adequate range and balance of materials is maintained. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 50 0 50 0 50 0 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: 885
Page 34
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF11 Saving Title Review Highland Games Spend Summary of Savings Proposal The Council provides a grant of £14,000 to support the provision of the Highland Games and spends approximately £24,000 on additional costs such as infrastructure and facilities for the event. This does not include staffing costs. In 2022/23, £27,000 in income was raised from the event through entry fees and selling trader pitches. The income is not guaranteed and is very much weather dependent given a percentage is derived from gate entry fees. In 2023/24, the income reduced to £19,000 with total incurred expenditure of £37,600 (excluding staffing). The income generated does not cover the Council’s total contribution to the event (i.e. grant funding plus additional costs) and the financial impact is greater when weather is inclement. The option proposes removing the £14,000 grant and directing the Highland Games committee towards WDCVS for assistance with applying for external funding or to seek sponsorship for the event. The event organising committee has successfully secured external funding in the past to partially support the event. The Council would continue to provide the infrastructure, facilities and staffing to run the event. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The Games is a well-established event and brings benefit to the local economy. There is a risk that if the Games Committee are unable to secure external funding from alternative sources the event would cease. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 14 0 14 0 14 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 927
Page 35
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: CCF15 Saving Title West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust Option Summary of Savings Proposal This option would mean WDLT retains the three leisure centres, with all community centres, pitches and pavilions being transferred back to be managed by the Council as part of the wider asset portfolio. Current estimates are that this would result in a reduction in the management fee of £1.177m from 2025/26 onwards Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is a risk this could result in a rationalisation of posts within a combination of WDLT and the Council however this cannot be quantified at the current time Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 0 0 1,177 TBC 1,177 TBC FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: TBC 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: 956
Page 36
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF19 Saving Title Review of library staffing Summary of Savings Proposal In recent years, savings have been taken from the libraries service as part of a service wide review. These were generated in the main from a restructure of the service to fully integrate with Citizen Services and reduce post numbers and a reduction in library opening hours.. Under this option, a review would be undertaken of the core library staffing outwith the branch libraries. This includes posts supporting co-ordination of library activities and co-ordination of the digital offer. The review would consider existing and possible alternative provision. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The option carries a political and reputational risk and would result in a reduction of posts by one FTE. The reduction would impact on the service being provided in libraries. This could be mitigated in part, dependent on the post, by looking at alternatives for delivery such as through another service or partners. Employees would be supported in line with Council policies including SWITCH. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 18 1 36 1 36 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 888
Page 37
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF20 Saving Title Review of menus and food purchases Summary of Savings Proposal The Council spends over £1.7million a year on food to provide healthy and nutritious meals across education establishments. Food costs for school meals have continued to rise over the last year and increased food waste is an issue which the service continues to work to reduce. Under this proposal, a review would be undertaken across the menus to minimise waste and reduce costs. For example, this could mean increasing the number of meat free days in the four week menu cycle, or replacing one of the hot vegetable sides with a salad option. All school menus would continue to meet national nutritional guidance and requirements. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is a risk that parents interpret any change as a reduction in service. This would be mitigated by providing clear messaging to parents and carers around the new menus, highlighting the nutritional benefit of school meals, the environmental benefits of a reduction in food waste and meat free meals, and reinforcing that all school menus would continue to meet national nutritional guidance and requirements. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 60 0 60 0 60 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 824
Page 38
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF21 Saving Title Review of Contact Centre Summary of Savings Proposal Currently Citizen Services operates the Customer Contact Centre, Housing Repairs Contact Centre and provides a front of house service at 16 Church Street. The Council recognises that for many people, their digital skills, literacy or deprivation can prevent them from accessing the internet and it is important to maintain alternative means of contacting the Council. Currently the Customer Contact Centre employs nine staff. Under this option, the contact centre provision would continue with eight members of staff, with work undertaken to promote alternative methods of contacting or reporting issues to the Council including via email, social media and via the website. This would generate a saving of circa £30k per annum. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is a risk that in spite of highlighting the digital first approach, residents’ behaviour does not change and contact centre wait times rise as a result. Each member of staff within the centre answers an average of 300 calls per week. Reduction in staff would reduce the calls answered by this amount and increase wait times beyond the current three minute response time target. At peak periods this would result in wait time of upwards of 45 minutes. A pre-recorded message could advise residents of the anticipated wait time and alternative access to services via the website. This option could present a reputational and political risk. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 15 1 30 1 30 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 887
Page 39
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF24 Saving Title Reduction to Community Budgeting fund Summary of Savings Proposal The Communities Team budget includes a controllable Payments to Other Bodies budget distributed to community groups through Participatory Budgeting (PB). In West Dunbartonshire this model of grant giving is called Community Budgeting (CB). CB is a well-established method of grant giving to support a range of community organisations. Over a number of years almost £1m has been distributed through participative methods to communities with 305 community groups benefiting. The Community Choices 1% Framework Agreement between COSLA and the Scottish Government requires the decision on how 1% of local authority annual budget should be spent to be taken by local residents. The recurring CB allocation (£53,404) contributes to the Council’s annual return. This savings option presents a reduction to the recurring CB grant of either 25% (£13,351) 50% (£26,702) 75% (£40,053) or 100% (£53,404). Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings CB has become a regular source of funding open to all constituted groups to bid for. It has allowed local people to engage with participatory budgeting and to direct spend to areas they feel are most in need. The process of applying for funding or voting for a preferred group has empowered people to become more active in their communities. Each option will reduce the number of groups or the value groups can bid for. This would impact the community in terms of project delivery / number of people engaged. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 13 0 13 0 13 0 2 27 0 27 0 27 0 3 40 0 40 0 40 0 4 53 0 53 0 53 0 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 914
Page 40
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF25 Saving Title Reduction to the Community Engagement Budget Summary of Savings Proposal The Communities Team budget includes a controllable element referred to as the Community Engagement budget. In 2023/24 this amounts to £43,000 and is being committed to a range of projects to support the community empowerment agenda. This option would see a saving from the recurring Community Engagement Budget of 25% (£10,750), 50% (£21,500), 75% (£32,250) or 100% (£43,000). Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings A reduction in the Community Engagement budget will reduce the number of groups or events that can be supported. This in turn will impact the individuals and communities the group supports. It will have an impact on the methods of engagement used by the team and would reduce the team’s capacity to reach those that have never engaged before including communities that are most deprived. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 11 0 11 0 11 0 2 22 0 22 0 22 0 3 32 0 32 0 32 0 4 43 0 43 0 43 0 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 913
Page 41
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF26 Saving Title Reduction to the Communities Team core budget Summary of Savings Proposal The Communities team encompasses communities, community planning (which has no staffing other than the manager) and youth learning. The team has 18.7 FTE employees. Under this proposal a review of the delivery model would be undertaken across all aspects of the service. The team budget consists of non-controllable / externally funded and controllable payments to other bodies. The savings option focuses on the controllable staff costs (£0.69m) and provides an option to reduce the budget by £117,000 (reduction of 2.6 posts) Impact and Risk Associated If approved, the Communities Team would deliver reduced community based services. The following services would potentially be impacted: • Community development including support for groups and community councils • Youth work including diversionary and education based • Participatory Budgeting • Community planning support. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 87 2.6 117 2.6 117 2.6 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 881
Page 42
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU01 Saving Title School Clothing Grant Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently pays a school clothing grant of £150 per eligible child per year to primary and secondary school pupils to support them with the cost of providing school uniform. The Scottish Government funding provision for this is £150 for secondary school pupils and £120 for primary school pupils. Therefore the Council is funding £30 for primary school pupils over and above the fully funded statutory requirement Under this option school clothing grant payments for eligible primary school pupils would be brought in line with the Scottish Government funding provision of £120 with the secondary school payments maintained at £150. This proposal will generate a full year saving of £79k. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This proposal means that families who are eligible will continue to receive support in line with what is offered in other local authority areas. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 52 0 79 0 79 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 903
Page 43
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU02 Saving Title PEF Funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) is allocated directly to schools to be used to help close the poverty-related attainment gap. Currently, the Scottish Government provide West Dunbartonshire Council with £3.38m PEF directly to schools, with a further £0.390m to the Council for looked-after children. Since 2021/22, 3.85% (£130,000) of the total £3.38m PEF funding received has been used centrally to provide posts in human resources and administration which support the aims of the fund. Under this proposal this could be increased by £70,000 to £200,000 per annum to more accurately reflect the incurred costs to provide administrative support. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any change to funding received by schools carries a political and reputational risk. Changes to allocation of PEF without consultation could lead to formal objections under the Headteachers’ Charter for School Empowerment as operational guidance for the funding states that head teachers must have access to the full amount of the allocated PEF. Authorities must demonstrate how PEF spending decisions have improved educational outcomes. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 70 0 70 0 70 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 902
