ANNEX 6

COMMENTS OF SCRUTINY COMMITTEES

Scrutiny Committee Comment	Executive Response	
Community Safety Scrutiny Committee - 24 November 2003	
The Committee noted the revenue and capital expenditure proposals for their programme areas and the relative priorities of the proposals.	No advice offered – no response required	
		
Environment Scrutiny Committee - 26 November 2003	
The Committee agreed, whilst recognising the budgetary pressures on the County Council, to ask the Executive to consider:		
•	allocating an extra £750,000 to Category A to fund the abnormal inflation on tender prices for Public Transport Subsidies;	The Executive acknowledges the difficult issues involved in rural bus services and proposes £300k towards the current overspent position but does not feel able to provide more within the spending constraints.	
•	allocating an extra £1.4m in Category A for Highway Maintenance;	The Executive recognises the need for investment in highway maintenance and regrets that the Scrutiny Committee was unable to identify a funding source for the additional spending it wished to pursue.  The Executive is only able to propose an additional £600k for highway maintenance	
•	pursuing partnership arrangements for advertising on bus shelters;	This is being actively pursued but does not have immediate budgetary implications.	
•	investigating charging for residents permits in the City at an economical level;	The Executive has noted this suggestion but is aware that charges for any form of parking on-street cannot legally be justified in terms of raising revenue.	
•	fulfilling the County Council’s statutory responsibilities on public rights of way;	The Executive does not accept that the County Council is not fulfilling its statutory responsibilities.  It notes the aspiration to improve performance but is unclear where funds are to be found to achieve it.	
•	encouraging all efforts to recruit permanent staff in order that fewer agency staff are used;	The Executive requests managers to pursue this course but does not believe it requires budgetary provision.  If successful, it should lead to reductions in spend.	
•	funding the Countywide Special Parking Area from the On-Street Parking Account.	This is subject to clarification of the legal position and is not a matter for budgetary provision	
		
Learning & Culture Scrutiny Committee – 2 December 2003	
The Scrutiny Committee identified issues around the following:		
•	The teachers’ 2.5 pay rise agreed for 2004/05 and how much should be allowed to meet the real costs in teachers’ pay in the 2004/05 budget	The proposed budget includes full provision for the government’s passporting requirement and we trust this will meet the pay costs in full.	
•	Support for newly qualified teachers	The Executive is not clear what the Scrutiny Committee was trying to say here.	
•	Developing strategies for statementing and out-county placements	Current spending pressures are met in the budget proposals.  Management action to reduce current over spending is in hand and will be considered by the Executive.	
•	Pressures on the Schools’ Finance Team in the light of the outcome of the 2002/03 Settlement and the number of deficit budgets submitted.  However, there was also a need to monitor the effectiveness of the Finance Team.  The Committee felt that budget commitments should as far as possible relate to realisable and measurable (SMART) targets so that subsequent performance can be more readily accounted for.	Provision made to strengthen the Finance Team.  Recommendations for SMART targets are noted.	
•	Precise use of targeting transitional grant needs to be resolved.  The Committee was concerned that grants were not simply used to pay off school deficits.  School finances needed to be considered holistically across the County.	The Executive regrets the need to follow government rules in this area which tend to encourage deficit budgets and penalise prudent financial management.	
•	LSC funding needed more clarification	Agreed	
•	Efficiency savings for 2004/05 were low in comparison with 2002/03	Noted.  Suggestions for areas for further work would have been appreciated.	
•	Major issues around ICT support / MIS Pilot;  roll-out for April 2005 looked unrealistic	Acknowledged and ongoing.  Budget provision is proposed under Resources.	
•	Need to verify pupil demography figures;  data came from January Form 7 count not from the School Organisation Plan	Agreed.	
•	The Committee drew attention to the successful funding of the MAP Youth Arts project with young people in Banbury, Bicester and Witney and would wish to see similar cross-service and cross-agency provision provided (page 30)	Noted.  Suggestions for funding sources would have been welcome and, in their absence, further provision has not been possible.	
•	Alignment of Countryside /Rights of Way/ Portfolio / Directorate / Finance	Noted.  Council on 13 January agreed adjustments in this area.	
•	Importance of libraries’ internal upgrade for attracting external funding and encouragement for Friends’ Groups	Noted. Management action is possible but budgetary provision is not proposed.	
•	The provision of affordable housing in the context of recruitment & retention of teachers.	Work is ongoing in this area.	
•	The Committee supported funding of Stage 2 developments at Standlake Museum Centre in line with the recommendations made in its Scrutiny Review of Museum Services.	Noted.  Revenue element is proposed in 2006/07.	
		
Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee - 3 December 2003	
The Committee agreed to advise the Executive as follows:		
•	that the Youth Service (LC3), as listed under revenue expenditure proposals should be given priority and should move from category B to category A (in March 2003, the Executive agreed in principle that the County Council’s funding for the Youth Service should be increased over a period of 3 years so as to bring it in line with the benchmark figure laid down in recent national guidance); and	A modest sum has been included for development of the Youth Service but the Executive does not feel able to propose more substantial increases within current spending constraints .	
•	that this Committee welcomes the initiatives on Office Accommodation as listed under the capital expenditure proposals. 	Noted.	
[See further comments from this Committee below.]		
		
Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee - 18 December 2003	
The Scrutiny Committee supported the following in the Corporate Governance programme area : 		
Category A:		
•	All	Noted	
Category B:		
•	Control of asbestos at work regulations	Included £330k	
•	Strengthening of Financial Services; 	Included £400k in 2004/05	
•	Additional resources for Health and Scrutiny	The Executive cannot regard these as sufficiently high priority in the context of other corporate needs and the current under-spend on Scrutiny 	
•	Social Inclusion;	£50k included in Resources	
•	(In place of the existing ‘Human Resource & Performance Management Employee Development’) the proposals in the Consultant’s Report - Review of Human Resources Function’.	The Executive has proposed additional funding for this activity without prescribing its precise allocation.  This will be determined in the light of factors including the consultant’s report and the appointment of a new Head of Service.	
Category C		
•	Local area working but at a cost lower than £200,000.	In the light of there being no clear Council position on this, the Executive is unable to propose any budget provision.	
Capital		
•	Repair & Maintenance of Buildings;	Noted	
•	Improvement to Council Buildings;	Noted	
•	Central Buildings;	Noted	
•	Energy Conservation Programme.  	Noted	
		
Social & Health Care Scrutiny Committee – 19 January 2004	
The Committee agreed to advise the Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee on 20 January and the Executive on 27 January of the following:		
(a)	that this Committee considers all the items set down in Annex 2 to report EX5E to be necessary for the efficient running of the service and would not wish any of the items to be removed from the list or to be put into priority order. Should insufficient funding be available, the Committee urges the Executive to be as proportionate as possible, to avoid the removal of any area(s) from the list.	Advice taken.  It was not possible to include all of these spending pressures and priority has been given to those areas impacting on the Council’s Corporate Performance Assessment	
(b) 	to pay special consideration to the Committee's comment made at the 3 December meeting with regard to the Youth Service [see D above].	Noted but the Committee’s advice is remarkably non-specific.  Modest additional funding has been proposed.  	
		
Corporate Governance Scrutiny Committee – 20 January 2004	
The Scrutiny Committee considered the draft proposals and made the following comments to the Executive:		
•	Four to five members expressed the view that the maximum rise in Council Tax should be in the order of 4%;  more members supported a Council Tax increase in excess of 5%.	This advice has been noted carefully.  It has been considered alongside the advice from the Community Workshop Consultation and the “advice” from the Minister for Local Government and his intention to cap “high spending” Councils.  	
On Annex 2 of EX5E (First Priority Omitted Items) …
•	page 2:  Job Evaluation proposals supported
•	page 3:  Schools Block proposals supported
•	page 4:  Learning & Culture-first priority should be LC3-Youth Service
•	page 5:  Social & Health Care-proposals supported in total
•	page 6:  Environment & Economy
•	Priority 1 - EE1.1.1-Development of schemes proposed by the Transport Network review and the preparation of the Local Transport Plan 2006-2011
•	Priority 2 - EE1.3.1-Operation of real time Passenger Information System
•	Page 7:  Community Safety-supported
•	Page 8:  Resources & CDC
•	Priority 1 - RC2.1-Strengthening of Financial Services
•	Joint Priority 2 - RC1-People (HR&PM) and RC6&7.2-Property	
Fully supported in proposed budget.
Fully included in proposed budget.
Some funding for youth service allocated in proposed budget.
Impossible within a 4% or 5% or 6% Council Tax rise!

Provision for £150k included in proposed budget.

Provision for an additional £50k included in proposed budget in each of the five years
Noted.

£400k included in proposed budget.

£160k for personnel function and £330 for asbestos work; £800k for property maintenance and £100k to strengthen the central property function have all been included in the proposed budget.	
Annex 3 page 1:  (by 6 votes to 5) 
•	RC10.4-Chief Executive’s Office-Social Inclusion should be included whatever the level of Council Tax.	
£50k included in proposed budget.	
CAVEAT  The Scrutiny Committee’s comments were made subject to District Councils’ decisions to reduce discounts for second homes and empty properties to release additional revenue.	
Noted