Agenda item

To consider the report on the Medium Term Financial Strategy Consultation 2026/27- 2029/30.

The committee considered the report which asked members to provide feedback, as consultees, on the development of the Cheshire East Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2026/27 to 2029/30.  Feedback was requested in relation to the responsibilities of the Committee.

The report set out the latest budget position for 2026/27 to 2029/30 and the list of budget savings proposals relevant to the remit of the committee, which had been included in the public consultation launched in November 2025.

The committee asked questions and made comments in respect of:

• The potential inclusion of a current year outturn for comparison.
• Whether the proposed savings in table 4 of the report were achievable.
• The 5% vacancy factor on page 143 of the report: concerns were raised as to whether this was achievable; whether it should be applicable to Children’s Services; the impact of agency and interim staff; whether this would be achieved through service redesign; and the impact on statutory work.  Consideration was given to this being a nationally prescribed figure; a 100% staff rate could never be achieved at any one time due to the lag between employees leaving posts and replacements commencing in post.  
• The rising trajectory of EHCPs and the potential implications on wider costs, such as transport and Council debt interest repayments.
• Accommodation provision and the committee’s approval at the September meeting.
• The Chair of the Finance Sub-Committee indicated that all points raised during the engagement/consultation work would be used to produce final budgets and the MTFS going forward.
• Saving proposals needed to be realistic and have full business cases prepared.
• The overall current number of agency staff; the number of frontline social workers required for optimal service delivery and how many of those were agency workers; and whether any themes were appearing from exit interviews.

In response, officers reported that:

• DSG Interest and debt would be continually reviewed and included in the budget update.
• Service redesign was a live ongoing piece of work.  Children’s Services was rooted in the implementation of Families First and the intended establishment of a separate commissioning unit in Children’s Services.
• Regarding the 5% vacancy factor, it was proposed that vacancies will not be held within frontline social care services, as this would hinder service improvement.
• Permanent recruitment was a priority, with a campaign for social workers due to launch shortly.  The aim was to reduce reliance on agency staff and implement a comprehensive workforce strategy focused on recruitment, retention and career development.  Training and development were highlighted as essential to retaining staff and offering career progression opportunities.
• Given the need to improve service quality following an Ofsted rating of ‘inadequate’, and the significant work that was ongoing to address this, the service could not commit to achieving the 5% vacancy factor target in full.
• It was indicated that approximately 30% of the workforce were agency staff; a more detailed written response regarding the statistics would be provided to the committee.

RESOLVED:

That the Children and Families Committee

1. Note the updated budget position for the period 2026/27 to 2029/30 as set out in Table 3 of the report.

2. Note the proposals to invest significantly in Children and Families over a multi-year timeframe and the governance arrangements around the use of that investment.

3. Note and feedback on the list of Children and Families budget savings proposals that are contained in the budget consultation launched in November 2025 as contained in Annex 1 of the report.

4. Note the conditions for successful budget delivery, as approved by Corporate Policy Committee on 30 October 2025, which are set out in paragraph 11 of the report.