IntegratedJointBoardfacinganear£5millionoverspend

Health and Social Care is “the biggest threat” to Perth and Kinross Council’s (PKC) finances.

The Perth and Kinross Integration Joint Board (IJB) will be asked to consider a projected overspend of £4.86 million when it meets next on Friday, September 27.

Council leader Murray Lyle says PKC’s executive officers are working “as hard as possible” to reduce the figure to “something that’s more palatable to the council.”

The council has pledged to dip into its reserves in order to balance the books if need be.

Chief officer Gordon Paterson told an audit and performance committee of the Perth and Kinross IJB yesterday: “I can provide assurance to the committee that we are developing a financial recovery plan.”

He said both PKC’s chief executive Karen Reid and NHS Tayside’s chief executive Grant Archibald were working on the issue and looking at measures that will mitigate risks to going over budget.

Dr Norman Pratt, a board member at NHS Tayside who was standing in for NHS Tayside chair, Lorna Birse-Stewart, said he was “confident at the direction of travel.”

But SNP councillor Eric Drysdale believes the council needs more funding to deliver services. He said: “We need to do all that we can to secure additional funding to maintain an important service to the people of Perth and Kinross.”

A council report at last week’s strategic and policy resources committee meeting said the increase in demand is “across almost all services including care home placements, care at home and mental health and learning disability community packages.”

At last Wednesday’s meeting, SNP deputy leader Grant Laing said: “The biggest threat to the council is the IJB.”

Lib Dem leader Peter Barrett voiced his discontent.

Afterwards, he said: “Effective leadership and governance are big risks particularly when NHS Tayside non-executive members have concerns about the council’s nominees to the board and their ability to work together with mutual respect and acceptable behaviour.”

Cllr Barrett was referring to the council’s recent decision to continue to include councillors Purves and Stewart in the IJB. The pair were ousted from the Tory group following complaints made against them at the previous IJB meeting currently being investigated.

Cllr Barrett said: “Tackling overspends of £4.9m requires real common purpose, unity and trust: all of which I would say are in very short supply at present which is why I asked if there was a crisis of governance and whether there was confidence in the board’s collective ability to deliver a financial recovery plan.”

PKC’s chief executive Karen Reid said: “The IJB budget is fundamentally of concern.

“That said, it’s reflective of the growing population of people over 75.”

She conceded the IJB budget is one of the “key risks for the council at the moment.”

Cllr Lyle told the PA: “There’s not an easy fix.

“It’s going to take determination and hard work but I am confident we can supply a satisfactory service to our elderly citizens.”