Page 44
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU03 Saving Title Reduction of Education Maintenance Allowance to statutory level Summary of Savings Proposal Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) gives financial support to eligible 16-19 year olds who want to continue learning. The statutory amount for EMA is a weekly payment of £30, paid by the Council every two weeks in arrears. In addition the Council pays an additional £10 per week to any young person who has 100% attendance with Young Carers paid a further £10 per week. Under this proposal EMA payments would revert to the statutory level of £30 per week for everyone saving £114,000 per annum. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Eligible young people will continue to receive financial support while learning. This proposed change could impact upon attendance of young people staying on at school. While this proposal would bring the Council into line with other local authorities, it carries a political and reputational risk Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 75 0 114 0 114 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 898
Page 45
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU05 Saving Title Early Start Clubs Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently offers Breakfast Club in all primary schools to ensure no pupil starts the day without a meal. As use of the club is not means tested, many working families use the service for childcare in order to attend work. Under this proposal, free attendance at these clubs would be offered to any pupil eligible for Free School Meals, with other pupils welcome to attend for a fee. This would remove the current anomaly of individuals being charged £1 (reduced rate 50p for additional children) for breakfast, whether they qualify for a free meal or not. This currently generates £57k of income. It now costs £250,000 to staff and run breakfast clubs. Estimated breakfast club usage from August 2022 - March 2023 was 1,440 pupils. Income has been based on an assumption that the level of children attending who are not eligible for FSM would be around 10% of current uptake for a £6 a day charge, 20% for a £5 charge and 30% for a £4 a day charge, however this would have to be tested through consultation with parents. The table below sets out possible range of income that could be generated. Daily Charge % Uptake No Pupils Weekly Income Annual Income (39 weeks) £4 30% 432 £8,640 £336,960 £5 20% 288 £7,200 £280,800 £6 10% 144 £4,320 £168,480 It is recommended that a £4 per day charge is introduced and uptake is monitored. In the event that uptake falls below the 30% estimate the balance could be made up from the smoothing fund in 2024/25 and the budget adjusted to reflect actual uptake from 2025/26 onwards. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings A change to service provision in schools carries a political and reputational risk. It is expected that some parents could stop using the service when charges are introduced, and this could lead to some pupils not receiving breakfast at all. A reduction in uptake would impact on the potential income detailed above. There is also a risk that families do not use the paid-for club but send pupils to school grounds where they would be unsupervised until the start of the school day. A reduction in numbers attending could lead to a reduction in the number of staff required. This could be mitigated by some reconfiguration of learning assistant hours who could be contracted to work from 8am. Saving (Cumulative) (net of the £57,000 already generated)
Page 46
2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 187 0 280 0 280 0 Note that savings in year 1 are not the full year saving as it is intended this would be introduced for the new academic year after a period of consultation. FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 897
Page 47
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU09 Saving Title Out of School Care Service Summary of Savings Proposal Currently out of school care (OSC) services are provided at St Eunan’s Primary School and Linnvale Primary School. Approximately 10 children access this service every evening with the number attending varying across the week. The charge is £15.21 per child per session. Under this proposal the Out of School Care at Linnvale and St Eunan’s would close. At present staffing costs for five staff across the two OSC is £91,885.89 including on costs. Settings also receive £300 each towards resources per annum. The income the services generate is significantly less than that total expenditure. The Council is subsidising the service provision by £42,780. The council does not have a statutory duty to provide OSC. The option to maintain this provision and charge a fee to ensure breakeven was explored. With reduced staffing in line with the current attendance levels and in compliance with Care Inspectorate adult to child ratios the total cost of staffing (£72,730.52) and annual expenditure (£600) would be £73,330.52. For the service to break even based on the current attendance levels the rate per session would increase from £15.21 to £22.43, an increase of £7.22 per session (47%). This increased rate would make the service prohibitive to some, which could further lead to a drop in utilisation. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Closure of the service carries a political and reputational risk, but this can be somewhat mitigated by working closely with parents during the process. Employees would require to be redeployed to an alternative vacant post via the Council’s Switch policy. Staff consultation and deployment for the OSC workers could be offered within our ELC provision, if vacancies exist, as all staff are suitably qualified and registered with the SSSC. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 29 2.5 43 2.5 43 2.5 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 2.5 Note that the FTE Impact is an estimate. Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 904
Page 48
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU12 Saving Title Reduction in Secondary School Management Time Summary of Savings Proposal In secondary schools, the provision of Depute Head Teachers (DHT) is based upon school roll. At the last restructure it was agreed that the minimum allocation of DHTs would be three, irrespective of roll. An additional DHT is provided per every 250 young people on the school roll beyond 750. Under this option, the minimum allocation of three DHTs would be retained, but additional DHTs would be provided per every 300 young people on the school roll. Schools affected by this proposal would be Our Lady & St. Patrick’s High School, Clydebank High School and Vale of Leven Academy. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The increased qualifying number for an additional DHT would reduce the DHT headcount by three FTE. A reduction in the number of DHTs would impact on the management structures in place in schools, and involve reallocation management remits and tasks. With the introduction of PEF funding, secondary schools have introduced additional management posts, which may offset the impact of this saving up until 2026. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 0 0 54 3 81 3 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 2025/6 costs are pro-rata due to the academic year. Note that the saving is calculated on the uplift cost from a class teacher to a DHT. 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: 895
Page 49
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU13 Saving Title Reduce Education Development Team Summary of Savings Proposal Currently the Council employs two Education Officers centrally to monitor the quality of education provision across the authority’s 40 schools. Under this option, one Education Officer would be retained to deliver this service including the provision of leadership support for head teachers; dealing with parental complaints; engaging in liaison with national agencies; and leading local improvement priorities and workstreams. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings While one Education Officer would be maintained, this reduction will impact the workload and reduces the capacity of the school improvement service. A reduction in officers providing strategic direction and operational support to schools carries the risk of negative impact on WDC school performance. Staff in schools and ELCCs have varied levels of leadership skill and experience and reliance on them will impact on the ability to enact change and improvement in all schools. Saving (Cumulative) 2023/24 2024/25 2025/26 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 75 1 75 1 75 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 901
Page 50
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU14 Saving Title ELC Early Stages Teacher Summary of Savings Proposal West Dunbartonshire Council employs Early Stage Teachers to provide learning and teaching support in the 29 Early Learning and Childcare Centre (ELCC) settings as well as 11 partners. Currently there are 14.8FTE Early Stage Teachers in post, with 1.6FTE vacant posts. The Early Stages Teacher is peripatetic and therefore will not impact ratios within settings. Under this option, 11.4 FTE posts would be retained and learning support for pre- school children would continue. In addition to the Early Stage Teachers, 19 ELCC settings are located within a Primary School structure and have access to an additional teacher through this model as they are managed by a Head Teacher. Five settings linked to a Primary School also have a Principal Teacher Early Years and of the 10 standalone ELCC settings, five have an Excellence and Equity Lead who also supports. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The service currently operates with 14.8FTE due to 1.6FTE vacancies, therefore this represents a reduction in posts of 3.4FTE. Consultation with all of these Early Stages Teachers would be required and any displaced employees will be supported through the Council’s SWITCH process. A reduction in Early Stage Teacher posts could have an impact as those remaining in post would be required to support more settings, reducing the time they can spend in each. The first year saving (2024/2025) would be a part-year saving and the saving detailed is based on the 8 month period August – March. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 219 5 328 5 328 5 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1.6 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: 906
Page 51
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU 15 Saving Title Early Learning and Childcare Officer Posts Summary of Savings Proposal Currently within our 29 WDC ELCC settings there are just over 223 FTE Early Learning and Childcare Officers (ELCO), made up of 193FTE term-time contracts and 30FTE 52 week contracts. ELCOs provide learning and care for all children and typically take responsibility for a group of children, monitoring, tracking and evidencing their learning. Settings are staffed to reflect the registration number as provided by Care Inspectorate, however, actual occupancy levels are lower. There is an opportunity to delete six ELCO posts in settings where occupancy is lower than registration while continuing to comply with Care Inspectorate ratios. This will provide a saving of £201k. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Settings where an ELCO post has been removed could grow in occupancy however lower occupancy patterns have been measured over time and deployment of staff from other settings where occupancy levels have lowered could overcome this challenge. This can be further mitigated by retaining additional ELCO posts to facilitate growth of occupancy and support absence. The first year saving (2024/2025) would be a part-year saving and the saving detailed is based on the 8 month period August – March. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 134 6 201 6 201 6 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 6 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: 907
Page 52
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU16 Saving Title ELC Lead Officer Post Summary of Savings Proposal Currently the management structure within the Council’s ELC settings can consist of posts including Head Teacher or Principal Officer; Lead Officer and Senior Practitioner. Some settings also have a supernumerary Excellence and Equity Lead. In settings registered by the Care Inspectorate for 100 or more children, an additional Lead Officer is appointed. This is the case in both Bellsmyre ELC and Dalmonach ELC however both rolls are significantly lower at 80 and 84 children respectively at the busiest times of the year. Under this proposal, the management structure would revert to one Lead Officer in both Bellsmyre ELC and Dalmonach ELC with children continued to be supported by a Lead Officer, Principal Officer and a Senior Practitioner. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Each setting operates in term-time and short days, meaning there is no requirement for additional management to cover annual leave or extended day shift patterns. Both Lead posts at Bellsmyre are permanent posts whereas one of the Lead Posts at Dalmonach is currently filled in an interim capacity. The reduction of one member of the management team could impact the workload of those remaining in post. The first year saving (2024/2025) would be a part-year saving and the saving detailed is based on the 8 month period August – March. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 62 2 92 2 92 2 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 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: 908
