HCC Annual Report

2010/11

Foreword from Robert Gordon, Leader of the County Council and Caroline Tapster, Chief Executive

Welcome to Hertfordshire County Council’s Annual Report for the year 2010/11. The report looks back over the year and takes stock of what we have achieved and how we have spent your money.

All public services are facing a challenging time, financially, while demand for services continues to rise. We anticipated that, whatever the outcome of the 2010 general election, central government would look to reduce public spending and, in turn, its financial contribution to local government services. Over the next few years, our total income is expected to decline while factors such as inflation and our aging populations means that there will be pressure to spend more.

With this in mind, we launched a council-wide transformation process during the year to examine everything we did and how we did it. This meant putting in place processes to drive out substantial cost savings to ensure that our more limited resources were focussed on the things that really matter to Hertfordshire’s residents.

Over the next four years, we will have to identify savings amounting to around £200million a year. Our transformation programme has made recurrent savings in 2010/11 of £37.5million and wehave clear plans in place to achieve additional savings to get us to our cumulative target of £89 million by the end of 2011/12. But we will have to find more to balance the books over subsequent years.

However, the financial challenges this year, for the organisation, for staff and for communities and service-users are only a part of the story: together with partners the organisation continues to ‘do the day job’, and to that end, as featured in the report, it has been a year of great successes.

And change, where it has come, has been very positive.

We have brought together the Fire and Rescue service, Trading Standards, and Drug and Alcohol, Domestic Violence and Emergency Planning teams in a new Community Protection directorate, helping to improve joint working across these teams, and also with the police and the Probation Service – a simple solution which should see our county’s streets becomeeven safer for all of us.

Working with local businesses, academia and district and borough councils we were successful in bidding to central government for a Local Enterprise Partnership whose boundaries match those of the county. This gives us a great opportunity to maintain resilience and increase growth in our economy in these straitened times.

And despite the great pressures we face and the great changes we have made and must continue to make, we have maintained our direction – our key priorities have not changed and continue to underlie our ambitions to drive Hertfordshire forward as a county of opportunity for all of our residents. Over the course of the year, we will lead progress towards fulfilling the vision for Hertfordshire and build on the achievements set out in the report.

Our ambitions for Hertfordshire are set out in ourcorporate plan, “Hertfordshire – A County of Opportunity”.

Contents Page

Chapter Heading Page

Our performance2

Our finances4

Our priorities6

The savings we have made10

Working with communities in Hertfordshire11

The challenges ahead12

Our performance

In previous years, the independent watchdog, the Audit Commission, provided us with a scored assessment of our overall performance. However, soon after coming to power the Coalition Government abolished the national performance system, along with the Audit Commission itself, as part of their commitment to reducing unnecessary burdens on local government. However, some inspection frameworks around key services remain. Equally, the County Council has continued to seek external assessment and improvement.

Notably, in 2010/11, Ofsted (the inspectorate of Children’s Services) concluded that our children’s services were performing well (the second highest category), and that national performance measures showed that almost all outcomes were in line with, or above, the averages for England or similar areas. Commenting on progress since the last inspection in 2007, the Lead Inspector reported that “significant improvements have been made in all aspects of children’s safeguarding services”.

The annual performance assessment from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which was previously the Commission for Social Care Inspection, has reported we are providing excellent services for older people and those with physical and learning disabilities. The rating of ‘performing excellently’ is the highest grade and is an improvement on the ‘performing well’ achieved last year. Inspectors concluded that the council’s adult care service “continued to make significant progress in transforming adult social care and ensuring that services meet the needs of the local population” The report added that, “the council has clear priorities to ensure that people who use services, and their carers, are supported and encouraged to live independently.

The County Council were awarded prestigious Local Government Chronicle Awards for both Health and Social Care and Workforce for its work on adult social care transformation and the Social Worker Academy respectively. Our Scrutiny service also won the Centre for Public Scrutiny’s “overall impact” award – praising the high quality of scrutinies undertaken in the context of having a very lean staffing structure (just two people).

As a result of a peer review, the Council (including the Fire and Rescue Service) has obtained ‘Achieving’ status on the Equality Framework for Local Government. This reflects all the work services have put in to provide help and support to all communities within Hertfordshire. The overall report was highly complimentary, highlighting, for instance, the strategic approach to equality and diversity, work to ensure that this is efficient and embedded in employees’ day-to-day roles; effective and comprehensive community engagement; and excellent arrangements for translation and interpretation.

The County Council has also won a number of other awards, for example the innovative falls project, delivered in partnership with the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, the first of its kind in the country, came top in the ‘support for independence’ category at the Health and Social Care Awards. The scheme prevents many unnecessary and costly visits to hospital for vulnerable people who have fallen at home.

Equally external assessment has highlighted challenges to which we are responding. During 2010 the Council’s External Auditors raised concerns about the timeliness and completeness of working papers prepared for External Audit and the capacity of the finance team to address these issues alongside the implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards requirements.The Council’s Best Practice Accounting project has been established to address these issues, and regular progress on the project is reported to and monitored by members and senior officers.

