Revenue Budget 2015-18 - Approved by Full Council
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Revenue Budget
2015-18
Approved by Full Council
Contents
Page Description
1 – 12 Administration Budget
13 Revenue Budget Gap 2015-18
15 Council Tax Levels
Appendices
17 Appendix 1 – Efficiency Savings
19 – 33 Appendix 2 – Savings
35 – 43 Appendix 3 – Reviews
45 – 48 Appendix 4 – Investment
49 – 50 Appendix 5 – Sustainable BudgetIntroduction
A combination of rising demand for services, increasing service costs, decreasing income –
mainly from central government grants – and the council tax freeze, make the coming three
years the most difficult the Council has ever faced.
When we started the budget process for 2014-15, we were advised that the estimated gap
between the cost of continuing council services at the same level and the council’s income to
pay for those services would be £92m over the next four years.
At this time last year, as a first step in closing this gap, we agreed savings of £29m which on
those estimates would have reduced this budget gap to £63m over the next three years.
However over the course of this year we have seen demand for services, in particular the
demand for social care services, rise faster than predicted. We also face a reduction in
government grant following the recalculation of Grant Aided Expenditure (GAE) indicators. In
light of all these factors, when we published our draft budget on 18 th November last year, this
was based on a revised estimate that the budget gap facing the council over the next three
years had grown from £63m to £77m.
This then is the financial challenge facing the council over the next three years – closing a
budget gap of £77m – equivalent to a cut of almost 10% in the council’s total revenue
expenditure. The council is legally required to produce a balanced budget against this
backdrop of unprecedented cuts in local government funding and a significant increase in
service costs and demand.
It is clear that the council cannot make this level of saving without it having a serious impact
on local services and on our staff. Most of the so-called ‘easier’ or more obvious savings
have been taken in previous years. This means that we will have to reshape our services,
working with other agencies, the voluntary sector and local communities, to ensure that we
protect vital local services as best we can and endeavour to continue to meet our priorities
and to deliver positive outcomes for Fife.
However this doesn’t mean that we should passively accept what is a massive attack on local
public services. The scale of these cuts and the targeting of them on vital local services is a
conscious choice being made by those currently in power in central government at
Westminster and Holyrood.
Fife’s Labour Administration will fulfil our duty to manage the council’s finances prudently and
responsibly and we will meet the legal requirement to set a balanced budget. This will mean
making difficult decisions and choices. But we will also argue vigorously and take whatever
action is open to us in defence of our valuable local services.
A full and open debate is needed across Scotland about what level and standard of local
public services we want and how these should be paid for. People in Fife and across
Scotland clearly value vital local services such as health and social care, education, housing,
roads, environmental services and the many other services provided by or for local
authorities.
1We have had an extensive consultation on our Draft Budget over the past 3 months,
engaging with many individuals and organisations across Fife. What is clear from this is that
people do value our local services. They don’t want to see massive cuts in those services,
and many of those who can afford it would be prepared to pay a little more towards
maintaining those services.
As set out in our Draft Budget, we will take a medium term approach to setting our budget for
the next three years. But we will balance the need to make savings with our desire,
supported by many people in Fife, to protect our vital local services.
We will therefore make savings in a balanced way over the three year period 2015-16 to
2017-18 to avoid facing a major crisis in years two and three of this budget period. But as far
as possible we will avoid making cuts this year that may prove to be unnecessary in light of
current uncertainties and possible future developments. Once a service has been cut, it is
very difficult to replace it.
The Scottish Government has only set a firm budget for local authorities for one year. Last
year the distribution of that budget between Scottish local authorities varied markedly from
previous years with Fife losing £2.5m. There is every indication that the squeeze on local
government finance will continue and our financial advisers have produced the estimates of
our budget gap for the next three years on the basis of the best information and evidence that
is available to them.
It is likely that the council will have its grant from central government reduced by £26m
between 2015-16 and 2017-18. So the council must be prepared to meet the challenge of
bridging the estimated budget gap of £77m over the next three years, even though we will be
arguing for additional funding.
However there will be a General Election in May this year. There will be a Scottish
Parliament election in 2016 before the council has to set its budget for 2017-18. The result of
these elections may affect the financial position of the council and of local government as a
whole.
In our draft budget we set out proposals for savings in future years that would have reduced
the budget gap by almost two thirds. In light of the uncertainties set out above, the revised
estimates of service demand and the feedback from the public during our budget
consultation, we will be deferring any decision on many of the savings proposals for 2016-17
and 2017-18. This still means that the decisions we propose in this budget will reduce the
budget gap over the three year period by 44% a significant step towards closing this gap.
This approach will ensure that the remaining budget gap will be manageable during years
two and three of this budget period, but we have not taken decisions prematurely.
Council Tax
The impact of the council tax freeze has been a significant cut in the funding available to
support local services and the better off have benefitted more from the freeze than those who
are less well off. The Scottish Government has so far failed to come forward with an
alternative means of funding local services that would have prevented or lessened the impact
of the cuts that local authorities across Scotland now have to make.
2The council tax freeze has not been fully funded. It has certainly not taken into account the
significant rise in the demand and cost of services such as health and social care for older
people. If council tax had risen in line with inflation since 2008, then the budget gap facing
Fife would have been around £30-40m rather than £77m. If Fife Council was allowed to raise
council tax by the level of inflation over the next three years without facing a penalty imposed
by the Scottish Government, then the level of cuts in services we must make would have
been reduced by between £8-10m.
