Barnet UNISON Statement on Barnet Council Finances

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On Monday 9 September 2024 the trade unions were invited to a meeting to discuss the emerging funding crisis at Barnet Council.

In the meeting we were told

  • The report sets out a forecast overspend of c£20m
  • This is after the application of £18m of reserves meaning with have a gross forecast overspend of £38m.

The overspend is due to

  1. Continuing demand pressures in Adults and Children’s Social Care
  2. Demand for Temporary Accommodation and associated loss on Housing Benefit Subsidy
  3. Cost of borrowing to deliver the capital programme
  4. Unachievable “cross council” and some other savings.

The Council plans to do the following:

  • Directorate-level recovery action plans – informed by Star Chambers held during August/early September
  • Re-introduction of spending controls via a daily panel
  • Capital programme review
  • Planned external review of our spending levels across all services

You can read the Chief Finance Officers report to Cabinet Committee on Tuesday 17 September here https://barnet.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s85156/CFO%20Financial%20Management%20Report%20Quarter%201%202024-25%20for%20Sept%20Cabinet%20for%20publication.pdf

 

Barnet Council is looking to see what the Labour Government will give to Barnet Council at the end of October when the funding settlement for all Councils is announced.

 

UNISON recently published a report  “Funding shortfall of £4bn leaves councils on a precipice” Read here https://www.unison.org.uk/news/2024/09/funding-shortfall-of-4bn-leaves-councils-on-a-precipice/

Barnet UNISON understands that some of our members are concerned about this news and are understandably worried about their jobs.

Barnet UNISON has already been informed that as yet there are no plans for mass redundancies as we have seen elsewhere.

Barnet UNISON has over the past 15 years been critical over the Council’s spending on agency/consultants and Capita and other private contractors who deliver services on behalf of the Council.

Following our meeting with the Council on the financial crisis Barnet UNISON has been looking into recent Council spending.



1. Capita spend.




In 2023 one of the big, outsourced Capita contracts ended (Re)  with staff returning to Barnet Council on 1 April 2023.


In September 2023 Capita Estates service came back in-house.


The few remaining services delivered by Capita for Barnet Council are as follows:


    

  • IT services
    • 

  • Customer Services
    • 

  • Revs and Bens
    • 

  • 



Barnet UNISON understands that all the above services will cease to be provided by Capita by March 2026.


Barnet UNISON was shocked to discover that Barnet Council paid Capita in one financial year £24 million. That works out as £2million in payments to Capita every month.


As you can see from the table provided by Barnet resident and local Blogger Mr Reasonable, Capita has received £670 million from Barnet Council since payments first began in 2013.


What is disturbing about the £24 million is that Capita is only being paid to deliver three services.


Barnet UNISON notes that Barnet Council over the life of the contract continues to pay more than the contractually agreed yearly payments.


Barnet UNISON has asked for these payments and future payments to Capita to be subjected to the same level of scrutiny as other in-house services. We are asking that Capita payments should be included in the external review of spending.




 Agency/Consultancy spend




The table above shows the levels of agency/consultancy spending since 2010/11.


Barnet UNISON has asked for greater transparency (in the past the Council used to provide data showing agency/consultancy spend by each directorate) on this spend. In the past there has been a troubling reliance on consultants to tell services what they should be doing rather than use in-house knowledge and skills to help deliver better services for residents.


For the first time in 14 years the £20 million barrier has been broken. This figure equates to the Council spending £1.6 million a month on agency/consultants.


UNISON is calling for an urgent review of agency/consultancy usage and for the details to be broken down across each service area.




3. One Chief Executive not three: plus a senior management review


Barnet Council has three chief executives whereas other London Councils only have one.


    

  • Chief Executive of Barnet Council
    • 

  • Chief Executive of The Barnet Group (TBG) which is a local authority trading company (LATC), 100% owned by Barnet Council, provides Housing and Social care.
    • 

  • Chief Executive of BELs which is a local authority trading company,100% owned by Barnet Council, provides Education services to Barnet Schools
    • 



If the financial crisis is real and UNISON believe that it is real, then Barnet Council needs to organise a major review of its senior management structure.


UNISON proposes that for starters Barnet Council deletes two chief executive roles as part of the major review of all senior management roles starting from Head of Service, Assistant Directors, Directors, Executive Directors before any decisions are taken about cutting vacancies/redundancies, raising charges and or cutting services to residents.




4. Back Office services review.


Currently Barnet Council funds its own back-office services (exception of IT/Customer Services). It also provides funding for two LATCs who provide their own back office services.


Under the current funding crisis UNISON proposes an urgent review of all back office services (including those provided by Capita) with the aim for Barnet Council to be the sole provider of back office services for Barnet Council, TBG and BELS.


 




5. Offer to lobby Keir Starmer with Barnet Council


Barnet UNISON is an affiliated trade union to the Labour party. UNISON members were recently balloted about whether UNISON should continue to pay for a political fund. See result here


“In response to the results, UNISON general secretary Christina McAnea said: ‘The ballot result is an overwhelming vote in favour of keeping our members’ campaign voice and I want to thank everyone who took part.


 


‘The reason so many members voted to keep the fund is because they see the difference it makes.


‘Be it securing Labour commitments to the New Deal for Working People through our Labour Link or supporting UNISON’s work with Hope not Hate and Show Racism the Red Card through our Campaign Fund, both sections of the fund have never been more important. I am proud that our members value this part of our work so highly.’ ”


https://www.unison.org.uk/news/article/2024/08/unison-votes-to-renew-political-fund/


In the spirit of the words of UNISON general secretary Barnet UNISON is willing to visit Downing Street and lobby for more funding for Barnet Council with the Leader of Barnet Council.




End.