Issue - meetings

The report (which is to be considered by each of the Scrutiny Committees on 10 January 2013) forms part of a series relating to the Service and Resource Planning process for 2013/14 to 2016/17.

Each Committee will meet in turn to consider the Business Strategies and savings proposed for their service areas. Comments from each Committee will then be considered by Strategy & Partnerships Scrutiny Committee on 17 January 2013 prior to being fed back to Cabinet in order that they can take the comments into consideration in proposing their budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) at the end of January 2013. Council will meet to agree the budget and MTFP on 19 February 2013.

The following annexes are attached:

The Director together with the Cabinet Member for the relevant Directorate will be available to respond to questions.

Sue Scane, Assistant Chief Executive & Chief Finance Officer gave an introductory presentation on the overall financial position and overview of the savings that are required from the budget.

Huw Jones, Director for Environment and Economy gave an overview of the changes to the Environment and Economy directorate in the past year. The directorate is now organised into three divisions; Strategy & Infrastructure, Commercial Services and Oxfordshire Customer Services. Deputy Directors Graham Shaw and Martin Tugwell presented the key savings proposals for their services relating to the committee.

Members were interested in the development of the Customer Service Centre (CSC) and the savings related to it. It was agreed that a more substantial discussion would be had at the next committee meeting where a paper on the next phase of the CSC would be presented.

Huw Jones confirmed that there is no intention to externalise the CSC but that the Directorate is looking at the potential for (other) ‘back office’ services such as HR or Finance to be externalised. Options will need to be considered in detail over the period of the medium term financial plan.

Members expressed a desire for locally based services even if they were to be externalised.

The committee noted that BT is improving broadband provision in the county so many of the Council’s buildings are already benefitting from this. It was noted that the Better Broadband programme is still in the procurement phase but members were keen that parishes should be made aware of the planned phasing for the roll out.

Members noted that the corporate landlord approach is now embedded and that the Council is looking for opportunities to work with partners to join up with on estates. Energy usage reduced by 15% last year but unfortunately this is not reflected in cost reductions as prices are increasing.

Sue Scane told the committee that the majority of savings in the Chief Executive’s Office had already been achieved in earlier years. The efficiency reserve has been built up to pump prime activities so it is appropriate to remove the change fund at this time.

The committee was disappointed at the loss of the Big Society Fund base budget and the Area Stewardship Fund and urged Cabinet to reinstate this funding (on a one-off basis) if additional funding becomes available. The committee were also keen to ensure that sufficient staffing was maintained to support the fund and more broadly the whole back office function of the council.

Sue Scane  undertook to provide members with details of the overall organisational development budget and what proportion of it will be given in savings.

Members thanked Sue Scane and Lorna Baxter for their support to the scrutiny committees.

The committee was happy to support the proposed pressures and savings.

The members noted that, in the main, the savings proposed were on the basis of the reduced size of the council overall.

The report (which is to be considered by each of the Scrutiny Committees on 10 January 2013) forms part of a series relating to the Service and Resource Planning process for 2013/14 to 2016/17.

Each Committee will meet in turn to consider the Business Strategies and savings proposed for their service areas. Comments from each Committee will then be considered by Strategy & Partnerships Scrutiny Committee on 17 January 2013 prior to being fed back to Cabinet in order that they can take the comments into consideration in proposing their budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) at the end of January 2013. Council will meet to agree the budget and MTFP on 19 February 2013.

The following annexes are attached:

The Director together with the Cabinet Member for the relevant Directorate will be available to respond to questions.

Judith Heathcoat asked members to note that this was the third year of a four year planning cycle and to bear this in mind with their considerations. She also thanked officers for their hard work and professionalism in the continued delivery of the business strategy that is going to plan.

Lorna Baxter gave an overview of the report to the committee. In response to questions for clarification the following points were noted:

·        The changes in the planning were mainly due to changes in the way certain grants are treated by central government.

·        That some of the grants were not ring fenced and could be used flexibly.

Dave Etheridge gave an overview of proposals relating to Fire and Rescue and Community Safety. In response to questions for clarification the following points were noted:

·        The recently announced funding for flood reduction measures are not for emergency response so would fall under the remit of Economy and Environment.

·        Whole time fire-fighters can be used as a ‘standing asset’ to carry out prevention work. Retained staff are only used for emergency work so are not available to work as a ‘standing asset’.