In our budget consultation we asked whether people would be prepared to pay an additional
amount of council tax to raise £7m to help meet the demand for older people’s social care.
The response to this question was very revealing. 71% of those who responded said they
would be prepared to pay more if there was no reduction in grant to the council imposed by
the Scottish Government as a result. On the other hand if the Scottish Government were to
reduce the council’s grant by £4.6m as they would if Fife disregarded the council tax freeze,
then only 36% would be willing to pay the additional amount and 64% would not.
We recognise that many people are still struggling with the everyday cost of living and
although many in Fife would be prepared to pay a little more to fund local services, it is still
the case that the Scottish Government would cut Fife’s grant by £4.6m if we were to raise the
council tax by any amount and that this penalty is too severe to justify an increase in the
council tax.
Therefore, as set out in our Draft Budget, we do not intend to raise the level of the council tax
this year. It should be noted that water and sewage charges included with the collection of
council tax have not been frozen by the Scottish Government and it is expected that these
will still rise.
Budget Strategy and Approach
Despite the level of savings the council is being forced to make, it will still be spending a very
significant amount of around £700m on local services. However the financial constraints we
face make it more important than ever that we target our resources more precisely and that
we focus our investment on our priorities as set out in the Council Plan and the Fife
Community Plan. In this way we will continue our efforts to align budget decisions more
closely with policy direction.
The budget consultation confirmed that there is broad general agreement with our budget
strategy and approach and that this is seen as realistic and fair.
Our overall priorities are:
Tackling poverty and inequality
Improving the quality of life in local communities and for individuals
Building a strong local economy
Building a sustainable society
Transforming local services to work more efficiently
3In line with these overall priorities our budget proposals have been developed to reflect the
following principles:
Maintaining basic services at an acceptable standard
Tackling poverty
Investing in prevention and early intervention and spending to save in the future
Protecting low paid employees
Continuing with direct service provision by the council as part of a mixed economy of
service provision
In the past, previous administrations have sought to make savings simply by giving each
service a percentage savings target. Our Administration has been moving away from this
‘salami slicing’ approach which is no longer appropriate if we are to make the level of savings
required whilst still focusing on our priorities.
Our approach to identifying the required savings includes a number of elements:
Efficiency savings – services have identified a range of efficiency savings that will not
have any significant impact on service delivery. Details of these efficiency savings
were published in November 2014.
Adjustments to the budget model – the Executive Director, Finance and Corporate
Services has re-examined the assumptions on which the budget is based and has
reassessed these in light of current information
Management options – a range of savings proposals prepared by service managers
that have been subject to extensive discussion both before and after publication of the
Draft Budget
Service and Corporate cross cutting reviews of specific aspects of services and the
council’s corporate operations
The proposals arising from the management options, and service and corporate reviews are
set out in this budget. There have been significant changes to these proposals as a result of
the budget consultation and discussions with other stakeholders, trade unions and services
over the past three months.
In particular, as noted earlier, we have deferred decisions on many of the proposed savings
that would only have come into effect in the second and third years of this budget period.
It isn’t clear how much Fife will be getting from the Scottish Government for education in
future years. Nor is it clear what targets they will set up for teacher numbers or class sizes,
or what other restrictions they will impose on the way we spend our education budget. That
makes it nearly impossible to set a realistic budget for the Education Service beyond next
year.
Serious concerns have also been expressed by many parents and others in relation to
proposed education savings. The Education Service is still completing a major engagement
with parents, teachers and other stakeholders about a range of approaches to improve
education in Fife.
The Education Service accounts for over 50% of the council’s total revenue budget. If the
council is forced to make the level of savings that are estimated, then some of these savings
4need to come from education or the impact on the rest of the council’s services would be
catastrophic.
However, education is vitally important for our young people, to help them achieve their full
potential as individuals, as a means of tackling the causes of poverty in our society and as a
key element of building a prosperous and successful Fife from which we will all benefit. With
the uncertainties we face and the concerns that have been raised it would be premature
therefore to take major decisions on future education savings in this budget. Importantly, we
will be lobbying the Scottish Government strongly to increase the level of investment in
education in coming years.
The current education engagement on future approaches to improving education in Fife has
been a major success with over 1500 people participating in engagement meetings and
further meetings with parent councils still underway. This engagement was and remains
separate from the budget process. An indicative amount was included in the Draft Budget
against savings that may have arisen from some of the approaches under discussion or from
alternative savings within education. These indicative savings have been removed from this
budget and are not part of our budget strategy.
There was general agreement around some issues discussed as part of the education
engagement process, for instance the embedding of employability in secondary education
and the broadening of the options on offer at that level. The Education Service will continue
to engage in dialogue and investigate alternative approaches to improving attainment and
educational outcomes in Fife.
However there was significant public concern regarding the possibility of reducing the school
day in primary schools. It is clear that the case for this approach has not been made and
unless and until the concerns expressed can be addressed and alleviated and unless there is
clear evidence to support it, this approach is ruled out by this Administration.
We will, over the coming two years, seek to establish a sustainable budget model for
education in Fife that protects this vital service and maintains the improvements we are now
seeing in attainment and outcomes for our young people. We will do this by building on the
success of the current education engagement. We will continue this dialogue and
engagement with parents, pupils, teachers and their trade unions, the Scottish Government
and other stakeholders who wish to play a positive part in shaping the future of education in
Fife to look at the options for sustaining our education service.