Page 53
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU17 Saving Title Review Services for Children, Young People and Families Summary of Savings Proposal Pupils in educational settings across West Dunbartonshire can receive additional support through the Collaborative Support Service (CSS) and the Interrupted Learner Service (ILS). CSS works collaboratively with staff, Educational Psychologists and Health and Social Care partners to provide the additional support, training and capacity building required to help children overcome barriers to attainment and achievement. In addition, they support statutory functions of providing support to Hearing and Visually impaired children and young people. ILS supports young people most at risk of missing out for whom accessing mainstream or specialist settings is not suitable. The ILS consists of teachers, learning assistants, pupil, and family support workers who engage in supporting emotional wellbeing, core subjects to gain basic qualifications and support to access wider achievement opportunities in a range of community based settings. Under these options, pupils would continue to access these services and receive support from 227 Grade 3 learning assistants and 116 Grade 4 learning assistants (a reduction of 7 FTE or 1 FTE). In addition, CSS pupils would also benefit from 4FTE teachers, a deputy head teacher and a principal teacher (a reduction of 1.6 FTE). In ILS, pupils would benefit from 4FTE teachers (reduction of 1FTE). Option 1 – reduction of 9.6 FTE in teaching and support staff Option 2 – reduction of 3.6 FTE in teaching and support staff Impact and Risk Associated Almost all WDC pupils with additional support needs are educated within mainstream schools and require significant collaborative planning to ensure they are as well supported as possible. Both services will continue to be available to support pupils though a reduction in staffing will put pressure on in-demand services. This is likely to result in increased waiting times for support and increased numbers of parental complaints. Reduction in ILS will mean less resource available to support those disengaged from school in accessing their right to an education increasing the risk of vulnerable learners leaving education with limited qualifications or achievements. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 310 9.6 310 9.6 310 9.6 2 190 3.6 190 3.6 190 3.6 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 3.6 (note that if option 1 is taken the balance will be delivered through not filling temporary posts on a permanent basis) Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 899
Page 54
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU18 Saving Title School SMS Text Messages Summary of Savings Proposal Schools are able to make contact parents using a number of different forms of communication, including SMS text messaging. Under this option, schools would continue to contact parents via SMS text message in urgent situations. All other communication would move to free or lower cost methods including email or ‘expressions’ app. Reducing the volume of SMS text messages sent out would save approximately £10,000 per annum. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings It is possible that parents are unable to or do not download the Expressions app and therefore miss out on communications from the school however this risk is minimised by urgent communications continuing to be issued by text. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 10 0 10 0 10 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 896
Page 55
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION - SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Laura Mason Saving Ref: EDU20 Saving Title Optimising Primary Class Sizes Summary of Savings Proposal The number of teachers in West Dunbartonshire primary schools is allocated annually based on the maximum number of children permitted in each year group. This model adheres with national regulations on maximum class sizes and is a statutory requirement. The current class size maxima are as follows: P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 25 30 30 33 33 33 33 Currently schools have the flexibility to reserve space across classes up to the maximum class sizes, as well as consider wider school context when agreeing the number of classes at each primary school age. Under this option, class sizes would be optimised with configurations and the annual staffing exercise based on exact pupil numbers without reserved space. Core teaching staff required to deliver the curriculum would be maintained. Using class configuration data from 2023/24 session and removing reserved class spaces per year group P1 – P7 across the primary sector would reduce the number of teachers needed in primary by 7 teachers in Year 1, 10 teachers in Year 2 and 10 teachers in Year 3. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any changes to teacher numbers would be subject to national scrutiny and carry a reputational and political risk. Class sizes maximums are statutory and councils are required to take account of these regulations as well as the national agreement in teachers' terms and conditions of service on class size maxima. If mid-year enrolments occur and no space is available in the catchment school, the Council could incur travel costs sending children and young people to the closest available school. Consultation would be required with Teaching and Non-Teaching Unions, as well as with the workforce. There is an expectation from Scottish Government to maintain teacher numbers at the 22/23 level and reductions could impact funding. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 400 7 600 10 600 10 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: 909
Page 56
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE01 Saving Title Reduce or remove funding to West Dunbartonshire CAB Summary of Savings Proposal West Dunbartonshire Citizens Advice Bureau (WDCAB) receives funding from the Council of £261,853 per annum. This option is to reduce that funding in a range between 25% and 100% as set out in the table below: Option Reduction Remaining Grant 1 – 25% reduction £65,463 £196,389 2 – 50% reduction £130,927 £130,926 3 – 75% reduction £196,390 £65,463 4 – 100% reduction £261,583 £0 Note that, in addition to the £261,583, WDCAB also receive £40,000k per annum from the Dumbarton Common Good Fund. This is not affected by this saving option. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings WDCAB provides support for debt and benefit advice and consumer rights. This grant and service delivery is based on an existing service agreement. WDCAB receives funding from other sources (£219,000 from Citizens Advice Scotland). As such, WDCAB is not totally reliant on the Council for funding. Any change in the level of grant funding is likely to lead to a reduction in services from defined locations and outreach. This reduced service will be accompanied by a greater emphasis on the use of ICT, telephone and online services. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 25% 65 0 65 0 65 0 50% 131 0 131 0 131 0 75% 196 0 196 0 196 0 100% 262 0 262 0 262 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No:804
Page 57
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE02 Saving Title Reduce or remove funding to Y Sort-It Summary of Savings Proposal Y Sort-It receives funding from the Council of £117,093 per annum. This option is to reduce that funding in a range between 25% and 100% as set out in the table below: Option Reduction Remaining Grant 1 – 25% reduction £29,273 £87,820 2 – 50% reduction £58,547 £58,457 3 – 75% reduction £87,820 £29,273 4 – 100% reduction £117,093 £0 Note: The funding identified does not include the award of £39,000 awarded from the cost of living working group as transitional support. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Y Sort-It engages with young people in a variety of ways, including the provision of issue-based workshops, personal development, group work, support to achieve accreditation, and assist the development of healthy lifestyles and facilitate participation in community projects. Y-Sort-It receives further funding from the Council and HSCP from WDC Education Services and WDC HSCP. This amounts to approximately £82,000 based on the audited 2023 Y Sort-It financial statements. The impact of any reduction will be felt by service users and the number of young people supported will be reduced in proportion to the scale of reduction in funding.. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 25% 29 0 29 0 29 0 50% 59 0 59 0 59 0 75% 88 0 88 0 88 0 100% 117 0 117 0 117 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: YES EIA No: 803
Page 58
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE03 Saving Title Apprenticeship Pathway Modern Apprenticeship Summary of Savings Proposal In March 2022 the Council agreed to invest £250k per year over four years to fund the salary costs for young people to take up apprenticeships within West Dunbartonshire Council and beyond. The fund is used to meet the salary costs for new apprentices. The £250,000 is funded by £200,000 from the Council’s general revenue budget and £50,000 awarded through the Cost of Living group. The total number of apprentices that can currently be supported using the available funding is 30. There are three options to consider in relation to the £200,000 funded from the Council’s general revenue budget. Option Reduction in Funding (%) Reduction in Funding (£) Number of Apprentices Still Supported 1 10 £20,000 27 2 20 £40,000 24 3 30 £60,000 21 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Saving: Under all three options, the Council will continue to support new apprentices. A reduction will lessen capacity to deliver in-work progression and future workforce development meaning fewer young people having access to good quality employment opportunities. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 20 0 20 0 20 0 2 40 0 40 0 40 0 3 60 0 60 0 60 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 805
Page 59
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE04 Saving Title Review of Welfare Rights and Adult Learning Services Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Working4U is a non-statutory service offering residents in West Dunbartonshire a range of financial, employability and learning support. Working4U’s budget consists of non-controllable (i.e. direct grant awards) and controllable costs. Working4U has a total complement of 73.8 FTEs which breaks down as follows: • 22 FTE funded by the Council for activities which are controllable staff costs spent on areas such as welfare rights, money advice and adult learning services • 14 FTE funded by the Council for activities which are non-controllable staff costs spent on areas such as securing and compliance with external funding, managing external funding resources and meeting statutory requirements, including the Local Child Poverty Action Plan and Community Learning and Development (CLD) Plan. • 37.8 FTE funded by external bodies for areas where the funding would need to be returned if the activity was not carried out. This option focuses on the £910,000 for the 22 FTE of controllable staff costs that fund welfare rights, money advice and adult learning services. There are four options for consideration. The table below summarises the two options including the percentage reductions for each option in terms of • the total reduction in Working4U (i.e. the % of the total resource of 73.8 FTE) • the reduction in the Council controllable staff costs of £910,000. Option Reduction in FTE Full Year Saving (£) Remaining FTE (including externally funded posts) Remaining FTE funded by WDC % Reduction in Council Controllable Costs % Reduction in Total W4U Resource 1 5 227,000 68.8 31 25% 5% 2 11 455,000 62.8 25 50% 15% Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Option 1: This will require voluntary redundancy. There may be scope to transfer some of
Page 60
these posts into externally funded employability posts but these are different jobs, with specific funding criteria and not the continued delivery of welfare rights or adult learning. Option 2: This will require a full consultation and create a need for voluntary severance and potentially compulsory redundancy. This will reduce service delivery of Adult Learning and Welfare Rights and result in reduced staff capacity to deliver apprenticeship programmes, access to training and reduce capacity to develop and deliver the CLD Plan and CLD Quality standards. There will be reduced frontline capacity to provide general welfare rights and learning and training services beyond activities determined permissible by external funders. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 170 5 227 5 227 5 2 341 11 455 11 455 11 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 806
Page 61