In November 2010 two data breaches related to misdialled fax numbers saw the council obtain a court injunction prohibiting any disclosure of the facts or circumstances of the breach, and receive a fine from the Information Commissioner.

We regularly ask for local people’s views (through the citizen’s panel) about The Council and the areas in which they live as a whole. Our latest satisfaction survey (December- March 2011) indicated 80% of residents are satisfied with the County Council. Within that residents aged 75 and over are significantly more likely to be satisfied. 3% of residents were very dissatisfied with the service provided by HCC. The survey also indicated over 9 in 10 residents are satisfied with their local area as a place to live (this is especially true in St Albans and ThreeRivers). Over half (53%) of all residents surveyed would still like to be more involved in the decisions that affect their area. Although these results are positive overall it is clear there is still room for improvement.

Our finances

The following summarises Hertfordshire County Council’s full statement of accounts for the financial year from April 1st 2010 to March 31st2011, which is, at the time of publication, subject to audit opinion. The un-audited accounts can be found at with a full set of previous years audited accounts.

Income and expenditure account:

The income and expenditure account represents spending during the financial year on day to day items, including salaries, premises costs and supplies and services. It also shows income from government grant, council tax and other sources received during the year. The table below sets out the net cost of providing services in Hertfordshire during 2010/11 and how this was financed.

2009/10 £m / 2010/11 £m
Adult Social Care Services / 299.2 / 293.2
Central Services (including Court Services) / 16.5 / 7.8
Children and Education Services / 284.9 / 248.4
Cultural, Environmental and Planning / 90.1 / 74.6
Fire Service / 42.9 / 45.5
Highways, Roads and Transport / 86.8 / 80.8
Housing Services / 1.4 / 21.7
Non distributed costs / 42.6 / -201.2
Net Cost of Services / 864.4 / 570.8
Other comprehensive income and expenditure / 548.5 / -258.6
Statutory adjustments re depreciation, pensions etc / -623.5 / 498.5
Movement to earmarked reserves / 0.4 / 19.3
Increase/ (reduction) in general fund balance / -4.4 / -14.2
785.4 / 815.8
This was paid for by:
Government Grants / 499.3 / 500.2
Business Rates / 140.9 / 153.7
Local Council Tax Payers / 145.2 / 161.9
785.4 / 815.8

The reduction in the net cost of service largely relates to a surplus on the actuarial gains in the pension fund assets/liabilities which are required to be reflected in the accounts. The exception to this was the fire service where there was a deficit on the actuarial position on the fire service pensions which accounts for the increased service cost between years. The reduction in the overall position for the Council also reflects the early work on the Council’s transformation programme and the savings that have been achieved during 2010/11.

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2011

The balance sheet shows the end of year financial position for the council as a whole. This includes the financial value of the land, buildings, highways and other assets we own, as well as money owed to us and by us.

2009/10 £m / 2010/11 £m
Assets and (liabilities)
Capital assets / 2917.9 / 2950.2
Cash and bank and investments / 52.2 / 77.7
Stocks including landfill allowances / 3.8 / 4.3
Money owed to the council / 128 / 124.7
Money owed by the council / -209.7 / -202
Long term borrowing / -361.7 / -388.2
Pension liabilities / -1170.8 / -708.2
Deferred grants – capital assets / 0 / 0
Provisions / -38.8 / -33.9
Total assets less liabilities / 1320.9 / 1824.6
Reserves and balances
Pension reserve / -1170.8 / -708.2
Other accountancy reserves / 2264.5 / 2331.2
Usable capital receipts reserve / 25.8 / 9.6
Specific reserves / 115.7 / 135.1
General fund balance / 32.1 / 18
Capital grants unapplied / 53.6 / 38.9
Net worth / 1320.9 / 1824.6

Capital assets include land, buildings, highways infrastructure, plant and equipment and vehicles. The value of our schools represents the major part of the balance sheet value. The general reduction from the revaluation of assets during the year is reflected in these figures.

Pension liabilities and pension reserve represent our commitment to pay pensions to both retired staff and current employees upon retirement net of the value of the pension fund investments. The reported liability has reduced as a result of a favourable change in the financial assumptions used in the actuarial valuation. This is principally due to the change in future pension increases being linked to CPI (Consumer Price Index) rather than RPI (Retail Price Index). The liability is large, but our financial position remains sound due to both its long term nature and statutory arrangements for funding it.

Other accountancy reserves provide a balancing mechanism to offset adjustments relating to capital accounts, financial instruments and property revaluations that are required to be shown in the income and expenditure account but which do not have an impact on the council’s general fund balance or council tax.

Specific reserves are funds we hold for specified purposes. These include unspent allocations of £47.3 million held in relation to schools, as well as money for future capital investment and unforeseen insurance claims.

General fund balances are required to provide adequate funds to meet any unforeseen calls on resources.

Capital grants unappliedare grants held for capital purposes where the conditions of the grant have not yet been met.

Capital investment

In addition to the day to day expenditure shown in the Income and Expenditure Account, £165.9millionwas spent on improving existing and acquiring new assets.

