Agenda, decisions and minutes

73.1           The evacuation procedure, as set out on the Agenda, was taken as read.  

73.2           The Chair welcomed Councillor Mrs Gill Blackwell to the meeting. Councillor Blackwell was in attendance as Vice-Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for Agenda Item 7 – Performance Management Report – Quarter Two 2016/17.

74.1           The Committee’s attention was drawn to the Tewkesbury Borough Council Code of Conduct which was adopted by the Council on 26 June 2012 and took effect from 1 July 2012.

74.2           There were no declarations of interest made on this occasion.

To approve the Minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2016.

75.1           The Minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2016, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.  

To receive any questions, deputations or petitions submitted under Rule of Procedure 12.

(The deadline for public participation submissions for this meeting is 26 January 2017)

76.1           There were no items from members of the public on this occasion.  

To consider the Committee’s Forward Plan.  

That the Committee’s Forward Plan be NOTED.  

77.1           Attention was drawn to the Committee’s Forward Plan, circulated at Pages No. 13-16. Members were asked to consider the Plan.

77.2           It was noted that an amendment needed to be made to show that the Lead Officer for the item entitled ‘Joint Core Strategy Strategic Allocation Sites: Allocation of Affordable Housing’ was Paula Baker not Paul Baker.

77.3           Accordingly, it was  

To receive and respond to the findings of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee‘s review of the quarter two performance management information. 

That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee’s comments on the Performance Management Report for Quarter Two of 2016/17 be NOTED.    

78.1           The report of the Head of Corporate Services, circulated at Pages No. 17-50, asked Members to review and, if appropriate, take action on the observations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee following its review of the 2016/17 quarter two performance management information.

78.2           Attention was drawn to the observations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, attached to the report at Appendix 1, and to the Council Plan Performance Tracker, attached at Appendix 2 to the report.

78.3           In the absence of the Chair, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee Vice-Chair explained that this was the Committee’s second review of the new Council Plan. At the request of the Committee, and to make the tracker more robust, target implementation dates for each action had now been added which should enable more effective scrutiny going forward. The contents of the Officer report had been noted by the Committee, including the progression of significant activities since the last quarter - those included a commercial property investment; the demolition of Cascades; a successful bid to the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) to host a Growth Hub; the implementation of the new website; and the achievement of milestones in relation to the procurement of a new vehicle fleet. At the meeting specific questioning around the Council Plan actions had included the perceived lack of progress in respect of the regeneration of Spring Gardens and whether the Spring Gardens and Oldbury Road Regeneration Member Reference Panel needed to be convened to discuss alternatives; whether more resources needed to be put into enviro-crimes given the number of reported incidents and the need to tackle those issues; and whether assurance could be given that, as the Public Service Centre expanded, there would be adequate car parking provision. Members had been advised that the Spring Gardens and Oldbury Road Regeneration Member Reference Panel would meet in the New Year and would be provided with an overview of the current situation – Members felt it would be important to remember that whatever was put into place would be there for a long time so it was essential that it was right. In terms of enviro-crimes, the Vice-Chair offered assurance that this continued to be monitored by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and that it would be receiving a monitoring report at its meeting on 7 February which would provide progress on the appointment of an Environmental Warden and discuss the opportunities to review the Council’s approach to enviro-crimes once the new management structure was in place. In terms of car parking provision at the Public Services Centre, the Head of Finance and Asset Management had advised Overview and Scrutiny Committee Members that this was within the scope of the project through proposed improvements to the Lower Lode Depot. The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had also noted the issues around the Joint Core Strategy and the knock on effects to other projects such as the Borough Plan but it was recognised that these were subject to consideration by the wider Membership.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 78.

To recommend a budget to Council for 2017/18.

That it be RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL that:

1.    a net budget of £9,913,693 be APPROVED;

2.    a Band D Council Tax of £109.36, an increase of £5.00 per annum, be APPROVED;

3.    the use of New Homes Bonus, as proposed in Paragraph 3.8 of the report, be APPROVED;

4.    the Capital Programme, as proposed in Appendix A to the report, be APPROVED;

5.    the Capital Prudential Indicators, as proposed in Appendix B to the report, be APPROVED;

6.    the annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) statement, as contained in Appendix B to the report, be APPROVED; and

7.    the 2017/18 Treasury Management Strategy, as proposed in Appendix C to the report, be APPROVED. 

79.1           The report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 51-83, set out a proposed budget for 2017/18 which Members were asked to recommend to the Council for approval along with a proposed Band D Council Tax of £109.36; the use of New Homes Bonus as proposed in Paragraph 3.8 of the report; the Capital Programme, as proposed in Appendix A to the report; capital prudential indicators, as proposed in Appendix B to the report; the annual Minimum Revenue Provision statement, as contained in Appendix B to the report; and the 2017/18 Treasury Management Strategy as set out in Appendix C to the report.