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE06 Saving Title Lomond and Clyde Care and Repair Service Funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Private Sector Housing Grant (PSHG) budget of £527,000 is funded via: • £446,000 - Scottish Government capital funding • £81,000 from the Council’s general fund. The full budget is utilised as follows: £,000 WDC Staff and Admin 52 Grants to fund private home owners capital works 240 Grant to Lomond and Clyde Care and Repair (LCC&R) (see below) 245 Total 527 The £245,000 paid to LCC&R covers staff and operational costs. LCC&R provides support to private home owners to help them apply for grant funding via the Council for medical adaptations or essential repairs. They also provide other support services to residents such as property maintenance advice, a minor repair service and arranging architects and contractor estimates for grant applicable works. There are two options to consider: Option 1 - reduce funding by £40,000 retaining £41,000 of funding. Option 2 - remove the full general fund contribution of £81,000. . Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The proposed budget reductions will impact on LCC&R employees but how they manage this would be for LCC&R to determine. The reduction in funding may impact on potentially vulnerable private home owners that require administrative and application support for disability adaptations, essential home repairs to meet tolerable standard. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 40 0 40 0 40 0 2 81 0 81 0 81 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No.825
Page 62
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Victoria Rogers Saving Ref: PT04 Saving Title Reduce pay preservation Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently protects eligible employees’ contractual pay on a cash conserved basis for up to 24 months, subject to criteria being satisfied. Under this proposal the current level of pay preservation could be reduced (from 24 months) to 12, 6 or 3 months. An assessment of the level of impact such a change will have for the organisation and employees (using data for the five year period 1 January 2018 to 13 January 2023) indicates that: Option 1 – Reducing pay preservation to 12 months could reduce costs by £14,000 Option 2 – Reducing pay preservation to 6 months could reduce costs by £25,700 Option 3 – Reducing pay preservation to 3 months could reduce costs by £33,000 It is difficult to forecast the actual cost reduction for the Council in future years as it depends on the number of employees eligible for pay preservation. It is worthy of note that numbers are expected to increase over the coming years as more employees are displaced and require to be matched to roles not commensurate with their substantive grade. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any such change to policy may have an adverse impact on morale, productivity and turnover and thereby impact service delivery. The Council’s offering in this area is beyond that offered by many other councils and while some have removed protection entirely, the proposal seeks to retain a more sustainable element. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 14 0 14 0 14 0 2 26 0 26 0 26 0 3 33 0 33 0 33 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 685
Page 63
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION –SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Victoria Rogers Saving Ref: PT10 Saving Title Reducing the Occupational Health Budget Summary of Savings Proposal The Council provides a range of occupational health services to employees which exceed statutory requirements. This proposal presents four options: *The Council would retain some statutory ill health retirement services, health surveillance and long-term absence referrals and ensure compliance with statutory requirements. Employees would be able to access provision of other services through the NHS via their GP. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Reducing or removing the Occupational Health budget will mean employees would access professional medical advice including counselling and physiotherapy provision via the NHS routes i.e., online or via their GP. The council has some additional free routes to access counselling via Vivup (6 x 30 minute sessions) and Maximus (for up to 9 months) and these routes will be promoted alongside all relevant linked external organisation supports but when this ends, employees would need to go through the NHS/GPs. The risk is this impacts on absence levels and may impact on recruitment and retention. Saving* (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 15 0 18.5 0 18.5 0 2 31 0 37.5 0 37.5 0 3 47 0 56 0 56 0 4 138 0 166 0 166 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A *Note that savings in year 1 are reduced by circa 2 months as the appointments scheduled in advance would need to be honoured before withdrawing service. Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 801
Page 64
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Victoria Rogers Saving Ref: PT13 Saving Title CAS Team Reductions Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Corporate Administration Support (CAS) team carries out administrative functions across all Council services to ensure consistency. The team currently has a workforce of 86.15 FTE plus 5.3FTE vacant posts (total budgeted 91.45FTE). Under this proposal, three options are available for consideration: Option 1: Retain 89.75 FTE (remove 1.7 FTE) saving £53,000 - This would remove CAS support for all service-related banking tasks, cease support for Corporate Purchase Card including ordering and reviewing transactions. Given the services will be placing the orders themselves, they will need to review and identify a separate approver. It would also remove note taking support at stage 2 people policy related meetings and only support at Stage 3. Option 2: Retain 87.85 FTE (remove 3.6 FTE) saving £112,000 - In addition to the impacts highlighted in option 1 this would remove all CAS note and minute taking support for all meetings with only final stage people policy related (potential dismissal) meetings supported. Removal of all CAS support relating to customer satisfaction data and production/completion of monthly/bi-monthly satisfaction surveys (Regulatory/Environmental Health etc) and removal of CAS monitoring/ maintenance of Figtree Health and Safety data which moves data management and action completion updates back to service. Option 3: Retain 85.45 FTE (remove 6 FTE) saving £190,000 - In addition to the impacts highlighted in options 1 and 2 this will remove CAS support for WeBuy Orders and CAS support with the Freedom of Information process, reverting all actions back to the services. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The impact of each option detailed above will result in the work reverting to the substantive service and likely to managers already under pressure to do more with less. Many of the tasks will require the services to self-serve, likely to result in more costly employees doing traditional admin / clerical work. Option 1 is the most manageable and will result in less pressure on services. However, the removal of note taking support will particularly impact Facilities Management. Option 2 will add to the impact from option 1 by requiring additional tasks to be
Page 65
undertaken by officers in Regulatory, Environmental Health and Health and Safety teams. It will also impact all services that CAS currently support in note taking. Option 3 will add to the impact from options 1 and 2 and has the most significant impact and reduction of 6FTE from the team. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 53 1.7 53 1.7 53 1.7 2 112 3.6 112 3.6 112 3.6 3 190 6 190 6 190 6 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: - see note below Whilst savings here are reflected as FTE, employees with a permanent contact will not be impacted. Dependent on the option selected, savings would be delivered from a mix of vacant posts and temporary increase or fixed term posts that can be terminated because of reduced funding. Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 809
Page 66
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES01 Saving Title Remove Elderly Welfare Grant Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently offers £15 per year in Elderly Welfare Grants to all West Dunbartonshire residents over the age of 67. The annual budget for this grant is £110,000. Individuals have the option to have funding paid to themselves or allocated to a group they are involved with for use for a social event. Last year approximately £84,000 was paid to individuals and groups. Administration of this fund involves significant manual intervention for a range of services. Officers must verify applications, pay £15 to each applicant, and manage discrepancies including failed bank transfers. The Council relies on individuals to update personal records. When information is not kept up to date it can lead to a significant additional workload. In addition to £110,000 saving, a further £10,000 could be saved from year two on costs associated with issuing remittance advice to each individual. This £10,000 saving would not be realised in year one as the Council would require to notify in writing those currently in receipt of the grant that it is no longer available. There are two options for this proposal. Option 1 – Cease payment of these grants with a percentage of the saving redirected to an external body to support charities who focus on supporting the elderly. For the purposes of this template a 50% redirection has been costed however there would be flexibility to consider a different percentage. Option 2 – Cease payment of these grants with none of the saving redirected. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed SavingsNo material risk to service delivery however there would be some reputational risk. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 55 0 60 0 60 0 2 110 0 120 0 120 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No:948
Page 67
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES02 Saving Title Reduce or Remove Voluntary Grant Funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently supports various community groups via West Dunbartonshire Community & Volunteering Services who administer Voluntary Grant funding on behalf of the Council of up to £150k per annum. This funding covers social transport (£100k), play schemes and running costs (£50k). An annual report is brought to Corporate Services Committee on the allocation of the grant funding. The table sets out the 2022/23 spend. Total Available (£) Total Allocated (£) Total Unallocated (£) % Allocated % Unallocated Social Transport 100,000 58,550 41,450 59% 41% Play Schemes and Running Costs 50,000 45,000 5,000 90% 10% Total 150,000 103,550 46,450 69% 31% In terms of the 2023/24 spend, the position as at January 2024, is that • Social Transport - £55k of the £100k spent. WDCVS anticipate an underspend (not currently quantified) • Play schemes - £34k of the £50k spent. WDCVS expect to fully spend the balance Under this proposal, the current grant provided to WDCVS would reduce by between 25% and 100%. Option Reduction Remaining Grant 1 – 25% reduction £37,500 £112,500 2 – 50% reduction £75,000 £75,000 3 – 75% reduction £112,500 £37,500 4 – 100% reduction £150,000 £0 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Reduced funding to voluntary groups could have an impact on the groups and the services they provide to the community.
Page 68
Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 37.5 0 37.5 0 37.5 0 2 75 0 75 0 75 0 3 112.5 0 112.5 0 112.5 0 4 150 0 150 0 150 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 946
Page 69
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES09 Saving Title Review of Council Officers Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s team of Council Officers has a workforce of 3 (2.6 FTE). The team provides a caretaking and customer focused support service in the Council’s corporate buildings which includes: • Security and key holding duties including out of hours call-outs. • Caretaking and general janitorial duties. • Waste disposal • Mail Room duties. • Providing security presence at Council meetings. • Set up of Civic Space. • Manual handling duties. • Reception service. • Minor repairs to fixtures and fittings. • Health & Safety duties • Flag flying. • Relief cover for Courier as required. • Cover at other offices if required. • Provision of driving and civic duties for the Provost and Elected Members. There are three options to consider in relation to this saving. Option 1 - continue to operate with a workforce of 2 employees equating to 1.6 FTE working on a shift basis. This will generate an annual revenue saving of £34,000. Option 2 - continue to operate with a workforce of 1 employees equating to 0.6 FTE working on a shift basis. This will generate an annual revenue saving of £68,000. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Option 1: minimal impact on service delivery but no resilience available for holiday and sickness cover. Cover would also not be available for courier, other offices or provision of driving and civic duties for the Provost and Elected Members which may mean costs are incurred if cover needs to be provide by other services. Cover unlikely for Council meetings for security purposes during leave/sickness period and Democratic Services would need to manage this in this event. Option 2: limited service would be available. None of the following would be provided. • Waste disposal • Reception service • Minor repairs to fixtures and fittings. • Health & Safety duties. • Relief cover for Courier as required.
