Decision details

Cabinet considered a report of the Chief Executive regarding the Transformation to 2019 Programme.

In introducing the report it was noted that the end period for the Transformation to 2019 (T19) programme was 31 March 2019. It was confirmed that whilst savings remain on target, there would still be some £40m of savings to secure over the following two financial years. This programme overshoot had been planned from the outset of T19 in order to safely land some of the more complex savings in the two Social Care Departments. The programme overshoot was being cashflow funded through reserves approved at the inception of T19.

The ongoing challenges of delivering the programme, particularly with respect to demand and inflationary pressures in Adults’ and Children’s social care were highlighted and recognised. The high cost of supporting looked after children was noted. A number of significant successes were also highlighted, including the onboarding of three London Boroughs to the IBC and the completion of rolling out the SharePoint across the organisation.

Cabinet considered the difficulties of the overlaps between T19 and the successor, T21 programme and were keen to were keen to ensure that a distinction remained between them and they didn’t conflict with each other. It was confirmed that T19 and T21 would be separately monitored by the Corporate Management Team and that Cabinet would continue to be updated on progress with the respective programmes. The Leader emphasised the importance of having discipline in achieving efficiencies across all service areas and then balancing this with support for those areas facing particular pressure.

The recommendations were considered and were agreed with an additional recommendation to note the increased budget for children in care and to acknowledge the importance and priority of providing for children in the Council’s care. The decision record can be found as an appendix to these minutes.