West Berks overspend trebles in a month, Adult Social Care out of control again - Where's Mooney??? Options

[Richard Garvie]

Last month (month 3) the overspend sat at around £400k. It has now increased by over £800k due to a £727k monthly loss in Adult Social Care. Coincides with Joe Mooney being pretty much absent from meetings. If he is missing in action, who is leading that department and how can this loss be justified? What impact has personal budgets had on the budget for Adult Social Care?

[Guest_xjay1337_*]

Photo taken at last years Newbury Council Christmas Party.

I have the solution to the problem, all over 75's should be forced into National Service!

[NWNREADER]

Last month (month 3) the overspend sat at around £400k. It has now increased by over £800k due to a £727k monthly loss in Adult Social Care. Coincides with Joe Mooney being pretty much absent from meetings. If he is missing in action, who is leading that department and how can this loss be justified? What impact has personal budgets had on the budget for Adult Social Care?

Best all the spending be stopped then?

[user23]

Best all the spending be stopped then?

Does seem to be a change of stance from Garvie, calling for a cut in spending on Adult Social Care.

[Cognosco]

Does seem to be a change of stance from Garvie, calling for a cut in spending on Adult Social Care.

Yeh but no but yeh - that was then - this is now??

[Richard Garvie]

I'm not calling for a cut in spending, just that the council keep to it's budget in all areas. Yet again, the council have ignored all advice and pressed ahead regardless. They have failed to budget correctly in this area and now the council face a huge financial burden. The council already plan to cut Adult Social Care budget for 2012/13 by £3m, sceptics may say the £3m investment in the previous year was to cover overspends last year and this year before launching huge spending cuts for the 2012/13 year.

I've said all along there was a chance personal budgets were more expensive, now the council need to come clean. Rather than simply bumbling along allowing huge overspends each year of millions of pounds, they need to get a grip of this and fast.

[Guest_xjay1337_*]

I see a lot of "plans" for new spending cuts, how to cut the deficit, all of this kind of talk; but see very little action to back up these words.

Maybe people who can't do the job properly need to be let go prompto and replaced with people who can?

[Richard Garvie]

Absolutely. Joe Mooney and the officers running that department have been allowed to let the department lose money hand over fist. We need a complete review of the department, possibly from another council who manage Adult Social Care really well in terms of forecasting and service provision. What is clear is that nobody at West Berks can run it effectively, and yet again nobody will be held to account for the mistakes being made.

[user23]

I'm not calling for a cut in spending, just that the council keep to it's budget in all areas. Yet again, the council have ignored all advice and pressed ahead regardless. They have failed to budget correctly in this area and now the council face a huge financial burden. The council already plan to cut Adult Social Care budget for 2012/13 by £3m, sceptics may say the £3m investment in the previous year was to cover overspends last year and this year before launching huge spending cuts for the 2012/13 year.

I've said all along there was a chance personal budgets were more expensive, now the council need to come clean. Rather than simply bumbling along allowing huge overspends each year of millions of pounds, they need to get a grip of this and fast.

Yes you are, you're saying when the money runs out they should stop spending on Adult Social Care even if unforeseen demand for the service outstrips what was anticipated.

This seems a tad heartless to me and given you've said it's a mistake to spend more on Adult Social Care you are advocating cuts in this area even if you don't understand the full implications of what you're saying.

As for the second point, how could have you forgotten this so quickly?

http://forum.newburytoday.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1479

[Richard Garvie]

Yes you are, you're saying when the money runs out they should stop spending on Adult Social Care even if unforeseen demand for the service outstrips what was anticipated.

This seems a tad heartless to me and given you've said it's a mistake to spend more on Adult Social Care you are advocating cuts in this area even if you don't understand the full implications of what you're saying.

As for the second point, how could have you forgotten this so quickly?

http://forum.newburytoday.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=1479

What I'm saying is that we cannot carry on overspending year after year by millions of pounds in this area. I'm not saying stop the cashflow, I'm saying sack the protfolio holder and officer in charge and bring in people who can do a better job. This has gone on long enough without accountability.

[user23]

What I'm saying is that we cannot carry on overspending year after year by millions of pounds in this area. I'm not saying stop the cashflow, I'm saying sack the protfolio holder and officer in charge and bring in people who can do a better job. This has gone on long enough without accountability.

Given we have an ageing population spending more on Adult Social Care every year is most likely. To not do so would see a cut in service levels, which is what you seem to be proposing even if you don't realise it.

There are only four councils in the whole country doing a better job, according to that independent survey. Sacking someone for coming fifth out of a hundred or so would seem a bit harsh to me.

[NWNREADER]

What I'm saying is that we cannot carry on overspending year after year by millions of pounds in this area. I'm not saying stop the cashflow, I'm saying sack the protfolio holder and officer in charge and bring in people who can do a better job. This has gone on long enough without accountability.

Sacking the portfolio holder is typical political claptrap for a solution. Maybe it delivers a fresh face, but not necessarily a more competent one. And bringing in people who can do a better job? No guarantee, then?

Looks to me as if WBC is being quite clever.... sets a budget that meets the centre demands, spends then what was always necessary in the first place. A major problem with budgeting is some organisations fail to set a realistic one, so the spectre of 'overspend' always looks like incompetence. If all that is happening is that WBC is spending what it properly should then I'm not going to get precious.

My experience suggests Adult Social Care is largely unchanged for the recipient.


So - what to do? Spend to budget or to need?

[On the edge]

Most don't get the concept of budgeting. Its not approval but a plan to spend. As it's necessarily a future prediction - there is only one thing you can guarantee that is; it will be wrong! It should be a management and not a policy tool. What's actually needed is competent management....