Page 70
• Cover at other offices if required. • Provision of driving and civic duties for the Provost and Elected Members. There would be a cost impact on Roads & Neighbourhood, Citizen, Culture and Facilities and Regulatory & Regeneration to provide cover for those services. This option would also result in limited use of the civic space by internal and external users due to the set up for Committee/Council requiring to remain static. This may impact on income generation. Cover unlikely for Council meetings for security purposes and Democratic Services would need to manage this in this event. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 26 1 34 1 34 1 2 51 2 68 2 68 2 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 759
Page 71
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN01 Saving Title School Crossing Patrollers The Council currently provides school crossing patrollers at 43 locations, a number of which also have a signalised crossing. The controllers are in place for the start and finish of the school day. There is no statutory obligation to provide a school crossing service and the Council has experienced difficulties recruiting to these posts. There are currently 9 vacant posts. There are two options to consider. Option 1 – Adhere to Best Practice Guidelines - 31 crossing patrollers retained with crossing patrollers located at controlled pedestrian crossings withdrawn. National best practice guidance states that school crossing patrollers should not be deployed at junctions where pedestrian crossings already exist because this duplication can be confusing for motorists. Saving achieved through not filling 9 vacant posts with one post affected. Total of 2.6 FTE. Option 2 – Prioritised Locations - 17 crossing patrollers retained with 9 vacant posts removed and an additional 17 posts removed. Sites for crossing patrollers would be prioritised based on location and traffic conditions. Total reduction of 6FTE. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Patrollers are based along safe routes to schools. These routes have been identified and are monitored by the Council’s Road Safety Officers. Children will continue to receive education on road safety, including the safe crossing of roads and awareness of vehicle movement. Saving (Cumulative) Option 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 24 2.6 49 2.6 49 2.6 2 57 6 114 6 114 6 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 2.6 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: 827
Page 72
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN02 Saving Title Garden Waste Collection Charge Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently collects garden and food waste in the same bin. In line with national guidance and best practice it is recommended that garden and food waste is no longer co-mingled as this contaminates the garden waste and reduces recycling opportunities. It also increases the cost to treat as there is limited capacity in the marketplace prepared to tender for the treatment of comingled waste. Under this proposal, food waste will continue to be uplifted free of charge. Residents who wish to have their garden waste uplifted will require to buy a permit. The annual cost of the permit could be set at a range of rates. Savings projected below are based on an estimate of 6,000 permits being sold. The permit cost is subsidised however it is not possible to determine exact level of subsidy until information on the number of permit holders and locations are known as the uptake and location of properties will determine the routing of collections and resource required. There are two options to consider. Option 1 – Cease Provision – Garden waste is the only stream of waste collection the council is not statutorily required to collect however it is considered best practice to do so as set out in the Household Charter. This option would save £300k per annum which is the current disposal cost for garden waste. Option 2 – Annual permit cost of £60 - Permit holders receive a fortnightly collection between April to November to reflect season nature of garden waste. This is approximately 16 collections, which equates £3.75 per collection. This would generate an estimated £360k per annum. In 2024/25 there would only be a half year income for option 2 due to time required to implement. Fees could be paid in instalments. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This proposal has a capital implication due to the requirement for every household to have a food bin. There is potential for this to be funded by Zero Waste Scotland or another external partner as it will lead to improved recycling and waste treatment. Should garden waste not be collected at all it is possible that there may be increased fly tipping of garden waste. The Council has adopted a 5 year Waste Strategy that sets out in the action plan
Page 73
measures to support the Council to deliver its net zero priorities. The reduction or ceasing of garden waste collection will reduce the use of vehicles and fuel in collection and disposal will reduce the carbon footprint of the council. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 300 0 300 0 300 0 2 180 0 360 0 360 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 826
Page 74
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN03 Saving Title Reduce Footway Gritting Summary of Savings Proposal Currently as part of the Council’s Winter Maintenance Programme, footway gritting is undertaken during adverse weather on priority routes. This includes treatment of main routes at schools, hospitals, sheltered housing complexes, day care centres, public buildings, transport hubs and urban shopping areas. Priority treatment also takes place in main pedestrian routes in major residential developments. Priority treatment is undertaken during the hours of 8am - 3.30pm Monday to Friday, with an average annual cost of providing the service of £128,000. There are two proposals to consider. Option 1 – Reduce service by 50% - Teams would continue to treat footways on main roads, main shopping areas and around schools however more residential locations would remain untreated. Grit bins would be re-stocked regularly to assist residents. Option 2 – Cease all footway gritting – Cease provision of footway gritting. The Council would consider whether additional grit bin provision is necessary to assist residents. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any reduction in workforce over the winter period will reduce the level of Greenspace Maintenance over both the Summer and Winter periods. Untreated sections of the network could lead to increased claims from residents and a reputational risk to the Council. The reduction in operational workforce will impact on resources available to carry out general ground works such as street sweeping and litter collection. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 32 2 64 2 64 2 2 64 4 128 4 128 4 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 828
Page 75
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN04 Saving Title Non-Statutory Roads Activity within Education The Roads Service is a statutory service but it also provides additional non-statutory services to schools covering Cycling Proficiency, Road Safety, School Travel Plans and Safe Routes to School. There are currently two officers within the team that liaise with schools in the delivery of roads activities. The service is reviewing funding opportunities to fund the two posts however all funding of this nature is awarded on an annual basis, therefore need reviewed annually. Funding criteria can change from year to year and the availability to fund these posts in this method may be removed. The Service also receives external funding which is allocated to support some of these activities. Under this option, advice and guidance will continue to be provided to schools including on accessing funding, resource and technical advice. This would assist schools with the creation of their School Travel Plan, which they are required to develop and update on a regular basis. Other non-statutory services mentioned above would cease. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Any risk and impact of this option would be reduced by the Roads Service providing schools with professional information and advice to support road safety activities. A road safety pack could be made available by Roads Services & Education to help support parents to reinforce road safety issues. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 37 2 74 2 74 2 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: 830
Page 76
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane/Laura Mason Saving Ref: RN06 Saving Title Close and Transfer Bowling Club Amenities Summary of Savings Proposal The Council/West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust (WDLT) maintain 6 bowling clubs, as detailed in the table below. The Council has seen a steady decline in membership numbers and use of its bowling green facilities over the past 10 years. The bowling clubs operated by WDLT (Goldenhill and Whitecrook) currently have approximately 50 members across both sites. Under this option, the Council would explore the possibility to lease Goldenhill and Whitecrook Bowling Clubs as bowling clubs and only look to close them if this was unsuccessful. The overall management of the four veteran clubs, including maintenance of buildings and ground would transfer to the Committee of each club. Property / Current Position Future Options Estimated Rental Christie Park Veterans Bowling Pavilion WDC owned Run by Committee. WDC pay for repairs and maintenance Transfer management of club to Committee including responsibility for maintenance of buildings and grounds £6,000 Bonhill Veterans Bowling Pavilion WDC owned Run by Committee WDC pay for repairs and maintenance Transfer management of club to Committee including responsibility for maintenance of buildings and grounds £4,000 Whitecrook Bowling Pavilion WDC owned WDLT Run - WDC pay for repairs and maintenance Seek opportunities to lease as a bowling club and only close and market for sale/ general lease if unsuccessful. £5,000 Goldenhill Bowling Pavilion WDC owned WDLT Run - WDC pay for repairs and maintenance Seek opportunities to lease as a bowling club and only close and market for sale/ general lease if unsuccessful. £6,000 Balloch Veterans Run by Committee WDC pay for Transfer management of club to Committee including £5,000
Page 77
Bowling Pavilion WDC owned repairs and maintenance responsibility for maintenance of buildings and grounds Renton Veterans Bowling Pavilion Not WDC owned Run by Committee WDC pay for repairs and maintenance Transfer management of club to Committee including responsibility for maintenance of buildings and grounds N/A Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The membership of all bowling clubs tend to be older members of the community. Closing these may have accessibility issues for members in relation to leisure and social activities and may lead to social exclusion. There are currently three privately owned clubs in the Alexandria area which potentially could have capacity to accommodate membership of the affected bowling clubs. Council also lease out 2 bowling clubs one in Dumbarton and one in Alexandria which generate an income of £15,000 per annum. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 50 2 101 2 101 2 Note – this does not include any capital receipt or potential lease income. 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: 832
Page 78
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN07 Saving Title Close Dalmuir Golf Course or Reduce to 12 hole Summary of Savings Proposal Currently, the Council owns and operates Dalmuir Golf Course. In 2022/23 the course attracted 218 annual members, with an additional 4,188 day visitors a reduction from 264 annual members and 5,800 day visitors in 2021/22. The golf course grounds are currently maintained by five employees: one Chargehand Greenkeeper and four Greenkeepers. The annual membership charge for 2023/24 is £250. The cost for a visitor pass is £10 off peak, £15 peak. The table below outlines the operating costs, income and required Council subsidy for the course over the past four years. Year Operating Costs Income Subsidy 2020/21 £195,000 £135,000 £60,000 2021/22 £202,800 £155,000 £47,000 2022/23 £216,900 £110,000 £106,000 2023/24 (10 months) £189,000 £108,350 £80,650 There is no external funding available to support the operation of the golf course. Under this option, there are two proposals to be considered: Option 1: Reduce golf course from 18 holes to 12 holes, achieving a saving as a direct result of reduced grounds and building maintenance. Option 2: Closure of Golf Course, achieving a saving on operating costs. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Option 1: Reducing the course to 12 holes would make it a less attractive venue and could potentially reduce participation and income. Option 2: Closure of this facility would mean that there would be no publicly accessible golf facilities within West Dunbartonshire. There may be a potential to generate a capital receipt through this option however the golf course is currently designated greenbelt therefore there will be planning restrictions in relation to what type of development could be proposed. It would also be contrary to policies protecting open space / playing fields.
