Agenda and decisions

Minutes of the meeting held on the 28.02.23

Report of the Strategic Director Place.

Salford City Council - Record of Decision (Cabinet)

I, Paul Dennett, City Mayor, in exercise of the powers contained within the City Council Constitution do hereby approve:

To rescind the decision made on 26^th July 2022 to increase the price of a school meal by 10p which was to take effect on 4^th January 2023.

The reasons for recommending that the decision taken on 26^th July 2022 be rescinded and that the £70,000 income anticipated by the Citywide school meal service in relation to the anticipated 10p increase be funded by the City Council are:

-                 Following confirmation that the government spending review was more positive than anticipated.

-                 In recognition of the cost-of-living crisis it was determined that the increase in service costs should be met by the City Council whilst members considered the future provision of the school meal service.

Options considered and rejected were:None

Assessment of Risk:

Low as this is retrospective approval as detailed in the report.

The source of funding is:

In recognition of the cost-of-living crisis it was determined that the increase in service costs should be met by the City Council whilst members considered the future provision of the school meal service.

Legal Advice obtained: Peter Hassett, Senior Solicitor, Shared Legal Service: The City Mayor may rescind the decision taken in July 2022 by the Deputy City Mayor if he considers it appropriate to do so.

Financial Advice obtained: Provided by Paul Guest, SCC Senior Accountant.

Numerous factors have impacted upon the financial trading of the school catering account since the pandemic took hold in 2020. Meal numbers, particularly those children who are not entitled to free school meals, dropped significantly and although we are now seeing an increase in these, they are not back to pre-pandemic levels. The global economic crisis caused by the war in Ukraine has seen food costs on this account increase by around 25% (£440,000) in the last 12 months alone, with the 22/23 pay award of around 9% (£355,000) both significantly impacting financial trading.

For the financial year 2022/23 we are forecasting a trading deficit of around £1.008m. Whereas the increase of 10p per meal would not cover this it would mitigate some of the increased costs the service is currently experiencing, and which are expected to continue in the coming years.

The service is under constant financial review with several initiatives implemented in that last few years to mitigate against spiralling costs, in the form of meal selector systems, kitchen management systems together with constant reviews of the staffing structure.

A five-year modelling of the account has been produced, based on meal prices staying static, this indicates that if no action is taken then by 2027/28 the service would be running at an estimated financial deficit of £2.05m, with a meal price of £2.77 required for the service to break even.

A further review of the service will be carried out in 23/24 with recommendations made on how the forecasted  ...  view the full decision text for item 4.

Report of the City Mayor.