Agenda item

To consider the Finance Update report.

The Board considered the Finance Report on the use of each council’s grant for public health, including the budget for the shared service Public Health Dorset, and the other elements of grant used within each council outside of the public health shared service.

This report provided an update on the use of each Council’s ring-fenced public health grant - covering the budget for the shared service Public Health Dorset and the grant kept by each council to use. The principles set out in Section 11.4 of the report on use of committed reserves were also for the Board’s consideration.

The opening revenue budget for Public Health Dorset in 22/23 was £25.615M, with the current forecast out turn being £280k underspend - with detail being set out in section 10 of the report and table 1 in Appendix 1.

The shared service public health reserve was £2.647M on 1 April 2022. It was proposed to return £610k to BCP and of £548k to DC in year. Principles for how the remaining, committed reserve were to be used were set out in Section 11 of the report.

In 22/23 BCP would keep £8.338M of their grant, and DC keep £1.277M, with both Councils expected to spend to budget, with detail on how each Council were to use this retained grant being set out in section 12 of the report. The board were being asked to accept the reasoning for this and agree to this arrangement.

How future Covid 19 work, wider health protection work and Integrated Care Services development were to be addressed was explained, as well as the reasoning why allocations were made as they were and the formula used to determine this, what criteria had to be met for this usage and what priorities and needs each council had in identified where their respective allocations could be spent. One differentiation was that BCP spend was more greatly apportioned to drug and alcohol intervention and children’s centres, with DC support into Children’s Services - whereby there was to be active discussion with Theresa Leavy, Executive Director People, Children’s on how this was to be achieved.

The Board mentioned again about the underspend, how this had come about and why this was the case. Officers explained that this had predominately arisen given the suspension of face-to-face health checks during the pandemic, but that a digital alternative had been able to be provide to some extent. It was anticipated that those monies would be able to be now spent again as more face-to-face assessments were again possible.

Resolved

1) That the 2022/23 shared service forecast out turn of £280k underspend and the break-even position for the grant kept by each council be noted

2) That the return of £610k to BCP and £548k to DC from the public health reserve be agreed.

3) That the principles set out in 11.4 on use of committed reserves be supported.

Reason for Decisions

There are conditions that set out how councils can use their public health grant. Each local authority Chief Executive or Section 151 Officer and the Director of Public Health must sign to say this has happened.

Public Health Dorset (PHD) is a shared service across Dorset Council and BCP Council. PHD delivers public health services on behalf of both councils. Each council also provides other services with public health impact. These may be different in the two councils. The councils pay into the shared service but may also use part of the grant to support the work in the council.

Monitoring how we spend the grant will help us to know if we are meeting the conditions. It will support better financial planning. It will also help us to be sure we use the grant in the best way to improve health and wellbeing outcomes.