Page 79
Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 38 1.5 58 1.5 58 1.5 2 22 5 106 5 106 5 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: 835
Page 80
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN08 Saving Title Cease Care of Gardens Summary of Savings Proposal Residents over 65 or registered as disabled are eligible to join the Council’s Care of Gardens Scheme. In order to qualify, residents demonstrate they receive a disability benefit such as Personal Independence Payment, Disability Living Allowance, Attendance Allowance, Pension Credits or a care service from HSCP. No financial assessment is carried out. A universal annual charge of £100 per year is payable to join the Scheme and this can be paid in instalments. This provides two hedge cuts and six grass cuts per annum which equates to £12.50 per visit for the customer. The cost to deliver the service is significantly subsidised and costs in the region of £360 per user. This means that each visit to a customer costs the council approximately £32.50 after accounting for the charges applied. Following the introduction of the £100 charge in 2023/24 take up has been as follows: • 74 Pensioners (reduction of 29) • 604 on disability payment (reduction of 421) The total cost to deliver the service after accounting for income is £176,280. This option would cease the service. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Residents would require to have an alternative method of garden maintenance and this presents a risk of unmaintained gardens and reduced level of cleanliness and tidiness in the local area. The service is delivered through the recruitment of seasonal operatives. The reduction in numbers or no requirement to appoint seasonal operatives will have an impact on employment opportunities for local workforce. Workforce impact on eight seasonals and two permanent operatives Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 176 2 176 2 176 2 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 831
Page 81
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN09 Saving Title Street Cleaning Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Greenspace Service currently carries out mechanical street cleaning, litter picking, emptying of street bins and graffiti removal in addition to grounds activities such as grass cutting, vegetation cutback and weed killing. The Service consists of 120 employees (40 FTE) employees engaged in Street Cleaning activities. Under this proposal, three options will be considered. Option 1: Maintain 38 FTE Operatives The teams will continue to prioritise litter picking, bin emptying and street sweeping within town centres and public parks. This will result in a reduction in street sweeping, bin emptying and litter picking within our residential estates. Option 2: Maintain 36 FTE Operatives The teams will continue to prioritise litter picking, bin emptying and street sweeping within town centres. This will result in a reduction in street sweeping, bin emptying and litter picking within our residential estates and public parks. Option 3: Maintain 34 FTE Operatives The teams will target resources towards locations with increased footfall and visitors. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Those areas impacted on the reduced frequency of cleaning will result in litter awaiting collection for longer periods of time and may lead to an increase in reports of vermin. In addition these areas may require additional reactive flood prevention measures as the lack of mechanical sweeping may lead to choked gulleys. As this group of employees also deliver footway gritting and flood prevention works during the winter period any reduction will also impact on the service’s ability to react to inclement weather events. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 24 2 49 2 49 2
Page 82
49 4 98 4 98 4 73 6 147 6 147 6 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 FTE 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: 836
Page 83
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN18 Saving Title Consultancy Services/Capital Investment Review Summary of Savings Proposal Consultancy Services and Capital Investment sits within Roads and Neighbourhood and is the design, construction and project management service which administers and manages capital programmed construction works. The planned reduction of capital projects has provided an opportunity to review the support required from Consultancy Services and Capital Investment. As part of the review, consideration has also been given to how costs are recharged to ensure correct allocation against the appropriate budget. This has identified that not all posts are fully utilised undertaking either HRA or General Services activity. The team currently consists of 20 employees of varying grades. It is estimated that 15 officers are supporting the delivery of the housing capital programme and five supporting general services There is a pipeline of future works in HRA with limited support required in general services. The technical skills required will be assessed on a project by project basis and the project scope will be reviewed to determine whether internal or external resources are more appropriate. Under this proposal two options can be considered. Option 1 – Retain team of 15 employees The team will prioritise supporting the delivery of HRA projects with limited impact on the HRA pipeline and posts funded by the HRA budget. The General Services Capital Programme will be offered technical advice and guidance with project delivery support dependent on capacity. Option 2 – Retain team of 10 employees The team will prioritise supporting the delivery of HRA projects, and HRA budget will fund resources allocated. The HRA programme will require to be reviewed to identify which projects should be delivered by consultancy services or whether external or housing/ building services internal resource would be appropriate. Support to general services would be limited and technical guidance provided dependent on team capacity. These options will predominately deliver a capital saving in terms of a reduction in the recharge to either the HRA and General Services Capital Programmes however they also deliver a small revenue saving through a reduction in loan charges. This is summarised in the table below: Capital Saving (£,000) Revenue Saving (£,000) Option Reduction 24/25 25/26 26/27 24/25 25/26 26/27 1 25% 100 252 252 10 25 25
Page 84
2 50% 200 504 504 20 50 50 Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings If support from other service areas continue to be required and capacity of resources not available then there is a risk that other key services will have to buy in the specialism as and when a project requires. Alternatively the activities of the team would require to be reprioritised if possible. Resource requirements will be assessed on a project by project basis with skills being bought in as and when required. The project budget and/or scope will require to reflect any implications of utilising external resources. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 10 5 25 5 25 5 2 20 10 50 10 50 10 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0 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: 829
Page 85
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN20 Saving Title Review of Park Maintenance Summary of Savings Proposal The Council owns and manages four main parks: Balloch Country Park, Christie Park, Levengrove Park and Dalmuir Park. Each year approximately £450,000 is spent on maintenance activities in these parks including grass cutting, vegetation cutback, hedge cutting, play area maintenance, flower planting and maintenance and litter collection. The Greenspace service prioritises maintenance within these parks as they are the most popular and well-used parks. Under this proposal, there are 3 options to consider: Reduction Details 1 25% Remove all annual flowerbed planting. Reduce frequencies of grass cutting. 2 50% Remove all annual flowerbed planting. Cease cutting 50% of grassed areas and reduce frequency of remainder. 3 75% Remove all annual flowerbed planting. Cease cutting 75% of grassed areas and reduce frequency of remainder. Reduce frequency of hedge cutting by 50%. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is a risk that resident satisfaction could reduce if levels of cleanliness and maintenance reduce. There will also be a reduction in areas that can be used for recreational purposes. The impacted group of employees also deliver footway gritting and flood prevention works during the winter period, so any reduction will impact on the service’s ability to react to inclement weather events. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 56 3.5 112 3.5 112 3.5 2 112 7 224 7 224 7
Page 86
3 181 10.5 363 10.5 363 10.5 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 2 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: 833
Page 87
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN21 Saving Title Reduction in Roads Operations Summary of Savings Proposal The Council has a duty to maintain the road network to a safe standard. The Roads Service undertake a number of statutory duties including winter gritting, defect repair and responses to flooding with a current workforce of 29 operatives. Under this option, the service would retain 26 operatives to ensure suitable resource for winter gritting, gully cleaning, carriageway defect repairs and resurfacing. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The roads service will have reduced resources available to carry out reactive works such as responding to carriageway defects. flooding etc and will be limited in undertaking any works for internal colleagues as they will be fully utilised on roads activities. Resilience is reduced in periods when there is annual leave or sickness. In addition the full workforce will be expected to undertake winter gritting and be fully trained to have an HGV licence. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 80 3 140 3 140 3 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 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: 840
Page 88
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN22 Saving Title Increase Number of 4G Pitches Summary of Savings Proposal The Grounds Service maintain grass pitches utilised for sports activities throughout West Dunbartonshire. This proposal is to build three new 4G pitches to replace six underutilised grass pitches. There would be an initial Capital investment of £2m required. The saving would be made up of a combination of increased income due to all weather availability of pitches and a reduction in maintenance costs of the existing grass pitches. The locations of the six grass pitches are : 2 @ Argyle Park, Alexandria 2 @ Posties Park, Dumbarton 2 @ Mountblow Playing Fields, Clydebank It is proposed that one of the grass pitches at each location will be upgraded to 4G. The other grassed pitch will no longer be maintained or lined, and community asset transfer or alternative uses will be explored, including open space for general use. It is anticipated that there would be an income of circa £200k realised. Currently this would be retained by WDLT however as the Council would be required to fund the loan charges, the income retained by the WDLT would be reduced to reflect this. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is a time and resource requirement to procure and construct the facility. The financial saving will not be realised until complete. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 10 2 50 2 50 2 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: No 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: 839
Page 89
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN23 Saving Title Review of Road Defect Repairs Summary of Savings Proposal The Roads Service has a duty to maintain the road network to a safe standard. The service has a revenue and capital budget allocation. If a road repair improves or upgrades the network it can be considered a capital investment. Currently, cold applied material is used for defect repairs which has an expected service life of 1 year on A and B class roads and up to 3 years on C class and residential roads before a repeat repair is required. Under this proposal, planned defect repairs will be undertaken using hot asphalt, which have an expected life of over three years no matter the road classification or traffic volumes. This approach will require the purchase of a hotbox as a capital investment and training of team in classification and identifying defects that are suitable for a planned repair. Emergency and urgent repairs will continue to be repaired in the set timelines. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The roads service will programme planned defect repairs therefore these repairs may not be carried out as quickly as they would have been previously. Hot asphalt repairs require more resource and take longer to complete, however it will allow for longer-lasting permanent repairs to be completed at first visit. The move to this process will mean reclassifying defect response times from the traditional Emergency (24hours), Urgent (7 days) and Routine (28 days). Whilst our Emergency and Urgent repairs response times will remain the same our Routine repairs will be repaired within 90 days or 180 days depending on the severity of the defect. The risks to road users from such defects are low and whilst we may see an initial increase in minor claims it is expected that overall claims will drop due to the improvement delivered through our structural patching programme and longer life expectancy of defect repairs. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 200 0 200 0 200 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 893
Page 90
