Agenda item

Paul Clarke, Director of Finance, and Councillor Ward, Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance, introduced the budget monitoring report.

The following main points were noted in the discussion:

·       The Committee noted the significant increases to gas and energy prices over the last year and the adverse impact on the council’s budget and the finances of local residents. It was advised that the proposed 2023/24 budget included an energy and inflation contingency to provide safety against possible future price increases; although it was noted that inflation and the cost of energy was expected to fall over the next year.

·       The Committee noted that falling school rolls and an increase in homeschooling had impacted the borough’s education budgets and the finances of local schools. It was commented that this had been considered by the Children’s Services Scrutiny Committee.

·       A member noted that £50,000 had been allocated towards the provision of automated toilets in the borough and queried exactly what this would be spent on. It was advised that an update would be sought from the responsible service.

·       The Mayor of London had announced that the GLA would be funding free school meals for all primary school pupils. As the council had already been funding this for several years, it was expected that this would be a welcome boost to the council’s finances, but further details from the GLA were awaited. 

·       The Committee noted the requirements to install end-point heat meters in council properties, as detailed in the report, and requested a progress update.

·       A member commented on the potential financial savings and environmental benefits associated with community energy projects and suggested that this be examined further. This had been considered by the Environment and Regeneration Scrutiny Committee.

·       Members noted concerns about the financial viability of the new build programme in the current economic climate and requested comparative information and benchmarking against boroughs’ New Build schemes; including the number of homes planned to be delivered, the progress against this, what we can learn from them, and financial monitoring comparisons over the past ten years.

·       A discussion was had on how the council identifies and manages risks, particularly where these are rated as significant, or the council’s arrangements vary from those of other local authorities. The Chair noted the query to the Executive Member for Finance, Planning and Performance at the December meeting on how risk management is considered in decision-making, and the response provided on the scrutiny response tracker. The Corporate Director of Resources commented that risks are noted in the principal risk report that is maintained by the Internal Audit service. For each risk this identifies the risk owner, usually the Corporate Director, and the Audit Committee regularly reviews the risks identified. The Chair’s view was that this issue was broader than the role of the Audit Committee and the council should consider how emerging issues are identified and scrutinised.

RESOLVED:

That the budget monitoring report be noted.

ACTIONS:

That further responses be requested on:

·        The spend on automated toilets

·        Comparative new build data

·        The progress of end-point heat metering