79.2           The Head of Finance and Asset Management advised that the Council had considered its financial position, as shown in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, at its meeting on 6 December 2016 and that Strategy outlined the budget pressures facing the Council, both now and in future years. The deficit over the five years of the Medium Term Financial Strategy was estimated to be in the order of £3.3 million with a gap, in 2017/18, of approximately £2,050,000. Since the Medium Term Financial Strategy had been produced, the Chancellor had given his autumn statement, the Council had been accepted for a four year funding deal from the government and the details of the provisional local government settlement for 2017/18 had been received.

79.3           The report currently before Members brought together general information on the financial climate with the detailed figures associated with the 2017/18 budget and the work undertaken by the Transform Working Group and made a proposal for a balanced budget and resultant Council Tax. Members were advised that Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 required that the Chief Financial Officer make a statement to the Council on the robustness of the estimates, and adequacy of financial reserves, and that statement was set out within the report at Paragraph 10. The Council had a statutory obligation to have regard to that when making its decision on the proposed budget. In setting the budget for 2017/18, the Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that the Council had continued to provide the same level of service as in previous years and, in many areas, to provide an enhanced service with much of the deficit being met through increased income and financing streams, restructure of management and services, increased commercial activity and increased Council Tax. It was felt that future budget setting may not find those areas as plentiful and Members and Officers would be faced with tough decisions on the operation of the Council including reducing or stopping some services and taking further risks in its commercial activities. Members were reminded that, at a recent meeting of the Transform Working Group, it had been suggested that £50,000 be taken away from community grants and instead be put into an IT and property management reserve; this amendment had been made in the current report and this was also drawn to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 79.

To consider the financial performance information for the third quarter of 2016/17.

That the financial performance information for the third quarter of 2016/17 be NOTED.

80.1           The report of the Head of Finance and Asset Management, circulated at Pages No. 84-92, provided monitoring information of the Council’s financial performance for the third quarter of the 2016/17 financial year. Members were asked to scrutinise the information provided.

80.2           The Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that Paragraph 2 of the report detailed the third quarter position which showed a deficit of £163,749 against the profiled budget. The main areas of underspend related to employees, housing benefit payments and increased income including licensing and recycling credits. The overspends were on supplies and services and payments to third parties. A recent investigation in respect of the building control service had resulted in a £30,000 refund so this would help the quarter four position. Appendix 1 to the report showed a summary of the position for each Head of Service and set out the current variances against their budget; where the main types of expenditure headings had a variance of over £10,000 a short explanation for the variance had been provided. Although the Head of Service position was underspent, the budget report also recognised the need to achieve savings from the base budget in terms of salaries and procurement savings. Those savings targets were currently held on the corporate budget codes on the ledger and no savings were recognised against those plans as they accumulated through the year within the service groupings. The corporate ledger also detailed the retained income from the business rates scheme which was showing a deficit of £365,000 and would put the Council in the safety net position for another year. Taking into account the deficits on the corporate accounts, the overall position of the Council at the end of quarter three was a deficit of £163,749; if that position did not improve before the end of the financial year, the Council would have to use its reserves to cover that deficit. The management team had been briefed on the financial position and was seeking to limit expenditure in the final quarter of the year to reduce the deficit. Appendix 2 showed the capital position as at quarter three which detailed a significant underspend against the profiled budget and Appendix 3 provided a summary of the current use of available reserves.

80.3           In respect of the Ubico deficit, a Member indicated that one of the reasons the Council had joined Ubico was the promise of savings. The Joint Waste Committee had indicated that there were financial savings to be gained and he questioned whether these were being delivered in reality. In response, the Head of Finance and Asset Management explained that the overspend this year related to the additional capacity which had been required to meet the growth in the Borough so this would have needed to be addressed regardless of whether or not the Council had joined Ubico. Currently the partners were operating as individual services within Ubico as there had not been an opportunity to bring the services together as had originally  ...  view the full minutes text for item 80.

81.1           The Chair proposed, and it was

RESOLVED          That, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act                               1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following                              items on the grounds that they involve the likely discussion of                                     exempt information as defined in Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the                               Act.

To approve the separate Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 23 November 2016.

82.1           The separate Minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2016, copies of which had been circulated, were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.  

(Exempt –Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 – Information relating to any individual) 

To note the outcome of the service review undertaken and to recommend to Council the approval of the new staffing structure in Revenues and Benefits.

(Exempt –Paragraph 1 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 – Information relating to any individual) 

83.1           The Committee noted the outcome of the service review which had been undertaken and recommended that Council approve the new staffing structure proposed for the Revenues and Benefits section.  

(Exempt –Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 –Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))

To recommend to Council the approval of the second phase of the refurbishment of the Public Services Centre.

(Exempt –Paragraph 3 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972 –Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information))

84.1           The Committee considered the proposals for the second phase of the refurbishment of the Public Services Centre and made a recommendation to Council thereon.