Social Work
The issue of finding a sustainable funding model for health and social care for adults and
older people, and for the care of children and families is central to this budget.
Due to significant increases in demand for these services, ill judged savings proposals by
past administrations and continued underfunding by central government, these elements of
the old social work service have been in severe crisis over the past year requiring significant
additional funding beyond that budgeted.
5Going forward it is estimated that additional demands and pressures on the adults and older
people budget amount to over £19m and over £18m for children and families.
Responsibility for services for adults and older people will pass to the new Integrated Health
and Social Care Board in the new financial year with a single integrated budget covering the
council and the NHS services. A new strategic plan for these integrated services is being
prepared.
This will entail investment of over £11m by the council together with the reinvestment of
almost £2m in efficiency savings in the service next year. As outlined in our draft budget we
believe that an increase in funding is required from the Scottish Government and have
assumed that our investments will be matched with an additional £6m from the Scottish
Government already committed through NHS Fife.
The Children and Families service has now been integrated within the new Education and
Children’s Services directorate. A strategy for addressing the operational and funding issues
facing this service has been agreed by the Executive Committee entailing investment in
additional social work staff to undertake preventative work with looked after children and their
families and a move away from high cost residential care packages. However, the strategy
will take 3 years before the benefits kick-in and the report to the executive committee noted a
one-off funding gap of £19.75m over the first 3 years (2015/16 to 2017/18). The proposals in
this budget address the funding gap and include the use of council balances freed up through
the capitalisation of Education infrastructure investment, which is now reflected in our capital
plan proposals.
It is projected that this approach, together with the early years work and other initiatives
already funded by this Administration as part of our wider strategy, will reduce the overall
cost of this service over the next 5 years, compared to the status quo, and improves the care
provided to this vulnerable group of young people.
These strategies are designed to address the ongoing and growing funding difficulties of
these two critical service areas over the next 5 years. Minor adjustments will no doubt be
required to respond to changing circumstances but establishing these key services on a
sustainable footing for the future is the major element of this budget.
6Future Savings and Reviews
In our Draft Budget we set out a number of savings proposals in addition to the specific
management options included under each service area. Additional savings covering charges
and concessions, savings arising from the voluntary sector review and further savings
through reduction in absence are now set out as detailed savings proposals later in this
budget.
In addition to these savings, it is projected that the planned savings already agreed through
procurement efficiencies will be achieved and that there is scope for increased savings to be
made beyond the planned target. We will be therefore be seeking to achieve an additional
£2m of recurring savings from 2016-17 onwards through further procurement efficiencies.
In the preparation of this budget Services were asked to identify 1% efficiency savings which
would have no significant impact on service delivery. These efficiency savings were
published in November but did not amount to the full 1% across the Council. We will
therefore be seeking further efficiency savings from Services of £4m in 2016-17 and an
additional £4m in 2017-18 representing the balance of this overall 1% efficiency target.
An officer led Priority Based Budgeting review of the Transportation Service was undertaken
during the current year. The work undertaken through this review provides a valuable
starting point for a reshaping of the Transportation Service but further detailed work is
required on the major options outlined in the PBB report.
We believe that some of the savings outlined in the report can be achieved by efficiency
measures and through the proposed restructuring and streamlining of the management
structure of the service which will have no significant impact on service delivery. We will
therefore be seeking savings of £0.400m in 2016-17 rising to a total of £1.36m in 2017-18
through efficiencies and management restructuring. If possible we will seek to accelerate
these savings in discussion with the directorate.
We propose to undertake further work on the major specific service areas outlined in the
report including, the Council’s fleet, subsidised bus services and demand responsive
transport, and car parking. Detailed reports on these service areas will be brought forward as
this work is completed identifying possible savings options and service improvements. It
would therefore be premature to set specific savings targets for these further reviews at this
stage.
Proposals for changes to employment practices identified by Human Resources were
included in our Draft Budget with an indicative savings target of £2m. These were for
discussion with trade unions and staff. In response to concerns raised by the trade unions
we will not be including these savings in our budget.
We believe that staff and trade unions recognise the difficult financial challenges facing the
council and we are committed to working with them to find ways of reshaping services in
response to these financial challenges, but more importantly to ensure that our services best
meet the changing needs of service users.
We have seen significant improvements in efficiency in Building Services through the
introduction of mobile and flexible working. Changes to the refuse collection system have
7allowed us to make savings whilst retaining jobs. Working with staff, we have identified
savings in the social work group homes that have allowed us to retain these within the
council in response to the wishes of service users and staff.
We have now agreed to work with trade unions and staff to reshape the home care service to
better meet the needs of service users and to allow savings to be reinvested elsewhere in
health and social care and at the same time retaining our in house home care service.
We wish to continue this dialogue with staff and trade unions on reshaping services to better
meet the needs of service users and will be discussing further areas of service provision
where we can work together to improve services and make the required savings.
60% of the council’s revenue expenditure is on staff. If the council is forced to make the level
of savings that is being projected, it is inevitable that there will be a reduction in staff
numbers. However this Administration reiterates its commitment that we will seek to achieve
any reduction in staff numbers through early retirement, redeployment, natural turnover and
voluntary redundancies in dialogue with staff and trade unions. We will maintain our
commitment to the living wage to protect our lower paid employees, seek to retain services
within the council to ensure standards of service provision, and give our staff long term
security of employment.
