Agenda and draft minutes

Apologies were received from Councillors Chowdhury and McHugh.

None.

If you have a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest* in an item of business:

§  if it is not yet on the council’s register, you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent;

§  you may choose to declare a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest that is already in the register in the interests of openness and transparency. 

In both the above cases, you must leave the room without participating in discussion of the item.

If you have a personal interest in an item of business and you intend to speak or vote on the item you must declare both the existence and details of it at the start of the meeting or when it becomes apparent but you may participate in the discussion and vote on the item.

*(a) Employment, etc - Any employment, office, trade, profession or vocation
  carried on for profit or gain.

(b)   Sponsorship - Any payment or other financial benefit in respect of your expenses in carrying out duties as a member, or of your election; including from a trade union.

(c)   Contracts - Any current contract for goods, services or works, between you or your partner (or a body in which one of you has a beneficial interest) and the council.

(d)  Land - Any beneficial interest in land which is within the council’s area.

(e)  Licences- Any licence to occupy land in the council’s area for a month or  
 longer.

(f) Corporate tenancies - Any tenancy between the council and a body in which you or your partner have a beneficial interest.

 (g) Securities - Any beneficial interest in securities of a body which has a place of business or land in the council’s area, if the total nominal value of the securities exceeds £25,000 or one hundredth of the total issued share capital of that body or of any one class of its issued share capital. 

This applies to all members present at the meeting.

None.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 22 February 2024 be agreed as a correct record.

The Chair advised that members had attended a workshop to consider conclusions and develop recommendations of the Complex ASB scrutiny review. The Chair thanked all of those who had contributed to and supported the review.

The Chair noted that the conclusions of the review of the council’s scrutiny function were also on the agenda. The Chair thanked the members and officers who had supported the review.

For members of the public to ask questions relating to any subject on the meeting agenda under Procedure Rule 70.5. Alternatively, the Chair may opt to accept questions from the public during the discussion on each agenda item.

None.

The report was introduced by Dave Hodgkinson, Corporate Director of Resources, Rachel Harrison, Deputy Director of Finance, and Councillor Ward, Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance.

The following main points ere noted in the discussion:

·        The gross general fund position for directorates was £19.6m overspent, however corporate items were now underspending by £7m, and following the application of contingencies, the net general fund position was now reported to be £300,000. This was a favourable position in comparison to Quarter 2.

·        There had been some large changes in directorate forecasts over the previous quarter. Children’s Services finances had improved by £800,000 due to a reduction in placement costs. The Environment directorate continued to face challenges on parking income; in particular it was noted that the directorate was forecasting to receive £1m of income from parking suspensions associated with the roll-out of the fibre optic network, however this was now unlikely to be received by the end of the financial year. The demand for Temporary Accommodation had also increased, which had an adverse impact on the budget of the Homes and Neighbourhoods directorate.

·        Officers summarised other risks to the council’s financial position; school balances were forecasting a significant deficit by 2025/26, it was expected that future local government finance settlements would be flat  in cash terms or even reduce, and here was uncertainty in energy markets that would increase prices.

·        The Committee understood the demand pressures faced by Adult Social Care and Children’s Services and it was noted that some members of the committee had met with officers to discuss the management actions being taken to address the issue. However, it was asked what actions were being taken by the Environment Department to address the underachievement in parking income. For example, a member suggested that the Environment department could pause spending on discretionary projects in order to improve the financial position.

·        Officers advised that they are working closely with the Environment directorate. Parking income was an area subject to a lot of risk, however work had been undertaken to ensure that the following year’s parking estimates were more robust.

·        The Committee discussed the financial rules that applied to the ringfenced parking account and how these funds can only be used for highway and environmental improvements. Members expressed concern that the council would be unable deliver improvements without robust parking income.

·        Officers advised that they could circulate a paper to members summarising the latest position on the parking account and trends over time.

·        A member expressed concern about parking income forecasts, citing the delay to the roll-out of fibre optic broadband, suggesting that this could have been anticipated. In response, officers summarised how the delivery of this work had been monitored and changed over time.

·        Officers advised that, at year end, the council was expected to reach a financial position near to break even, which was a positive result given the scale of the financial challenge.

·        Following a question of the financial impact of temporary accommodation, it was advised that many homeless  ...  view the full minutes text for item 191.

The Chair introduced the draft recommendations.

It was requested that an addition be made to Recommendations 8 and 9 to state that adequate resources should be provided to ensure the recommendation can be delivered.

The draft recommendations were agreed, subject to the above amendment.

RESOLVED:

That the draft recommendations of the Complex ASB scrutiny review be agreed, subject to an amendment to Recommendations 8 and 9 to request that resources be provided to support the delivery of the recommendations.

The Chair introduced the report.

RESOLVED:

1.     That the proposed new committee structure, attached at Appendix 1 of the report, be approved.

2.     That the Scrutiny Communication Plan be noted, as at Appendix 2.

3.     That the replacement of the Councillor Call for Action Protocol with a Councillor Right to Refer be approved, in accordance with the Localism Act, and be included in a future Constitution update to Council.

4.     It be noted that the committees’ Terms of Reference were currently being developed.

5.     It be noted that the proposed new committee structure and their Terms of Reference will be submitted to Annual Council for agreement within a Constitution Update report.

·        Council forward plan

·        Scrutiny review tracker

·        Updates from committee chairs

·        Work Programme

Under the workplan, it was agreed that the forthcoming presentation from the Metropolitan Police be rescheduled for the first meeting of the new Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee.