The Cabinet of Merton Council met on Monday 8 July 2024, approving a pilot employment brokerage service and a strategy to support those seeking sanctuary. The meeting also addressed significant financial monitoring concerns, including a projected adverse variance of £16.9 million, and agreed to a series of budget adjustments and drawdowns from reserves.

Employ Merton: A Job Brokerage and Finding Service Pilot

Cabinet approved the proposal to implement a 15-month pilot of an employment brokerage service, to be known as 'Employ Merton'. This initiative aims to bring together the council's skills and expertise to build financial resilience and a local, resilient workforce. A budget of £500,000 has been allocated for this pilot, to be drawn from the Strategic Priorities Reserve.

Borough of Sanctuary Strategy and Action Plan

The Cabinet agreed to adopt the Borough of Sanctuary Strategy and Action Plan, a council-wide approach to supporting those seeking sanctuary. This strategy has been developed through a joint group that has met monthly and will continue to provide strategic direction. The action plan is the result of extensive consultation with local organisations and individuals with refugee or asylum-seeking backgrounds. The council will use this document in its application to officially become a Borough of Sanctuary.

Financial Monitoring Report Period 4

A significant adverse variance of £16.9 million was noted in the financial monitoring report for period 4 (July). This projection is largely attributed to substantial inflationary cost increases and a surge in demand for services in three key areas: Adult Social Care, Children's Social Care, and the provision of temporary accommodation. Cabinet members were assured that cross-council efforts are underway to control rising costs and reduce the projected variance. Deep dives are being conducted with overspending departments to understand cost pressures and explore potential solutions.

Cabinet also approved several budget adjustments and drawdowns from reserves:

• Capital Programme Adjustments: Adjustments were approved for the Environment, Civic Pride & Climate, and Housing and Sustainable Development directorates. These include reprofiling the Parks Investment – Playground Priority Upgrade Programme and an increase for Borough Regeneration – Schools Living Walls due to inflation.
• Adult Social Care Virement: A revenue budget virement was approved within Adult Social Care to transfer budget from Meadowsweet to Learning Disabilities placements following the closure of Meadowsweet.
• Fees in Relation to Client Financial Affairs: Cabinet noted the revision of fees for the client financial affairs service.
• Children and Education Grants Reserve: A drawdown of £1,021,677 was approved from the Children and Education grants reserve to the Children, Lifelong Learning and Families department's revenue budgets for Early Years Family Hubs (£175,664), Early Years Supporting Families (£327,048), and Free School Meals Grant (£518,964).
• Cost-of-Living Reserve: A drawdown of £583,000 was approved from the Cost-of-Living reserve to the Innovation & Change directorate's revenue budgets. This includes underspends from previous years for the Cost-of-Living fund Tranche 1 (£80,243) and Tranche 2 (£502,494), to be spent during 2024/25.

Retrofit Task Group Report

Cabinet considered the report and recommendations arising from the scrutiny review of retrofitting in Merton. Councillor Neaverson, Chair of the task group, presented an overview of the recommendations, thanking officers and task group members for their contributions. A response to the report will be provided in due course.

Better Care Funded Services (BCF) Entry into S75 Agreement

The Cabinet agreed to enter into an S75 agreement with SWL ICB for Better Care Funded Services for 2023-25. This agreement, previously discussed with health partners, requires Cabinet approval due to the Council's Constitution. Authority was delegated to the Executive Director for Adult Social Care, Integrated Care and Public Health, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care, to negotiate and finalise the terms of the S75 Agreement and any variations. The agreement will be retrospective, covering the financial year 2023/24.

Treasury Management Strategy - 2023-24 Annual Review

Cabinet noted the annual review of Merton's treasury management activity for 2023-24. The report indicated that treasury funds continued to be well managed, with actions aligning with CIPFA regulations. Investments secured approximately £8 million more than budgeted, providing a helpful contribution to the revenue position.

Budget 2025/26 and Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2025-29

Cabinet noted the approach to rolling forward the Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2025-29 and agreed the timetable for the Financial Management cycle covering the revenue budget for 2025/26, the MTFS 2025-29, and the Capital Programme for 2025-29. Initial revenue-raising and savings proposals will be presented to the next Cabinet meeting, followed by scrutiny reviews in November and early next year.