Mr John Piggott (Atlas Fire and Security)

Mr Piggott advised the Committee of the benefit to small businesses, particularly at a time of recession, of the Wirral Apprenticeship Scheme that was funded by the Working Neighbourhood Fund. He commented that at a time when many SME’s were going out of business, the Scheme had allowed his business to create jobs for two young people that may not have been possible without the funding being available to remove the risk.

In response to questions from Members, Mr Piggott indicated that the financial benefit of the Apprenticeship Scheme was a critical factor, particularly in a time of recession. He acknowledged that there had been other schemes to help businesses but expressed the view that the Wirral 100 was the bravest and best provision of funding to provide real jobs for disadvantaged people that he had seen in 26 years in business.

Head of Strategic Development – Mr Kevin Adderley

The Head of Strategic Development gave a general outline of the support for businesses within the Working Neighbourhoods Fund and focused specifically on the success of the Apprenticeship Programme. In response to questions from members, he indicated that current apprentices were unaffected by the cut in funding of £1.6m. However, if it was still available, it could fund perhaps an additional 100 apprenticeships. When asked if the creation of jobs could be seen as a front line service, he expressed the view that it was the role of the private sector to create jobs and the role of the public sector was to create the conditions for that to happen. It also helped the Council to achieve its key strategic priority of reducing worklessness.

He referred also to the National Apprenticeship Scheme and reported that it differed from the Wirral scheme in that it did not assist with a wage subsidy to support businesses. In response to further questions, the Head of Strategic Development commented upon the Future Jobs Fund, which was a measure to tackle 18-24 unemployment, by the creation of temporary posts within the public sector to provide valuable work experience during a time of recession. It was due to finish in October 2011 with the last intakes in March 2011.

Director of Children’s Services – Mr Howard Cooper

In response to questions from Members, the Director of Children’s Services indicated that of the £3.9m cuts in Area Based Grant (ABG) agreed by the Cabinet, £1.5m affected the activities of the Children and Young People’s Department (CYP). He confirmed that Chairs of Headteachers groups had been briefed in relation to the reductions in ABG and he was due also to meet with school governors on 28 September 2010. He stated that it had not been possible to consult more extensively, but that it had not been possible to do so, as the savings were required to be made in-year. The Director commented that prior to ABG, many of the grants to local authorities would have been ring fenced and that in Wirral, the ABG funding was passed to those Departments that would previously have received the ring fenced allocation. However, although most of the grant had been allocated to CYP, he commented that, in Wirral, the reduction had not been passed on proportionally.

In response to further questions in relation to the impact of cuts on recruitment for front line services, the Director stated that although there had been an impact, a judgement had been made as to how best to manage front line services with regard to a number of factors including the length of time a post had been vacant and whether a failure to recruit to a post would diminish the service or affect the ability to expand it. He had carefully examined the budget to identify where savings could be made and concluded that cuts in uncommitted expenditure would have a more manageable impact.

Deputy Director of Finance – Mr David Taylor-Smith

The Deputy Director of Finance reported that he was attending on behalf of the Director of Finance, who had been unable to attend the meeting. In response to questions, he confirmed that the reductions in ABG were for one year only, but it was not possible to predict what would happen in future years. He confirmed that, at present (Budget Projections 2011/2015 reported to Cabinet on 23 July) the gap between spend and resources for 2011/12 was £23.7m and that although the Council was not constrained to look at ABG only, it was important to note that ABG was now effectively a general grant. In response to a further question, he confirmed that the District Auditor had made no comment in relation to what consultation had been undertaken by the Council.

Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Corporate Services – Mr Jim Wilkie

In response to a question from Members, the Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Corporate Services referred to an instruction from the Cabinet (minute 41 (24 June 2010) refers), which required him to bring forward a report to the Cabinet reviewing all spending that was financed through Area Based Grant funding. and setting out where the funding impacted on staffing. The review was required to assess the spending of ABG funding against criteria including its alignment with corporate plan priorities, the scale of impact and the record of effectiveness in achieving the desired outcomes from such spending. The review was then to form the basis on which spending decisions of ABG would be based both in the future and in the current financial year. He confirmed that the report had been prepared in conjunction with senior officers from various departments and that there had not been input from outside the Council. The timescale for in-year budget reductions to be achieved did not allow for wider consultation and he had received no specific instruction to consult with partner agencies or stakeholders.

He had considered the impact of reductions in ABG on front line services and having regard to the requirement to make in-year savings, he expressed the view that the impact of those savings would have been far greater if they had looked to reduce committed expenditure. Although significant, he expressed the view that the reduction in Working Neighbourhoods Funding of £1.6m, would not prevent the Council from achieving its priorities.

Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Finance and Best Value

– Councillor J Green

In response to questions from Members as to whether the report presented to the Cabinet in July had been subject to a redraft or alteration, Councillor Green confirmed that it had been considered at a briefing meeting prior to the Cabinet, but that he did not recall any specific changes being made to it. When asked to comment upon the rationale for taking £1.6m out of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund, when the government had sought a saving of only £0.6m, he commented that the further reduction agreed by the Cabinet was in line with the reduction indicated by the government. He had accepted the advice from officers that the funding was currently uncommitted and therefore available to support the ABG reduction. He commented that although the Council would not be able to all that it wanted to do as a result of the required cuts in ABG, the alternative was to cut committed expenditure, which would have had a far more damaging impact.

In response to further questions, he commented upon the importance of public consultation but, due to the urgency and extraordinary nature of the need to make in-year savings, it had not been possible to undertake a consultation exercise in relation to the current proposals.