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN25 Saving Title Recharge WDLT for grass cutting and 4G maintenance Summary of Savings Proposal The Grounds Service maintain the grass pitches and 4G pitches utilised for sports activities throughout West Dunbartonshire. There is not currently a charge for works undertaken. Under this proposal, a recharge of £96k for grass cutting and 4G maintenance would be made to West Dunbartonshire Leisure Trust (WDLT). The WDLT retain all income from use of the pitches. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There will be no impact to the level of service currently undertaken. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 96 0 96 0 96 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 891
Page 91
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN26 Saving Title Reduction in weed killing Summary of Savings Proposal The Grounds Service carry out weed killing throughout the area twice a year. Under this proposal, weed killing will be undertaken once a year. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is a benefit to biodiversity due to reduction in use of weedkiller. There will be an increase in weeds in some locations. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 50 0 50 0 50 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 889
Page 92
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Gail Macfarlane Saving Ref: RN27 Saving Title Commercial Waste Review Summary of Savings Proposal The waste service undertake commercial waste collection for businesses within the West Dunbartonshire area. The Service currently has four operatives and two refuse vehicles undertaking the collection of approximately 4,000 tonnes of commercial waste for external customers and internal Council services such as schools and libraries etc. In 2022/23 the total income received from external customers was £495,000 compared to a cost of delivery of £500,000. Therefore the Council is subsiding the provision of service to external businesses by £5,000 per annum. The fees currently charged are not a flat rate for all as they depend on a number of variable factors such as size and type of bin and frequency of collection. It should be noted that the fees will increase by the general assumed increase of 4% (subject to Council decision when agreeing the budget) however there is an option to increase the fees for commercial waste collection by a higher amount due to it being a commercial service. Each 1% fee increase, over and above the general increase of 4%, will generate income of £4,500. It is proposed that a 10% increase, over and above the 4% general increase, is applied generating estimated additional income of £45,000. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Increasing the charges may result in a reduction in customers with businesses procuring alternative service providers or fly tipping. Addressing additional fly tipping would have resource implications both through the services carrying out the clearance and enforcement activity. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 45 0 45 0 45 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 890
Page 93
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR01 Saving Title Removal of Night Zone West Funding Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently provides partners with £12,500 of funding towards the Night Zone West project which supports the creation of a safe space for those socialising in the late evening across West Dunbartonshire’s main towns. Historically this funded marshals for taxi ranks in Clydebank, Dumbarton and Alexandria during the festive period. Due to market conditions (primarily a lack of interest from the private sector) since 2019 the Council has been unable to deliver a marshal scheme and the funding has instead been directed to Police for overtime, posters and CCTV upgrades. Police Scotland is responsible for providing adequate policing resources to support the night-time economy and the Council is not aware of officers specifically diverted to matters relating to the licensed trade as a result of this funding, therefore under this option the funding would be withdrawn. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The late-night economy has fundamentally changed since this funding was first introduced and the three towns are no longer as busy late at night as they once were. There is a risk that with the removal of funding, Police Scotland amend their policing plan resulting in less officers on the ground. There is also a reputational risk, especially around the festive period, as residents socialising at night may be concerned by removal of this funding. Early engagement with Police Scotland over the removal of the funding will be sought to lessen the impact of such risks. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 12.5 0 12.5 0 12.5 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 955
Page 94
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – SAVING OPTION Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR08 Saving Title Deletion of Paralegal Post(s) Summary of Savings Proposal Legal Services – Contracts and Property Section currently have two paralegals working alongside solicitors in a support role but also undertaking work in their own right. This individual workload includes wayleaves and servitudes, charging orders for recovery of Care Home fees and under other acts e.g. Building (Scotland) Act 2003, straightforward leases and licenses to occupy, Reports on Title and title enquiries from Councillors, other Services and members of the public. The proposal has two options: Option 1 - Both paralegal posts would be removed from the organisation. Option 2 - One paralegal would be retained with responsibility for the Buy Back programme. A key element of one of the Paralegal’s duties is the buy-back of housing for the HRA to supplement the Council’s Housing Stock. The Council has an ambitious buy-back programme of 60 homes per year for the next 5 years. Therefore Option 1 could only be taken if Management Adjustment RR09 (funding of a solicitor by the HRA) was accepted. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Option 1 - Removal of paralegal posts would mean some functions would no longer be undertaken internally. This includes title enquiries (only be conducted as part of a Council project with no enquiries from the public or elected members processed), wayleaves and servitudes, leases and licenses and charging orders (requirement to be undertaken externally at a cost to Council). In addition, if this option is agreed and Management Adjustment RR09 is not accepted, there would be no capacity to support the Buy Back Programme and an external conveyancer would need to be utilised at cost to the Council. Option 2 - Some Buy Backs would be retained in-house although some external advice may still be required due to scale of the programme. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 Option £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 1 90 2 90 2 90 2
Page 95
2 45 1 45 1 45 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 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: 957
Page 96
Appendix 3 – Detailed Management Adjustments 2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Amanda Graham Saving Ref: CCF16 Saving Title Review of Arts and Heritage Summary of Savings Proposal A post has recently become vacant within the Arts and Heritage service and following a review it has been decided to recruit to this position on a part time fixed- term basis. This will create a saving from the deletion of 0.5 FTE vacant post. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The service delivery model has changed over the last year with the creation of a new community gallery in Clydebank Town Hall, the relocation of Dalmuir Library and the extension of work to create a new museum in the basement of Clydebank Library. This has impacted on the available spaces for Arts and Heritage to stage exhibitions and events and support museum displays. As a result the post can be reduced without significantly impacting on the service. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 24 0.5 24 0.5 24 0.5 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0.5 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/No EIA No: 910
Page 97
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Peter Barry Saving Ref: HE05 Saving Title Removal of General Fund contribution to Housing Asset and Investment Team (HAIT) Summary of Savings Proposal Currently, HAIT employee costs are budgeted 95% HRA and 5% General Fund. In practice HAIT employee costs are 100% funded by HRA leading through a year end cost allocation which leads to a £50,000 saving against budget at year end. The proposal is to recognise and correct this funding anomaly and to remove the £50,000 budget from the General Fund. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is no impact or risk associated with the proposed saving. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 50 0 50 0 50 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No. 928
Page 98
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: VICTORIA ROGERS Saving Ref: PT08 Saving Title Strategic Operating Model Compliance Summary of Savings Proposal An organisation-wide assessment of compliance against the agreed Strategic Operating Model (SOM) principles is being carried out to determine areas for change. The focus of the assessment will be the number of direct reports. It is anticipated this will result in savings as posts/teams are merged and opportunities for ER/VS are offered and accepted. It is suggested that this can be implemented following assessment as a management adjustment. This exercise will be ongoing and delivered in stages as each management tier is assessed for compliance against SOM. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Impact will be a reduction in management roles already envisaged when the Future Operating Model (FOM) was first agreed in 2014/15. This was followed by variation and agreement of SOM, against which all Chief Officers were asked to model any restructures. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 200 2 300 4 350 6 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: Unknown Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 818
Page 99
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Victoria Rogers Saving Ref: PT09 Saving Title Transactional Services Restructure Summary of Savings Proposal Following the resignation of a Business Support Section Head and the senior restructure, the opportunity to review the allocation of work and generate a saving presented. There are currently three G10 and two G9 in the team - the proposed restructure would: • Remove one G10 (current vacancy); • Create 7.5 hrs of G7 to increase hours of an existing G7 post; and • Create 1FTE G4 post. This would generate a full year saving of £30,000 from 2024/25 onwards. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This will put additional pressure on the new manager, who already manages HR Connect as they need to get up to speed with payroll legislation and statutory requirements. The team have also lost capacity with the departure of the previous Section Head impacting on ability to deliver time pressured tasks. In particular, the impact is likely to include pay awards notified at short notice. These will be assessed and processed as is feasible. It will also mean that reintroduction of the 2- weekly pay will prove difficult as it would create a further burden on the team which will be challenging to absorb. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 30 1 30 1 30 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 808
Page 100
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES06 Saving Title Increased Council Tax on Second Homes Summary of Savings Proposal In April 2023 a new Scottish Government and Cosla consultation to help increase available housing was announced. An element of this was to consider enabling councils to charge up to double the full rate of council tax on second homes from April 2024, bringing them in line with long-term empty homes. A decision was taken by Council on 20 December 2023 to approve the implementation of the double charge. This will generate an estimated £82,000 for the Council. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings Estimated income assumes the property remains a 2nd home for the full year and that properties remain on Council Tax register and don’t move to Non-Domestic rates as a holiday let or similar. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 82 0 82 0 82 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 866
Page 101
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES18 Saving Title Empty Property Relief Summary of Savings Proposal The Non-Domestic Rating (Scotland) Act 2020 devolved charging and rates relief on unoccupied premises to councils with effect from 1 April 2023. Councils also have powers to award discretionary local reliefs. The devolvement of empty property relief (EPR) allows councils to establish local arrangements to better align the use of the relief in meeting local aims and strategic priorities with the aim to bring empty properties back into use. On 20 December 2023 the Council approved the option to remove the 100% EPR awarded to the six unoccupied listed buildings in West Dunbartonshire which will generate approximately £34,000. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings No material risk or impact. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 34 0 34 0 34 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 859
Page 102
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES22 Saving Title Review Asset Management Resource Summary of Savings Proposal A review of the Council’s Asset Management team has identified three vacancies which can be removed from the establishment without material impact on service delivery. A further grade 5 post will be reallocated to the Housing Revenue Account from General Services. The posts are a grade 8 (0.2 FTE), a grade 3 (0.5 FTE), a grade 3 (0.4 FTE), and a grade 5 (1 FTE). Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings No material impact on service delivery. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 99 2.1 99 2.1 99 2.1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 2.1 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 950
Page 103
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES23 Saving Title Review of Facility Assistants Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Asset Management team has 1.6 FTE Grade 3 Facility Assistants who provide day to day janitorial and cleaning services at Aurora House (leased from Clydebank Property Company). This option would remove the service from the Asset Management team but retain a reduced service for the common parts of Aurora House through a 1 FTE being funded by the Clydebank Property Company. This will generate an annual revenue saving of £53,812. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The reduction of this service will bring the Aurora House service in line with the services provided at Clydebank Town Centre Office. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 54 0.0 54 0.0 54 0.0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 951
Page 104
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES25 Saving Title Income Generation (Levengrove Park) Summary of Savings Proposal Asset Management will seek new income opportunities for Levengrove Pavilion and associated land for activity purposes via transferring the asset to non- operational estate. This would generate an estimated £20k per annum in income and remove £43k per annum of maintenance costs. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings No material risk or impact Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 63 0 63 0 63 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 952
Page 105
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer : Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES26 Saving Title Increased Water Authority income The Council receives a fee from the Water Authority for the collection of water rates which is done by including the water charge in household council tax invoices. The 2023/24 fee has increased by £25k (over existing budget) and we have been advised this is a permanent increase. This management adjustment would right size the income budget. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings There is no service impact or risk arising from this management adjustment. Saving (Cumulative) w2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 25 0 25 0 25 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: YES EIA No: 953
Page 106
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer Laurence Slavin Saving Ref: RES27 Saving Title Outsource the management of retail assets. Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Corporate Asset Management team has 2.8 FTE grade 8 Estate Surveyors who spend a significant amount of time on debt recovery activity and tenant liaison. Under this option, the management of retail assets would be outsourced on a spend to save basis. It is anticipated that the expenditure incurred outsourcing the activity would be exceeded by additional income generated by allowing the estate surveyors to focus on increasing the rent generated from vacant properties. An estimate of a net income of £33,000 per annum has been made. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings This option is not considered to create a material impact on service delivery. The only risk is that the savings are not achieved as anticipated. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 33 0 33 0 33 0 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 954
Page 107
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR09 Saving Title Solicitor Support to HRA Capital Summary of Savings Proposal Solicitors in Legal Services have been supporting the Council’s New Build Council House Building programme since the Council recommenced building new Council homes in 2013. No specific charge has been made to the HRA Capital Fund for this support. As the programme has increased and the associated Buyback Programme has grown, the demands on Legal Services for support has increased. This proposal would see a full time solicitor post being funded to address the workload. As both programmes are to continue for a number of years it is proposed to convert the current recurring temporary 2 year post, to a permanent one. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The impact is financial in terms of the proposed charge to the HRA Capital fund. If this option is not taken, there is arguably an ongoing and increasing subsidy by the General Fund to the HRA Capital Fund. The proposal would support the new build programme and the highly ambitious programme of c60 buybacks per year for 5 years. If this post is not funded and dedicated in this way, Saving RR08 Option 2 should not be considered as the buy- back programme would not be able to be supported both in terms of available resources and proper accounting for funding. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 60 0 60 0 60 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 917
Page 108
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR11 Saving Title Contaminated Land Officer Summary of Savings Proposal The Council currently has two Contaminated Land Officer posts, one of which is vacant. It is proposed that one post is retained, with the current vacant post deleted from the organisational structure. In addition, half of the current Capital funding from Regeneration will be transferred to fund the remaining Contaminated Land Officer in order to reflect current workload. Current levels of work within the Council’s Capital Programme are anticipated to be maintained for at least the next three years. The proposal would result in the saving of £29.5k to Revenue and a similar saving from Capital. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The removal of the post will limit the capacity of Environmental Health to address long-term land remediation ambitions within West Dunbartonshire and in particular, to support the Council’s own Capital Programme where regeneration of vacant and derelict land may be involved. If a serious risk of contamination or serious financial risk was envisaged at some future point, a report would be submitted to Council seeking additional resources (interim or permanent). Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 29.5 1 29.5 1 29.5 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 958
Page 109
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR13 Saving Title Technical Support Team –Support Officer Summary of Savings Proposal The Technical Support Team provides administrative support to the Planning and Building Standards team. Under this proposal, a vacant part time Support Officer role (0.5FTE) in the team would be deleted, leaving a pool of three Support Officers and two Support Assistants to provide this service. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings It is considered that the loss of this part time post can be accommodated without significant impact. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 15.5 0.5 15.5 0.5 15.5 0.5 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0.5 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 959
Page 110
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR14 Saving Title Co-ordinator: Environmental Health Summary of Savings Proposal Currently the Environmental Health team functions with a principal officer and two co-ordinator posts. The vacant principal officer post is currently being filled by one of the co-ordinators on a temporary basis, and an environmental health officer is currently acting up in a co-ordinator role on a temporary basis. Under this proposal, the principal officer post would be filled on a permanent basis, with current co-ordinators invited to apply. One co-ordinator post would be maintained with the other removed from the organisational structure. . The Environmental Health Officer currently acting up in a co-ordinator role would revert to their substantive post. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The removal of the post will remove a level of sectoral management in the Environmental Health section however, it will provide for a developed career path within the service, albeit the loss of one co-ordinator post will increase the workload of the Principal Officer and remaining co-ordinator roles and reduces opportunity for progression. While there should be limited impact on the ability to meet defined statutory duties (which will require to be prioritised above other services) it is possible the change may impact on service delivery standards. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 68 1 68 1 68 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 960
Page 111
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR15 Saving Title Planning Compliance Officer Summary of Savings Proposal The role of Planning Compliance Officer has been vacant for a number of months and has now largely been subsumed by other Planning Officers and Technical Support Officers. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings While it would always be recommended that there is a dedicated Planning Enforcement resource to ensure that enforcement receives an adequate priority, it is believed that the current arrangement is sustainable. This position will be monitored and if it appears that there is an upswing in non-compliance which requires a dedicated resource, this will be addressed in future budget rounds. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 30 1 30 1 30 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 961
Page 112
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR16 Saving Title Building Standards Surveyor Summary of Savings Proposal The Council’s Building Standards team is currently made up of a Team Leader, two Lead Building Standards Surveyors and three Building Standards Surveyor posts. One of the Building Standards Surveyor posts is vacant. The proposal is to maintain two of three Building Standards Surveyor posts, deleting the vacant role. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The removal of this post could impact on the ability to recruit sufficient officers to deal with a growing workload. At present it is believed that the proposed removal of this post can be accommodated without significant impact. If performance slips too far it can result in Scottish Government intervention and in the case of Building Standards the loss of the ability to act as a verification service. Saving (Cumulative) 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 53 1 53 1 53 1 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 1 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 962
Page 113
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR17 Saving Title Reduce Hours - Solicitor Summary of Savings Proposal There is currently a vacancy within Legal Services for 1FTE solicitor. The previous incumbent worked 4 days. On assessment of the current workload it is believed that the establishment could be reduced to have a 28 hour post without materially impacting on service standards. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The impact against current anticipated workload is limited though it should be noted that other proposed savings within Legal Services may reduce capacity to deal with any increase in workload. If issues arise corrective action up to and including reinstatement of the hours will be considered. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 12 0.2 12 0.2 12 0.2 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: 0.2 Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 963
Page 114
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR18 Saving Title Clydebank - Towns Fund Support Summary of Savings Proposal Clydebank is to receive Capital and Revenue funding in the sum of £2m over a period of 10 years. Part of the funding is to be capacity funding to engage with the business community and support the formulation of the governance around the Town Board structure which is a key element of the Towns Fund model. It is considered that the Economic Development Business Support Team are ideally placed to provide the support required in the early years of operation. It is accordingly proposed that funding equivalent to one grade 8 post is applied to the Business Development Team to allow an officer / officers to undertake this role. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings The dedication of resource for this purpose will restrict the support offered by the team in other areas, however it is considered that there are some synergies which will allow this role to be absorbed. It may subsequently be determined to limit the funding to a finite timescale should the Town Fund determine a different approach to its ongoing support. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 60 0 60 0 60 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 964
Page 115
2024/25 BUDGET PREPARATION – MANAGEMENT ADJUSTMENT Chief Officer: Alan Douglas Saving Ref: RR19 Saving Title LUF Revenue Funding - Final Year Summary of Savings Proposal The Levelling Up Fund – which awarded funding to the Council in round one for the Artizan, Glencairn House and Connecting Dumbarton projects - has recently indicated the availability of a final round of Revenue Funding. While elements of the direct project delivery are capitalised, it is recognised that wider officer contribution to the delivery, governance and oversight of the three projects are substantial, resulting in officer commitments in excess of the sums being made available. Accordingly, it is proposed that the sums to be provided are available to the General Fund to net off against the costs of officer involvement. This would be a one off saving in 2024/25. Impact and Risk Associated with Proposed Savings It is not anticipated that the application of such funds will have any detrimental impact on service delivery. Saving 2024/25 2025/26 2026/27 £000 FTE £000 FTE £000 FTE 60 0 0 0 0 0 FTE impact delivered through existing vacancies: N/A Equality Impact Assessment Completed: Yes EIA No: 965