Budget reference number

81ECF

How will the saving be achieved?

A budget reduction of £1.046M will result in a reduction of approximately 14 to 18 posts, this will reduce the level of service delivery across community learning and development services to young people, adults, families, and communities and will require a service prioritisation exercise.  This will focus on maintaining capacity to deliver statutory duties and support for the council’s key priorities within the programme of work.  This saving will however require a reduction and changes in frontline service activity as previous savings and associated restructure of management and support structures have left minimal capacity for further changes in this area.

If this policy is subject to the FSD what does it suggest about the impact or potential impact on socio-economic disadvantage?

To achieve the savings there will be a reduction in the CLD workforce, this will result in a loss of    services across communities.  Currently 50% of all CLD service delivery is delivered to those in SIMD  data zones 1&2.  Re-prioritisation of service resources will be required to ensure that the remaining service will be delivered  in a more targeted manner to support the Council’s One Plan approach and Tackling Poverty Strategy. The loss of services associated with a reduction of 14-18 posts will however have a greater impact on the most vulnerable families and communities, including people with protected characteristics and who experience multiple impacts of poverty.

Give details of the impact it has on groups and individuals.

• Children and young people
• Young adults
• Families living on low incomes.
• Adults with low skill levels
• Unemployed
• Children, young people, and families who experience poor physical or mental health.
• Children, young people, and adults with protected characteristics     

What actions / measures will be put in place or are planned to mitigate any adverse impact or promote equality?

In 2024/25, the year 1 saving of £163,000 this will be achieved through vacancy management, reductions in administrative support roles and other budget adjustments, with no impact on other CLD staff or the youth diversionary provision, allowing current service delivery to be sustained pending prioritisation work.

In order to achieve the saving required for 2025/26 of £883,000 the service will make recommendations regarding the most effective way to deploy a reduced staffing resource in line with the priorities of the council and the new programme of work whilst maintaining high standards of service delivery, and a focus on areas of highest  impact on our children, young people, families, adults and communities.

The CLD Management team are working on a baseline service position statement which will include the current workforce remits and deployment as well as the additional services provided through temporary funding. The CLD Management team will also be gathering information and performance data on the service priorities linked to key strategic drivers, statutory responsibilities, and the Council’s new programme of work with a particular focus on the Brighter Futures and Resilient People work streams.

Both these exercises will inform how the council will prioritise service delivery against a reduced budget and the changes required going forward.  

This work will include review of the Saturday night diversionary provision as part of our overall youth work offer.

What is the result/ recommendations of the EqIA?

Work towards achieving the budget saving whilst prioritising service delivery which continues to engage with  the most vulnerable children, young people, adults families and communities across NLC.