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Revenue savings plans

Read about our revenue savings plans for 2024-2027

Children’s Services

Responsible Officer: Nancy Meehan, Director of Childrens Services

Cabinet Member: Councillor Nick Bye, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services

Proposal

Children Social Care Placements

  • Continued focus on early help, prevention and the development of a sustainable Family Hub model to help reduce the number of children who become cared for and identify less expensive accommodation for our Care Experienced young people (including those who have previously been Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children).
  • Review the targeted support in relation to learning disability placements and associated joint work with Health.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • More children maintained within a family based environment.
  • Improved management of high-cost placements and associated immediate and long-term costs.
  • Identification and recognition of contribution required from health colleagues supporting young people.

Associated Risks

  • Continued strain on the current market for Children’s Services placements.
  • Challenges regarding influencing positive impacts on the existing care cohort and placements.
  • Economic (cost of living) environment continues to place demand pressure on the service.
  • Ability to recruit, and maintain, the quality staff capacity required by the service.

Environmental Impact

  • There would be no differential environmental impact.

Economic Impact

  • Through having high aspirations for all of our children and young people, including those who are care experienced, there will be a positive economic impact across Torbay.

Equality Impact

  • We would seek to see a positive impact on young people who are enabled to be maintained in family based placements wherever possible.
  • Further details are included within the Draft Equality Impact Assessment.

2024/25 Estimated Impact £000

  • Medium, £500k to £1m

Proposal

Home to School Transport

  • A thorough review, and revision, of the current home to school transport provision through the promotion of independent travel and a review of single occupancy taxis, as well reduced costs of escorts.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • The promotion of independent travel enables greater independence and contributes to the skills required for transition to adulthood. The proposal would reduce the need for transport on minibuses and taxis for identified individuals.
  • Single use occupancy taxis are required to support the needs of some children that dysregulate on shared transport. By consistently reviewing the risks and mitigations for individual children we will seek to ensure a return to multiple occupancy vehicles at a quicker rate.
  • A more consistent and skilled workforce for our children and young people.

Associated Risks

  • Not all young people identified for independent travel training will be able to manage all journeys/routes. This needs to be carefully risk assessed and managed through a staged process. Any reduction of bus routes and public transport will limit the impact of this action.
  • Carefully assessed risks and mitigations need to be planned and reviewed for all young people on a regular basis to ensure that any changes are supportive of the identified needs of individuals.
  • Escort recruitment is challenging, and retention of staff is a key risk to the service to ensure all routes are covered.

Environmental Impact

  • The plans set out actions that would limit the use of individual journeys and create greater opportunities for travel by multiple occupancy vehicles and public transport, thereby having a positive climate change impact.

Economic Impact

  • Reduced transport related costs through targeted reductions in support provided.

Equality Impact

  • We would seek to see a positive impact on children and young people with Special Educational Needs and/or Disabilities being provided with training and support to promote independence and life skills.
  • Further details are included within the Draft Equality Impact Assessment.

2024/25 Estimated Impact £000

  • Low, £50k to £500k

Adult and Community Services

Responsible Officers: Joanna Williams, Director of Adult Services

Cabinet Members: Councillor Hayley Tranter, Cabinet Member for Adult and Community Services, Public Health and Inequalities, Councillor Alan Tyerman, Cabinet Member for Housing, Finance and Corporate Services

Proposal

Integrated (Adult) Social Care Contract

  • We will work closely with our Health colleagues to identify how savings can be made in both the short and long term and will commence a fully sourced, and joined up, adult social care transformation programme focusing on elements such as reablement, learning disability support and extra care provision.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • Maintaining a high quality of services for our residents through the adoption of a new, sustainable, medium-term contract for integrated social care from April 2025.

Associated Risks

  • The level of spend in the existing Integrated Care Contract is significantly higher that the budget available. This financial liability currently rests with Health.
  • Affordability levels for both the Council, and Health, to agree a new contract for 2025 and beyond will be a challenge with a high probability of additional resources being required.

Environmental Impact

  • The integrated care model promotes independence and support for people to remain in their own home. This results in positive outcomes with regards to mitigating the need for lengthy stays in residential/nursing/hospital placements.
  • Promoting a positive social environment.

Economic Impact

  • The integrated care model promotes independence and support for people to remain in their own home. This results in positive outcomes with regards to mitigating the need for lengthy stays in residential/nursing/hospital placements.
  • Promoting a positive economic environment.

Equality Impact

  • Residents will remain being assessed considering the best possible targeted support to provide the care required through the integrated model.
  • Further details are included within the Draft Equality Impact Assessment.

