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24
Nov 2024
Street lights, social care, toilets... how are North Yorkshire Council's services performing financially?
This past week, North Yorkshire’s finance chief warned that the council’s finances did not tell “a happy tale”.
North Yorkshire Council is currently forecasting an overspend of £1.7 million for the financial year 2023/24, according to a report before senior councillors this week.
This is on top of the projected £48 million shortfall over the next four years.
One of the main reasons for the bleak financial outlook is the demand on services such as adult social care, which is struggling to cope with increased hospital discharges and more high cost care packages.
But other service areas are also reporting overspends for various different reasons — while some areas are also doing better than forecast.
In this article, we take a look at the latest forecasted overspends and underspends for the current financial year.
Health and adult services - £7.7m overspend
The council's health and adult services team is having to cope with increase in demand.
The report before councillors on Tuesday said the service “continues to face significant financial pressures largely due to increasing activity”.
This includes high levels of hospital discharges and community case work, more admissions to supported living and the impact of both activity and legal decisions in relation to long-term residential and nursing costs, the report said.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Cllr Gareth Dadd, the council’s executive councillor for finance, was particularly critical of the number of hospital discharges the authority was having to deal with.
It’s quite telling, isn't it, that we had a Budget recently with record investments into the NHS but we seem to be bearing increased costs ourselves.
Outdoor learning service - £229,000 deficit
The council’s outdoor learning services, which includes sites such as Bewerley Park in Pateley Bridge, is among another area which is struggling financially.
It’s forecasting a £229,000 deficit for the second quarter of 2024/25.
This is due to lower bookings than usual as schools tighten their belts and families deal with the increased cost of living.
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Public toilets - £275,000 overspend
Much of the overspend in public conveniences is down to contracts and staffing.
The figure is a £95,000 increase on the previous quarter.
Cleaning contracts (£144,000) and staffing costs (£130,000) are among the areas causing the overspend, the council report said.
This may explain why the council is reviewing its provision of public conveniences and seeing if parish councils ar einterested in taking them on.
Bereavement services - £519,000 overspend
The council’s bereavement service, which includes crematoriums, is forecasting an overspend of £519,000 — though this has reduced by £300,000 since the last quarter.
However, the council has reported an “underachievement in income” of £107,000 due to lower death rate and building works at Skipton Crematorium.
The council report adds:
Overspends in staffing of £124k, utilities of £127k and maintenance of £78k as a result of historic under budgeting, all contribute to the overall bereavement position of £519k overspent – a £316k reduction since quarter one, attributable to increases in income.
Street lighting - £3.1 million underspend
The council’s overall highways budget was £2.5 million underspent in the second quarter of 2024/25 — which is an increase on the previous quarter of £914,000.
Part of this is down to street lighting, which recorded an expected underspend of £3.1 million due to newly agreed energy contracts.
The report said the energy prices agreed were at “much lower rates” and thus benefit the council’s budget.
Potholes on Leeds Road.
Highways maintenance - £1.8 million overspend
The council has put down its overspend in highways maintenance down to “ongoing deterioration” of its road network.
The budget overspend has increased by £540,000 since the last quarter.
The report said:
This continues to be a significant pressure, mainly as a result of repairing potholes, due to poor road network quality.
However, it adds that the council intends to explore other methods of maintenance such as a “spray injection patching programme”, which may reduce “the number of repeated defects” on the network.
Planning - £646,000 overspend
Much of the overspend in planning is a combination of lower income and a significant claim following a planning appeal, the report says.
The council said income from planning applications, pre-application fees, building control and land charges are expected to report a shortfall of £1.4 million.
This is offset by staffing savings of £819,000 and consultants and professional services savings of £164,000.
But, the council has reported an “unforeseen cost” of £215,000 due to a cost claim from a planning appeal which was upheld.
Harrogate Convention Centre - £11,000 overspend
The council has reported an overspend at Harrogate Convention Centre, which is largely driven by costs in event delivery, catering, and security.
The report adds:
Increased event delivery staffing and housekeeping costs of £105k and other increased costs in other fees of £20,000 are offset by salary savings of £256,000.
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