In addressing the projected budget gap we will look at further areas for potential savings over
the next two years including:
Further rationalisation of the council’s offices and other non-school buildings
Further savings through mobile and flexible working
Continuing the transfer of assets to local communities where appropriate
Investigating further income generation initiatives
Seeking further efficiencies within the Fife voluntary sector through greater use of
shared resources
Temporary Investment
Having identified a significant level of savings for the coming year in previous budgets and
making savings in a planned way allows us to continue to make a small amount of temporary
investment in this budget. We propose that the commitment of this temporary funding will
cover the 3 year budget period to 2017-18. Business cases for these proposals will be
brought forward to the relevant committees as appropriate. These temporary investments are
in line with our commitment to a preventative approach and are as follows:
Children and Families - £3.265m
The report to Executive Committee in January 2015 identified a gap in the funding for
Children and Families of approximately £19.75m over 3 years. By providing this temporary
investment this addresses that gap in 2015/16 to help support the strategy being developed
to reach a sustainable budget.
8Community Broadband - £0.150m
Investment in broadband development by BT, Scottish Government and the Council is
projected to improve coverage to 98% of Fife. This investment will support the development
of alternative means of extending broadband coverage to the remaining 2% of rural Fife.
Quid a Kid and Summer Swims - £0.300m
This will extend these very successful initiatives provided through the Fife Sport and Leisure
Trust for a further 3 years.
Anti-Poverty in Schools Programme - £0.150m
This will continue the successful small investment programme in schools serving areas in the
lowest ranking SIMD areas over the next 3 years.
Care Support Fund - £0.900m
This will provide 3 year funding for small scale pilot initiatives to support preventative work
with befriending services for older people, carers and young carers, and looked after children.
Community Asset Renewal and Transfer Fund - £0.300m
Funding to facilitate communities to undertake feasibility and preparatory work aimed at
attracting external funding for renewal of community assets or to facilitate the transfer of
council assets to communities. An initial commitment of up to £50k will be made to
Burntisland Community Council to undertake a feasibility study of common good and other
community properties in need of renewal to allow external funding applications to be
prepared to carry out the work identified.
A number of other possible temporary investments were identified in the Draft Budget that
have been transferred to the proposed capital programme. These include:
Investment in a closed loop cycle circuit adjacent to Lochore Meadows building on our
commitment to sport. It is envisaged that match funding will be available through Sports
Scotland and Scottish Cycling to develop this facility that is projected to operate with a
revenue surplus. It will attract visitors from across Scotland and beyond for events and will
have a positive impact on the local economy as well as promoting sport, increasing cycle use
and encouraging healthy lifestyles.
Town and Local Centres Regeneration Fund. A small capital fund of £3m following on from
the investment in Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy town centres. This will kick start town centre
and local centre renewal initiatives. Leven has already developed a plan to improve and
renew its town centre, enhancing the local economy, and up to £1m will be committed from
this fund to support the Leven initiative, dependent on submission of a suitable business
case. Glenrothes Area Committee will also be invited to submit proposals to support
regeneration of its town centre or precincts and it will also be open to other area committees
to bring forward submissions in conjunction with the town centres team.
Synthetic Pitch Renewal and Development. Building on the commitment in last year’s
budget, further investment will be made to renew and develop synthetic pitches in
communities across Fife. A submission for match funding for this programme will be made to
Sports Scotland. The renewal of synthetic pitches at Woodmill in Dunfermline that have
reached the end of their useful life will be undertaken as the first phase in this programme. It
will be open to all area committees to make submissions for funding through this programme.
9Devolution to Area Committees
As part of our commitment to decentralisation we propose to devolve decision making on
further budgets to the Area Committees. Elements of the budgets for discretionary rating
relief and non-recurring grants will be combined with the current local community planning
budget and decisions on these will be devolved to the Area Committees.
Part of the Fairer Scotland Fund and the welfare reform funding will also be devolved to Area
Committees to develop local anti-poverty programmes.
Work will be undertaken over the course of the coming year to bring forward proposals for
further devolution of the area transportation budget, grounds maintenance budget and
estates management budget.
We will also explore ways of devolving local budgets directly to local communities through
participatory budgeting and other approaches.
Response to Consultation
Once again we held a wide ranging consultation on our Draft Budget proposals. Over 3000
people visited the budget pages on-line, nearly 400 people attended face to face meetings
and pop-up sessions and well over 800 detailed responses were received with just over a
20% response rate from those participating on-line or receiving the paper survey form.
This consultation has allowed us to engage in a variety of different ways with individuals and
organisations, including staff and trade unions, and has provided us not only with valuable
feedback on our Draft Budget but with plenty food for thought as we look to improve and
reshape services for the future and move on to tackle the significant budget challenge we
face over the next few years.
We would like to thank all those who participated in the budget consultation and look forward
to continuing the dialogue with you and many others in the coming months and years.
There was broad agreement with the priorities we have set and the approach we are taking in
setting out budget. It is important to have it confirmed that our Administration has broad
support for our future policy and financial strategy direction.
