Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Summary of Decision Area:

1.1. Finance and performance monitoring reports are considered regularly throughout the year. This confirms that appropriate management action is being taken, and enables the Executive Member to make any decisions necessary to approve this management action.

2) Issues Covered in Report:

2.1. The overall financial position for Recreation and Heritage remains very much as reported in September. It is estimated that there would be an overspend of £225,000 if management action were not being taken. The main feature of this action continues to be vacancy management and economy measures in running expenses such as energy costs. As a consequence, it is anticipated that the budget will be balanced at 31 March 2009. The report also outlines how additional resources made available in the 2008/09 budget have been used.

2.2. The half-yearly performance information is also presented and this indicates that library visits are having a marked increase and most of the other performance targets will be achieved.

3) Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

3.1. the financial and performance position of 2008/09 be noted and the managerial action being taken to balance the budget be endorsed.

MAIN REPORT

1) Purpose of the Report:

1.1. The purpose of this report is to provide the Executive Member with information on the financial and performance position for 2008/09.

2) Contextual Information:

2.1. The net revenue budget for 2008/09 is £34.177 million, and it is currently estimated that the budget would be overspent by £225,000 if no managerial action were taken. It is anticipated that the action being taken will result in a balanced budget position being achieved. The position is summarised in Appendix C. The £600,000 additional resources in 2008/09 are being used to benefit a wide cross-section of the community.

2.2. The performance information for the first six months of 2008/09 is summarised in Appendix E. This shows a significant increase in library visits, and that most performance targets will be met in 2008/09.

3) Key Issues:

3.1. The potential overspend of £225,000 (which is being addressed by management action) relates to services at their current level. The previous monitoring report referred to the implementation of the Spydus Library Management System. This is a major and extensive upgrade of the library management system which will have benefits for customers - such as browsing the County's entire stock catalogue from home, and reserving items to collect from a local library - as well as significant improvements in management information which will enable the book stock to be used more intensively. There is a need to accommodate one-off costs associated with the implementation of such a major system. It is estimated that the costs of Spydus in 2008/09 will exceed the available resources by £140,000, and that this will ultimately settle at approximately £100,000 p.a.

3.2. The September report referred to pressures on the Library budget arising from a continued reduction in income levels and from the impact of increased energy prices. The report also referred to the prudent budget management being exercised to cover the worst case of the underlying pressures on the budget, and the implementation of Spydus. The position will be kept under close review.

3.3. The 2008/09 budget included two elements of growth:

_ £250,000 recurring

_ £350,000 in 2008/09 only for the Library Service Materials Fund

In the context of the Library Service budget, this latter addition has enabled the following:

_ The purchase of additional materials to support the National Year of Reading, such as Book Doctor, monthly themed book collections and the Hampshire Big Read (2,500 copies of Private Peaceful by Michael Morpurgo)

_ Piloting new audio formats such as MP3 CD at Lymington and Playaway at Chandlers Ford.

_ Extending the availability of Fastback (bestseller) collections books to two more libraries - Andover and New Milton

_ An increase in the general availability of both novels and non-fiction across the County

_ Purchase of GOAD street plans for local studies collections

_ An increased spend on standing orders for Library unique material serving groups with special needs, i.e. large print books and audio books

_ Teen Read, First for Fiction, Travel and World War 1 circulating collections in the Gosport and Fareham area

_ Quick Read titles for emerging readers for World Book Day

_ An extra 40 Books on Prescription collections to support those with stress and other mild mental health problems

3.4. The £250,000 recurring growth was allocated to the following service areas:

£000

_ Library Service:

o Sunday opening 50

o Home Library Service 70

_ Rights of Way 50

_ Outreach for Young People 30

_ Well-being and Adult Learning 50

3.5. Andover and Aldershot libraries are now both open on Sunday (and Aldershot Library is no longer closed on Wednesday). The number of visits to Aldershot Library has increased by 3% and an average 250 people have visited Andover Library on a Sunday.

3.6. The allocation to the Home Library Service has enabled a secondment to develop the service across the County, as well as the expansion of the service into areas which previously had little or no coverage.

3.7. The Rights of Way allocation has funded an increase to the successful Small Grants Scheme (for improvements to local countryside access networks) as well as enhancing existing local maintenance budgets.

3.8. The Outreach for Young People allocation has enabled a wide range of activities which are aimed at children in care, as well as those at the risk of exclusion from school. This work has focussed on building self-esteem, and other work has improved access to play areas for children with disabilities.

3.9. The development of learning opportunities in libraries has been the priority for the Well-being and Adult learning resources. These have been used by managers according to local priority. One example is the funding of a Development Worker (based at Winchester Discovery Centre) whose role is to expand the existing programme in rural libraries and the surrounding areas.

3.10. It has been reported previously that Calshot and Tile Barn are planning to transfer approximately £130,000 from their revenue budgets to capital to fund agreed projects. It is proposed not to make this transfer at this stage, and to consider the decision later in the financial year in the light of the overall budget position.

3.11. The position on the other service budgets is extremely similar to that reported in September. The main exception is the Director and Business Development overspend of £21,000 which has been eliminated, despite cost pressures, owing to vacancy management.

3.12. The performance position at 30 September 2008 is shown in Appendix E. This shows that there continues to be a significant improvement in visits to libraries following the investment in library refurbishments and improvements. It is anticipated that the majority of the other performance targets will be met by 31 March 2009.

4) Outline of Options:

4.1. Option 1:

a) Taking no action

5) Conclusion:

5.1. The Recreation and Heritage budget remains under pressure; as a result of continuing management action it is anticipated that a balanced budget will be achieved and performance targets met.

6) Recommendations:

6.1 It is recommended that:

the financial and performance position of 2008/09 be noted and the managerial action being taken to balance the budget be endorsed.

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

COMPREHENSIVE RISK & IMPACT ASSESSMENT:

This report is in accordance with the budget strategy and the County Council's financial management policy. This policy applies equally to all services and ensures consistent financial management decisions across all policies.

Appendix E