2009/10 £m / 2010/11 £m
Adult Social Care Services / 4.3 / 5.6
Central Services / 53.2 / 8.8
Children and Education Services / 74.8 / 90.1
Cultural and Environmental / 3.3 / 1.8
Fire Service / 3.7 / 1.0
Highways, Roads and Transport / 61.9 / 58.6
201.2 / 165.9
Funded by:
Borrowing / 102.5 / -24.5
Grants / 51.1 / 91.9
Capital receipts / 3.6 / 33.9
Revenue contributions / 44 / 44.2
Capital reserves / 0 / 20.4
201.2 / 165.9

Our priorities

Support Economic Wellbeing

  • At over 75%, the overall working age employment rate in the County continued to be above the best performing region (the South East), which was 72%.
  • Similarly, the estimate for median weekly earnings of employees in Hertfordshire (£540) were well above that of the UK as a whole (£500) and of the East of England region, indicating the relatively strong economic performance and productivity n Hertfordshire.
  • The latest available data for the percentage of small businesses in an area showing employment growth for 2007/08 indicated a result of 13.4%, above the target of 12.3%
  • The proportions of the working population (aged 19-64 for men and 19-59 for women) qualified to at least level 2 (ie. GCSE equivalent) or higher in 2009 was at 74.5%, just below the Council’s 2010 target of 76.7%. Nevertheless, this is 6.4% higher than the East of England figure, 5.1% more than the national figure and equals the figure for the best performing region, the South East.
  • For those qualified to level 4 or higher, the 2009 figure of 37.4% exceeded the Council’s 2010 target of 36.8%. This figure is 26.8% higher than the East of England figure and 16.9% more than the national figure.

Maximise Independent Living

  • In 2010/11 Hertfordshire met its target to increase the number of people receiving a direct payment to buy their own care (1,627 people). Hertfordshire is amongst the top five councils in the country in implementing ‘self directed support’ -at end of March 2011, 50% of people who use adult social care had a personal care budget compared to 31.5% last year.
  • The County Council wants people who need care and support to stay in their own home for as long as possible. The number of older people in residential care fell by 167 in 2010/11.We also developed an additional 260 Flexicare Housing places around the county this year for older people who need to call on a carer 24 hours a day but are able to manage in their own flat.
  • Similarly the number of people with a learning disability in residential accommodation is falling in favour of ‘supported living’ tenancies – up by 8% to 965 in 2010/11. These provide a much better quality of life for those people, give them safety and independence and are more cost effective.
  • We have continued to support people who care for members of their family. The percentage of carers receiving their own needs assessments and a specific carer’s serviceimproved from 25% in 2009/10 to over 30% for 2010/11, exceeding our target (27%).
  • We have developed a new service to assist people with everyday living tasks after an accident at home or a stay in hospital. Enablement homecare is available for people who need some assistance in the early days but can regain their independence at home when they have found their confidence. More than 700 people have benefited so far and half did not need on-going care after 6 weeks.

Ensure a Positive Childhood

  • The County Council has placed an increased emphasis on helping children and young people stay with their families and ensuring that the right children are in care through the implementation of the Children Looked After Strategy. This work has helped to reduce significantly the numbers of children and young people becoming looked after, from 588 in 2009/10 to 459 in 2010/11, with a notable shift towards younger children, indicating the positive impact of early intervention work.
  • Services for children with learning difficulties and disabilities and their families is much more focused on providing quality service which meets needs locally as a result of the Aiming High for Disabled Children (AHDC). The programme has led to a transformed short break service, increasing the quality, quantity and range of provision, particularly for those with complex health care needs and/or with challenging behaviour.
  • The timeliness of initial and core assessments has improved significantly in 2010/11, from a figure of 64.6% in 2009/10 to 81.1% for initial assessments (considerably above the comparator average); and from 61.3% in 2009/ 10 to 72.4% for core assessments.
  • The county council has improved quality and speed of response to domestic violence notificationsthrough changes to our Targeted Advice Service (TAS), which now involves input from the police, health organisations, Young carers PAs, A-DASH, Attendance and Pupil support, the District Partnership Service and Youth Connexions now all involved in the service. Being based in the same location as our partners for this service has led to improved understanding of domestic issues, and led to more effective decision-making. For the final quarter of 2010/2011 the number of repeat incidents of domestic violence remained significantly below target (27%) at 11.3%, maintaining the downward trend. The service was highlighted as a key strength in the recent Ofsted unannounced inspection
  • Think Family and Family Intervention initiatives have begun to demonstrate a significant impact in improving outcomes for high contact families with multiple risks in the most disadvantaged areas. Plans are now in place to establish this as a mainstream service across the county.
  • Hertfordshire continues to outperform the national picture in terms of supporting children and young people to keep on the right track. The number of young people offending for the first time has fallen, as has the rate of re-offending. The rate of teenage pregnancy in Hertfordshire is lower than in similar areas and continues to fall.
  • Targets for schools providing access to extended services and for the delivery of Children’s Centres were 100% completed in 2010/11.

Secure a Good Education for All