There is strong support for the maintenance of basic services and local public services are
seen as valuable. People would be prepared to pay a little more to maintain services. There
was considerable serious debate about whether or not we should raise the council tax during
the consultation. In the end the balance of opinion confirmed our position set out in the Draft
Budget that we should not raise the council tax at this time in light of the Scottish
Government threat to withdraw £4.6m in grant from the council if we were to raise the council
tax.
Education issues received the greatest response during the consultation. In response to the
concerns expressed and with the continuing uncertainties about education funding, we have
deferred and withdrawn the bulk of the proposals for future savings in education. With
education making up over 50% of the council’s budget, we need to establish a sustainable
budget model for this vital service into the future and we will continue the engagement and
10dialogue with parents, teachers and other stake holders on options as we seek to do this over
the coming year.
In response to specific issues raised in the consultation we have rejected the proposal to
reduce cleaning in schools and we have reduced the savings required from the music
service.
Concerns were expressed about the proposed savings in parks and open spaces and
grounds maintenance. We have had further extensive and detailed discussions with the
Service and have received assurances that these savings can be achieved with only a limited
impact on service standards. However in light of the concerns expressed we have reduced
the saving required by £0.200m.
There was considerable discussion and concerns were expressed regarding health and
social care issues and in particular about care services for older people during the
consultation. These views are reflected in our approach to setting a sustainable budget
model for health and social care services and in the approach we have now agreed to
reshaping the home care services in dialogue with staff and trade unions. There was strong
support for retention of the council’s care homes in house.
There was much discussion about car parking and other transportation issues during the
consultation and a recognition that we should address these issues in the context of the
financial challenges we face. However there were conflicting views about how these should
be addressed and it was clear that further work is required before we come to a conclusion
about the future direction of travel on these issues. This further work will take place over the
coming months.
We held a number of discussions with the trade unions and received views from staff on the
issue of terms and conditions and modernising employment practices. In light of these
discussions we have withdrawn the indicative savings target of £2m set out in our Draft
Budget and will enter into dialogue with staff and trade unions around areas of service where
it should be possible to reshape services to better meet the needs of service users as well as
achieving savings, whilst minimising the impact on staff.
We have also held discussions with the other political groups and independent councillors
over the past few weeks and have taken some of their suggestions on board.
We received a wide range of ideas from the public and from staff and these will be looked at
further as we go forward. We will discuss further with staff and trade unions how we can
engage more effectively with staff to get their ideas and to involve them more in reshaping
services and addressing the financial challenge we face.
Conclusion
The coming few years will be the most difficult the Council has ever faced. As an
Administration we are committed to continuing dialogue and engagement with service users,
staff and trade unions, the Scottish Government, other political groups and other
stakeholders as we face this challenge over the coming months and years.
11As a minority administration, the Labour Administration is dependent on the support of other
political groups and independent councillors for the approval of this budget.
Political make-up of Fife Council at present:
Scottish Labour Party 34
Scottish National Party 26
Liberal Democrats 10
Independents 4
Scottish Conservatives 3
Vacancy 1
We will continue to manage the council’s finances prudently and responsibly and meet our
legal responsibilities, but we will also vigorously defend our vital local services and we hope
we will have the continuing support of the people of Fife in this fight.
12FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
£000 £000 £000
Budget Gap (cumulative) - per report by Executive Director
(3,560) (36,706) (77,233)
Finance & Corporate Services (November 2014)
Adjustments to the budget model 3,233 3,206 4,246
Revised Budget Gap (January 2015) (327) (33,500) (72,987)
Provision for demographic & locally determined pressures 2015-16 6,452 6,452 6,452
Budget (Gap)/Surplus Excluding Demographic Pressures 2015-16 6,125 (27,048) (66,535)
Efficiency Savings (Appendix 1) 5,319 8,126 11,062
Savings (Appendix 2) 3,328 10,067 16,770
Reviews (Appendix 3) 167 5,610 7,789
Available for investment 14,939 (3,245) (30,914)
Additional Investment
Investment (Appendix 4)
Education & Support for Children 7,315 9,196 4,176
Health & Social Care 7,178 8,205 8,880
Communities 350 200 200
Total Additional Investment 14,843 17,601 13,256
Contribution to Balances 96 0 0
Revised Budget Gap 0 (20,846) (44,170)
1314
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
COUNCIL TAX LEVELS
By law, properties subject to council tax have to be related to Band D property valuation level, (referred to
as council tax base). Band D refers to properties valued at between £45,001 and £58,000 at April 1991
prices.
2015-16
Property Valuation Band Weighting Amount
£
A Up to £27,000 6/9 745.33
B £27,000 to £35,000 7/9 869.56
C £35,001 to £45,000 8/9 993.78
D £45,001 to £58,000 9/9 1,118.00
E £58,001 to £80,000 11/9 1,366.44
F £80,001 to £106,000 13/9 1,614.89
G £106,001 to £212,000 15/9 1,863.33
H Over £212,000 18/9 2,236.00
Legislation requires the Council to determine the level of council tax at Band D. The relationship between
Band D and the other bands are fixed and cannot be adjusted.