·        Both whole time and retained fire fighters are trained to the same high level, so that when called upon they can deliver the highest quality service the public expect, recognising the need for ‘real-life’ scenario training.

Peter Clark gave an overview of proposals relating to Registration Services, Coroners and Cultural Services. In response to questions for clarification the following points were noted:

·        Plans to meet previously agreed savings were on track and that there were no additional savings required

·        Members’ appreciation for protecting the currently agreed service and resource plans for both library services and Fire and Rescue.

·        Oxfordshire buck the national trend and have seen an increase in the number of weddings carried out, focusing on marketing our high quality venues.

·        Military repatriations are carried out at no additional cost to the council as a result of grants received.

The committee agreed to support the business strategies, savings proposals and pressures for the relevant service areas taking account of the Service and Community Impact Assessments.

In giving their support, members stated they wished to note the difficulty of working to make decisions without being in full receipt of all information from Central Government, regarding available funding.

The committee recognised that planned savings are being delivered, and although there are challenges ahead Officers are confident that the services are well placed to address them.

The report (which is to be considered by each of the Scrutiny Committees on 10 January 2013) forms part of a series relating to the Service and Resource Planning process for 2013/14 to 2016/17.

Each Committee will meet in turn to consider the Business Strategies and savings proposed for their service areas. Comments from each Committee will then be considered by Strategy & Partnerships Scrutiny Committee on 17 January 2013 prior to being fed back to Cabinet in order that they can take the comments into consideration in proposing their budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) at the end of January 2013. Council will meet to agree the budget and MTFP on 19 February 2013.

The following annexes are attached:

The Director together with the Cabinet Member for the relevant Directorate will be available to respond to questions.

The report (which is to be considered by each of the Scrutiny Committees on 10 January 2013) forms part of a series relating to the Service and Resource Planning process for 2013/14 to 2016/17.

Each Committee will meet in turn to consider the Business Strategies and savings proposed for their service areas. Comments from each Committee will then be considered by Strategy & Partnerships Scrutiny Committee on 17 January 2013 prior to being fed back to Cabinet in order that they can take the comments into consideration in proposing their budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) at the end of January 2013. Council will meet to agree the budget and MTFP on 19 February 2013.

The following annexes are attached:

The Director together with the Cabinet Member for the relevant Directorate will be available to respond to questions.

Cllr Waine began by referring to minutes from last year's Service and Resource Planning meeting. He noted that all of the proposed actions have been undertaken by the committee.

Cllr Tilley gave an overview of the budget process.

The committee then received a presentation from Lorna Baxter, Head of Corporate Finance, outlining the proposed budget changes.

Jim Leivers, Director for Children, Education and Families with Frances Craven, Deputy Director for Education and Early Intervention, and John Dixon, Deputy Director for Children's Social Care and the Youth Offending Service, gave a presentation.

The committee were invited to ask questions throughout the presentation as appropriate. They had discussions around each of the pressures and proposed savings.

From this discussion the committee decided that:

·        The committee will monitor the progress towards the introduction of the extra social workers as part of its on-going programme of work for 2013/14.

·        The committee would play an active role in the upcoming review of Children's Centres, given the shaping of the membership, principles and terms of reference of the member-led group.

·        The reduction in the School Improvement Service and its re-shaping in response to more schools becoming academies will be considered as a future item for the work programme.

·        Budget changes relating to national policy would be continually monitored, especially with regard to the Southwark Judgement and All Rights Exhausted.

·        The capital discussion will take place as part of the next full committee meeting scheduled for 28th February.

Overall, the committee accepted the proposals.

The meeting concluded at 12.30pm.

The report (which is to be considered by each of the Scrutiny Committees on 10 January 2013) forms part of a series relating to the Service and Resource Planning process for 2013/14 to 2016/17.

Each Committee will meet in turn to consider the Business Strategies and savings proposed for their service areas. Comments from each Committee will then be considered by Strategy & Partnerships Scrutiny Committee on 17 January 2013 prior to being fed back to Cabinet in order that they can take the comments into consideration in proposing their budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) at the end of January 2013. Council will meet to agree the budget and MTFP on 19 February 2013.

The following annexes are attached:

The Director together with the Cabinet Member for the relevant Directorate will be available to respond to questions.