Return to AgendaITEM CG3(b)
CORPORATE GOVERnancE SCRUTINY committee
MINUTES of the meeting held on 26 November 2008 commencing at 10.00 am and finishing at 11:35 am.
Present:
Voting Members: Councillor Lawrie Stratford - in the chair
Councillor Alan Armitage Councillor Norman Bolster Councillor Liz Brighouse Councillor Nick Carter Councillor Timothy Hallchurch MBE Councillor Bob Johnston Councillor Peter Skolar Councillor David Wilmshurst
Other Members in Councillor C.H. Shouler. Attendance:
Officers:
Whole of meeting: G.K. Malcolm (Corporate Core).
Part of meeting:
The Scrutiny Committee considered the matters, reports and recommendations contained or referred to in the agenda for the meeting and agreed as set out below. Copies of the agenda and reports are attached to the signed Minutes.
47/08 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE AND TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS
Apologies for absence and temporary appointments were received as follows:
48/08 SERVICE & RESOURCE PLANNING 2009/10 (Agenda Item 4)
On 17 November 2008 the Scrutiny Co-ordinating Group had considered the budget process for 2009/10 and agreed to ask: · this Scrutiny Committee to: · hold an additional meeting to review the financial position, noting the pressures and the proposed priorities to resolve those pressures; and · put forward suggestions on how the pressures might be relieved across the total budget, i.e. across directorate boundaries; and · that the suggestions from this Scrutiny Committee be subsequently forwarded to each scrutiny committee.
On 25 November 2008 the Cabinet asked this Scrutiny Committee to meet before the December round of scrutiny committees and to determine and allocate a target of savings for each Scrutiny Committee to find and for each Committee to feed back possible options for Cabinet to consider in January.
Due to the time constraints this meeting had been arranged so that the matter could be considered prior to the first scheduled scrutiny committee meeting in December.
The Scrutiny Committee considered a report (CG4) which complied with these requests and in order to enable members to consider and put forward suggestions on how the pressures might be relieved across the total budget, i.e. across directorate boundaries. The report included an annex summarising Total Revenue Pressures, Priorities, Efficiencies, Savings and Service Reprioritisations.
The Chairman introduced the background to the meeting in the context of the Cabinet and Co-ordinating Group’s decisions shown above. The purpose of this additional meeting was to enable the Committee to participate in the initial stages of the budget setting process and cycle. Any suggestions from this Committee would be forwarded subsequently to each scrutiny committee. There would be an individual report to each scrutiny committee in December 2008 with comments being collated for Cabinet via the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee in January 2009. In response to members’ questions about the roles of this Committee and the scrutiny committees in this process, he confirmed that no decisions would be made at this meeting on behalf of other scrutiny committees, but rather that this Committee had an early opportunity now to make suggestions to them as part of their consideration and comment on the resource planning and budget issues. The scrutiny committees would consider how best to find additional service efficiencies within their directorates, whether there would be any issues arising from reductions in the levels of inflation and any impact which would arise from delaying capital expenditure and reductions in one off investment.
Councillor Shouler explained that the detail of the report the detail was likely to change in the light of the national financial situation. The position was not balanced in 2009/10 and over the medium term, with more pressures and priorities for funding than there was funding available. The table at paragraph 4 of the report showed the current position in some detail for the period 2009/10-2012/13. Ms. Baxter had written separately to members in relation to paragraph 17 (possible reductions in one-off investments/funding programme).
The Committee then discussed with Councillor Shouler and Ms. Baxter the pressures and savings across directorates, the total ongoing net pressures for 2009/10, the current assumptions for inflation and the options available to deal with the shortfall (shown at paragraph 5 of the paper). Councillor Shouler confirmed that on 20 January 2009 the Cabinet would propose a balanced budget for recommendation to Council in February 2009.
Following the debate the Scrutiny Committee AGREED (at the suggestion of the members indicated below and nem. con.):
(1) in order to relieve pressures across the total budget, to suggest to each scrutiny committee:
(a) (Councillor Stratford and Councillor Armitage) that they look for reductions in net costs in each budget area of 1% to 2% through for example inflation / efficiency savings / delayed expenditure which could achieve up to £3m total savings;
(b) (Councillor Hallchurch and Councillor Brighouse) that they aim to reduce the engagement of agency and contract staff and consultants and consider replacing them with permanent staff where necessary;
(c) (Councillor Hallchurch and Councillor Brighouse) that directorates should review project management arrangements to ensure that projects are within budget;
(d) (Councillor Wilmshurst and Councillor Stratford) a robust review of all vacant posts.
(2) that the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee:
(a) (Councillor Stratford) in December 2008 reviews the one-off ICT investment;
(b) in January 2009:
(i) (Councillor Brighouse) receives information about the number of consultants and the total consultancy budget and looks at ways of making savings by not using consultants and improving staff recruitment;
(ii) (Councillor Hallchurch) should consider a suggestion to bring in a consultant to look at the whole Council to achieve savings.
................................................................................... in the Chair
Date of signing.................................................................. 2008
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