1516
Appendix 1
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SUMMARY OF EFFICIENCY SAVINGS
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
£000 £000 £000
Education & Support for Children 2,321 2,426 2,564
Health & Social Care 869 1,131 1,439
Jobs, Business & the Economy 163 437 622
Transport & the Environment 419 1,086 1,763
Communities 789 1,670 2,573
Working More Efficiently 758 1,376 2,101
Total Efficiency Savings Proposals by Administration 5,319 8,126 11,062
Full details of the Efficiency Savings are published on Fife Direct
www.fifedirect.org.uk/councilfinances
1718
Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SUMMARY OF SAVINGS
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
£000 £000 £000
Education & Support for Children 393 454 454
Health & Social Care 0 0 0
Jobs, Business & the Economy 0 154 350
Transport & the Environment 120 490 1,120
Communities 1,244 1,973 2,377
Working More Efficiently 0 250 538
Council Wide 1,571 6,746 11,931
Total Savings Proposals by Administration 3,328 10,067 16,770
19Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
EDUCATION & SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Remove non-statutory Transportation for Nursery Pupils
Amount of Savings - £123,000 £184,000 £184,000
The non statutory transport currently provided for some nursery children who are required to travel outwith
their local area for a nursery will be phased out. Commitments to those currently receiving the service will
be honoured but no new places will be allocated. At present this nursery transport is not provided in all
parts of Fife therefore the current service provision is not fair or consistent.
Previous Changing Children's Services Fund Allocation to NHS
Amount of Savings - £270,000 £270,000 £270,000
Since the integration of Health and Social Care in the areas of Adults and Older People an opportunity
exists to look at improving the efficiency of processes relating to children's health. Efficiencies of £270,000,
which is a proportion of the changing children's services (CCS) fund, will be taken in 2015/16 and a review
of provision to identify further efficiencies will be undertaken by the Directorate.
The CCS Fund which was originally paid to the Council as part of a change fund has been automatically
passed to NHS in recent years. This change fund no longer exists as it was set up as a temporary fund to
change processes and all the projects it initiated are now part of a valued set of standard services provided
by NHS Fife.
20Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
JOBS, BUSINESS & THE ECONOMY
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Economy, Planning & Employability Staff Review
Amount of Savings - £0 £154,000 £350,000
Through the Protective Services Environmental Health and Trading Standards teams we carry out statutory
regulatory inspection and enforcement duties; we help businesses and schools comply with food safety,
health and safety and consumer protection legislation, and provide a range of training courses. We are
making savings by reviewing the number of staff providing this support and advice and also by removing
three posts from across the Economic Development, Employability and Economy, Tourism and Town
Centres teams. The saving will be achieved either by people voluntarily leaving or through review of staff
structures. We will make every effort to minimise the impact of these staff changes.
21Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
TRANSPORT & THE ENVIRONMENT
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Road Safety reprioritise within reduced budget
Amount of Savings - £0 £0 £10,000
We will review the way we prioritse road safety work. We could save money by reprioritising the work to be
done within the available budget.
Harbour maintenance
Amount of Savings - £0 £0 £12,000
We will save money by carrying out less harbour maintenance. We would need to reprioritise the work to be
done within the available budget.
Routine Maintenance
Amount of Savings - £0 £0 £142,000
We will save money by changing the frequency of routine maintenance activities. This would include
activities like gully cleaning, traffic signs and road markings.
22Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
TRANSPORT & THE ENVIRONMENT (continued)
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Structural Maintenance
Amount of Savings - £0 £0 £200,000
We will save money by carefully prioritising work on the basis of the severity of defects on carriageways,
footways and bridges.
Flood Prevention / Coastal Protection
Amount of Savings - £0 £0 £16,000
We will carry out less routine flood prevention and coastal protection work but will carefully prioritise the
work to be done.
Blue Badge Processing Charge
Amount of Savings - £0 £120,000 £120,000
It costs us money every time we issue a Blue Badge but we don't charge customers for issuing them. Most
other councils charge customers for the issue of their blue badge to recover part of the administrative costs.
We now propose to introduce a charge of £20 in accordance with Scottish Government guidelines.
23Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
TRANSPORT & THE ENVIRONMENT (continued)
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Concessionary Rail Travel
Amount of Savings - £0 £120,000 £120,000
We will save money by increasing the charge for concessionary rail travel which has been held at the same
rate for a number of years. We propose to keep the concessionary rail travel scheme and increase the
charge from 50p to £1.
Sustainability Management Fee: Additional Income
Amount of Savings - £0 £50,000 £300,000
We're proposing to recruit a business development resource whose main aim will be to bring in more
income to the business. The new resource will be expected to cover the costs through the income they
generate as well as additional income to the business.
Sustainability Management Fee : Completion of 4 bin roll out
Amount of Savings - £120,000 £120,000 £120,000
We're proposing to spend less money on raising awareness of the importance of recycling - following
completion of the 4 bin roll out.
24Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
TRANSPORT & THE ENVIRONMENT (continued)
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Sustainability Management Fee - Review of climate change and zero waste
Amount of Savings - £0 £80,000 £80,000
We're proposing to lose two posts from the climate change and zero waste team.
25Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS PROPOSALS
COMMUNITIES
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Purchase of food for school meals
Amount of Savings - £0 £36,000 £173,000
We're proposing not to renew our Food for Life accreditation. We will purchase food using alternative and
locally sourced products and continue to offer the same menu options for school meals. This will not have
an impact on the quality of food services in schools.
Increase charge for School Lunches
Amount of Savings - £200,000 £200,000 £200,000
We're proposing to increase what we charge for a school lunch from £1.80 to £2.00. This will cover the
additional income required to meet both this target and the other detailed in the Council Wide section of this
document. The price will increase from £1.80 to £1.90 in 2015-16, then £1.95 in 2016-17 to £2.00 in 2017-
18.