2024/25 Estimated Impact £000

  • High, £1m+

Proposal

Focus on prevention and relief of homelessness

  • Continued strategic work to improve accommodation pathways and commissioning plans. To explore/clarify use of grant funding from Homes England;
  • Additional focus on:
    • Homelessness preventative work;
    • Housing Management subsidy arrangements;
    • Grant funding from Homes England;
    • Implementation of a Temporary Accommodation charging procedure.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • Wherever practical and feasible, maintaining people within stable, sustainable, self-funded housing through targeted intervention.
  • Optimisation of housing subsidies and available grants to provide a more sustainable costing model for the Council.
  • Additional income to offset costs through encouraging individuals to budget for their living costs.
  • Continue to focus on timely move-on from temporary accommodation.

Associated Risks

  • The current economic climate continues to place demand pressure on the service.
  • Lack of affordable housing and social rent provision across Torbay.
  • High cost of existing temporary accommodation placements.

Environmental Impact

  • There would be no differential environmental impact.

Economic Impact

  • Supporting individuals, and families, to remain in stable, sustainable housing provision will have a positive economic impact.

Equality Impact

  • All individuals, and families, will continue to be assessed based on their identified needs without prejudice.

2024/25 Estimated Impact £000

  • Medium, £500k to £1m

Pride in Place

Responsible Officers: Alan Denby, Director of Pride in Place

Cabinet Members: Councillor Adam Billings, Cabinet Member for Pride in Place, Culture, Events and Parking,

Proposal

SWISCO Contract Fee

  • Reduction in SWISCo contract fee as a result of continued investment in improved back-office functions, new technology and vehicles, and through the opportunity for further commercial growth.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • Further efficiencies enabling the management fee payable to SWISCo to be reduced (whilst maintaining and improving service quality)

Associated Risks

  • There are risks associated with the achievement of this proposal if prices and associated costs to SWISCo continue to rise, resulting in financial pressures in 2024/25.

Environmental Impact

  • There would be no differential environmental impact although technology (such as route mapping) has a positive impact on travel incurred.
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Economic Impact

  • There would be no differential economic impact.
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Equality Impact

  • There would be no differential equality impact.
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2024/25 Estimated Impact £000

  • Low, £50k to £500k

Proposal

Optimisation of Council Assets

  • Review and revision of the strategy and criteria for holding / investing / disposing of high value assets.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • Optimisation of the Council’s asset base.
  • Potential for freeing up funding to facilitate Council borrowing for Torbay regeneration and local capital investment.

Associated Risks

  • There are minimal risks associated with this proposal.
  • Potential risk of on-going lost revenue income if disposing of existing commercial asset(s) which will need to be mitigated through clear Business Cases (prior to any disposal).

Environmental Impact

  • There would be no differential environmental impact.
  • However, environmental impacts will need to be considered when planning any further investment in, (or acquisition of), assets.

Economic Impact

  • Potential greater positive economic impact for Torbay if funding from existing assets is prioritised into local capital investment.

Equality Impact

  • There would be no differential equality impact.

2024/25 Estimated Impact £000

  • Medium, £500k to £1m

Corporate Services

Responsible Officers: Matthew Fairclough-Kay, Director of Corporate Services

Cabinet Members: Councillor Alan Tyerman, Cabinet Member for Housing, Finance and Corporate Services

Proposal

Legal Services

  • Undertake a review of current staffing resource within Legal Services to include:
    • Review current demand and usage of Legal Services and the internal commissioning arrangements across services;
    • Consider alternative delivery arrangements including shared services and/or shared commissioning of external legal support;
    • Review current market supplements to understand if further increases would improve recruitment and reduce costs.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • Better understanding of where demand sits proportionally within the Council and more accurate charging across Services.
  • Improved recruitment of solicitors, resulting in less reliance on the use of agency staff, with associated cost savings.
  • Ultimately ensuring that Value for Money is delivered through Legal Services support.

Associated Risks

  • Increased costs from market supplements might still be unable to recruit into vacant posts.
  • Demand for legal services continue to rise in excess of capacity available.

Environmental Impact

  • There would be no differential environmental impact.

Economic Impact

  • There would be no differential economic impact although action will ensure that Value for Money is delivered by the service.

Equality Impact

  • There is no differential equality impact.

2024/25 Estimated Impact £000

  • Low, £50k to £500k

Proposal

Streaming of Council Meetings

  • Review live streaming of public meetings, including the purchase of suitable equipment and look to use internal meetings rooms instead of hiring external rooms.

Anticipated Outcomes

  • Reduction in the costs associated with the live streaming of meetings.

Associated Risks

  • Less engagement from the community in Council decision making and governance arrangements (can be partially mitigated by implementing alternative arrangements) if new streaming arrangements are less engaging.
  • Potential risk of additional travel to meetings if new streaming arrangements are not successful.

Environmental Impact

  • There would be no differential environmental impact.

Economic Impact

  • There would be no differential economic impact.

Equality Impact

  • Risk that individuals who are unable to drive or who have mobility challenges find it too difficult to attend meetings that they would wish to attend should new streaming arrangements be unsuccessful.
  • Further details are included within the Draft Equality Impact Assessment.

2024/25 Estimated Impact £000

  • Low, £50k to £500k