Kitchen closures in Primary Schools
Amount of Savings - £0 £0 £76,000
We're proposing to close kitchens in primary schools that serve less than 75 meals each day. Meals would
be prepared in central units and transported to the schools for serving.
26Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
COMMUNITIES (continued)
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Reduction in management fee for Fife Sport & Leisure Trust
Amount of Savings - £0 £58,000 £116,000
Reduction in the management fee for Fife Sports & Leisure Trust. This would be achieved by generating
additional income, particularly from the new sports facilities in Dunfermline, Glenrothes and Kirkcaldy, all of
which have seen big increases in attendance since they opened to the public and a corresponding increase
in the sales of 'Leisure Active' memberships.
Reduction in management fee for Fife Coast & Countryside Trust
Amount of Savings - £0 £34,000 £68,000
Reducing the management fee we give to the Fife Coast & Countryside Trust. This will require a further
review of the services agreement, including the management and maintenance arrangments for a number
of coast and countryside sites.
Reduction in management fee for Fife Golf Trust
Amount of Savings - £0 £12,000 £25,000
Reduction in the management fee for Fife Golf Trust. The trust would need to review the maintenance
arrangements and opening hours for the golf courses and continue to look at ways to increase use and
generate additional income.
27Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
COMMUNITIES (continued)
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Sports Operations - Reduction in Minor Projects
Amount of Savings - £0 £66,000 £132,000
Reduction in the budget available for minor works/improvements to our golf courses, sports centres and
swimming pools consolidation our contribution to the school holiday activity programmes run by Fife Sports
& Leisure Trust within the additional funding for Quid a Kid and free summer swims, and making a
maintenance saving of £8,000 following the installation of new synthetic turf pitches at a number of our
sports facilities.
Sports Development - Management
Amount of Savings - £0 £20,000 £40,000
Reduction of one management post. This would be linked to a wider review of our sports management
arrangements.
Managed Reduction of Parks, Streets & Open Spaces Workforce
Amount of Savings - £528,000 £860,000 £860,000
Following the integration of Parks, Streets & Open Spaces, a number of changes and improvement projects
are being taken forward. There would be an overall reduction in the number of management, operational
and support staff.
28Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
COMMUNITIES (continued)
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Increased Provision of Mechanical Street Sweeping
Amount of Savings - £516,000 £687,000 £687,000
An increase in mechanical street sweeping can be achieved by the adoption of a 4 x 4 shift pattern over a
seven-day week. This will allow a larger number of streets to be swept/cleaned in a more efficient and
effective way, resulting in a reduced number of staff within Parks, Streets & Open Spaces.
29Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
WORKING MORE EFFICIENTLY
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Spend to Save - Investigation of Corporate Fraud
Amount of Savings - £0 £53,000 £196,000
Increasing savings by eliminating fraud from various income streams to the Council.
Additional Efficiency from Corporate Debt
Amount of Savings - £0 £90,000 £90,000
Bringing together all staff involved in the debt collection process will realise efficiencies in administration.
Audit Services
Amount of Savings - £0 £0 £38,000
Review of staffing structures.
30Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
WORKING MORE EFFICIENTLY (continued)
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Business Support Staffing Review
Amount of Savings - £0 £74,000 £148,000
With effect from October 2014, Business Support was established as a new Service as part of the overall
3S (Shared Support Services) review.
The savings would mainly arise from a review of staffing levels in the new Business Support Service,
following reviews of processes. There may also be associated savings in staffing-related costs.
Finance, Procurement & HR Staffing Review
Amount of Savings - £0 £33,000 £66,000
Review of elements of EE&C Resources which transferred to Finance & Procurement, Human Resources
and Business Support.
These areas are part of the overall 3S (Shared Support Services) review.
31Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
COUNCIL WIDE
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Charges & Concessions
Amount of Savings - £718,000 £1,436,000 £2,154,000
Following consideration of fees and charges by the Policy Advisory Group, the decision taken is to increase
charges by inflation (CPI) rather than applying the policy of inflation plus 1%.
This proposal does not include charges in relation to car parking to recongise additional review work
required in this area.
Fife Voluntary sector
Amount of Savings - £353,000 £810,000 £1,277,000
Savings already identified through the voluntary sector review. These savings include development of an
alternative delivery model for Homelessness and Housing Support (approved Executive Committee Sept
14), savings related to support for Byre Theatre as well as a review of the support to the Voluntary Sector
and Service Level Agreement (SLA) renewals.
Absence
Amount of Savings - £500,000 £500,000 £500,000
The savings identified in last year’s budget as a result of reductions in absence have largely been achieved.
There is scope to achieve further cost savings in this area.
32Appendix 2
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SAVINGS
COUNCIL WIDE (continued)
Further Efficiency Savings
Amount of Savings - £0 £4,000,000 £8,000,000
Services were asked to identify 1% efficiency savings which would have no significant impact on service
delivery. Some of these savings were accepted this year but this did not amount to the full 1% across the
Council. This further saving in future years represents the balance of this efficiency saving.
3334
Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SUMMARY OF REVIEWS
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
£000 £000 £000
Education & Support for Children 100 370 370
Health & Social Care 0 1,800 1,800
Jobs, Business & the Economy 0 41 81
Transport & the Environment 0 400 1,360
Communities 0 337 337
Working More Efficiently 67 662 1,841
Council Wide Reviews 0 2,000 2,000
Total Reviews Proposed by Administration 167 5,610 7,789
35Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
REVIEWS
EDUCATION & SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Music Service
Amount of Savings - £100,000 £100,000 £100,000
A saving will be achieved through a moderate increase in the fees for music instruction, while pupils eligible
for free school meals will continue to receive tuition free.
Previous Changing Children's Services Fund Allocation to NHS
Amount of Savings - £0 £270,000 £270,000
A short scale review of the partnerships and service level agreements between Fife Council and NHS will
be undertaken over the coming year with a focus on impact and improving outcomes for children's health.
The joint work of the partnership and all monies that Education and Children's Services Directorate
currently give to NHS to improve children's health will be included as part of this review.
36Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
REVIEWS
HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Homecare Service Review
Amount of Savings - £0 £1,800,000 £1,800,000
A review of the homecare service is underway and will report separately to the Council and to the new
Health and Social Care Partnership Board.
The saving will be reinvested in future service provision and is reflected in the sustainable budget proposals
at Appendix 5b.
37Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
REVIEWS
JOBS, BUSINESS & THE ECONOMY
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Town Centre BID Companies Support
Amount of Savings - £0 £41,000 £81,000
We will review the core grants to Dunfermline and Kirkcaldy Business Improvement District (BID)
companies. Both organisations also receive considerable financial contributions from the council, both
through Area Committee grants, and the "levy" contributions that all businesses are bound to pay to support
acting within the BID company.
38Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
REVIEWS
TRANSPORT & THE ENVIRONMENT
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Reshaping Transportation - Phase 1
Amount of Savings - £0 £400,000 £1,360,000
We believe there are a range of further efficiency and management savings identified through the current
review of Transportation that can be achieved as a first phase in a major reshaping of the service, including
a full management restructuring.
39Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
REVIEWS
COMMUNITIES
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Community Use and Community Access Schools
Amount of Savings - £0 £337,000 £337,000
Work is already underway to identify options for reshaping the way we make use of our schools and
community facilities to improve provision and deliver savings.
40Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
REVIEWS
WORKING MORE EFFICIENTLY
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Restructure of Frontline Services
Amount of Savings - £0 £180,000 £500,000
We're proposing to create a more integrated and efficient service by bringing services including roads,
building, property, fleet, asset management, catering and cleaning, under one management structure. We'll
save money by using our resources more effectively and there may be a reduction in the number of staff
needed across the service.
Re-structure of Democratic Services & Legal Services
Amount of Savings - £0 £134,000 £215,000
We're proposing to review the way our Democratic Services are delivered in the Council. This will involve a
review of how the council's decision making processes are supported. There will be a reduction of one
solicitor's post from Legal Services.
Employee Health and Well Being
Amount of Savings - £0 £80,000 £80,000
We're proposing a review of how we provide health and well-being support to council employees. This will
be achieved though better targeting of support and contract re-tendering.
41Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
REVIEWS
WORKING MORE EFFICIENTLY (continued)
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Review of IT Systems
Amount of Savings - £0 £0 £711,000
We are proposing significant reviews of the council's business and technology solutions. The five year
programme will aim to standardise systems and reduce the number of bespoke arrangements in use.
One Council approach to Customer Service
Amount of Savings - £67,000 £268,000 £335,000
We're proposing to review the way we provide customer services in our offices and buildings throughout
Fife. We can improve things for customers and make savings by training and equipping all public-facing
staff to provide a standard level of service. This would mean developing staff skills and knowledge so that,
no matter which council or Trust building a customer visits, staff members could provide general advice and
help with common requests. For example this might cover things like helping people use PCs, booking a
sports court, making an appointment for a housing interview or looking up bin calendars, whether the
customer goes into a local office, library or school.
42Appendix 3
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
REVIEWS
COUNCIL WIDE
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Procurement
Amount of Savings - £0 £2,000,000 £2,000,000
It is projected that the planned savings through procurement efficiencies will be achieved and that there is
scope for increased savings to be achieved beyond those already planned.
4344
Appendix 4
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
SUMMARY OF INVESTMENT
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
£000 £000 £000
Education & Support for Children 7,315 9,196 4,176
Health & Social Care 7,178 8,205 8,880
Communities 350 200 200
Total Investment Proposed by Administration 14,843 17,601 13,256
45Appendix 4
FIFE COUNCIL
GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET 2015-18
INVESTMENT
EDUCATION & SUPPORT FOR CHILDREN
2015-16 2016-17 2017-18
Education and Children's Services
Amount of Investment - £7,265,000 £9,146,000 £4,126,000
Investment is proposed to support the Directorate in addressing the pressure arising from the high number
of child care placements and their associated cost. The Directorate has proposed a Strategy to reduce this
reliance through increased investment in staff which will allow a more focussed approach to early
intervention with children and their families.
It is anticipated that the strategy will yield financial benefits from 2016-17 onwards.
This coupled with the expected directorate contributions, previously approved funding measures and
assumed growth funding in future years should provide a sustainable budget over the next 5 years.
Details are provided in Appendix 5a.
Anti-Poverty in Schools Programme
Amount of Investment - £50,000 £50,000 £50,000
This will continue the successful small investment programme in schools serving areas in the lowest
ranking SIMD areas over the next 3 years.
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