To consider the recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 7th September 2016:
· ICT Infrastructure Resource
· Bromsgrove Energy Efficiency Fund and Scheme
· Efficiency Plan
(The associated Cabinet reports are included at the back of the Council Book)
Minutes:
ICT Infrastructure Resource
Councillor G. N. Denaro proposed and Councillor P. L. Thomas seconded the recommendations from Cabinet in relation to the proposal to address issues in the recruitment and retention of staff with certain specialised technical skills relating to the ICT infrastructure.
The recommendations included a proposal that the functions provided by the ICT infrastructure roles be outsourced to an external provider. Councillor Denaro emphasised that this proposal related solely to this small area of the ICT department.
As an amendment it was proposed by Councillor L. C. R. Mallett and seconded by Councillor C. J. Bloore that consideration of the proposal be deferred to enable other options to address the issue to be fully explored.
During debate on the amendment some Members expressed the view that the proposal to outsource the infrastructure function may not be the most appropriate solution to the problem and may result in a higher cost for the function to the Authority than that referred to within the report. It was also suggested that it would prove to be difficult to separate this small section from the remainder of the ICT department and to enter into a contract with a private company which could provide a good quality service. There was a need to ensure that the Authority could achieve value for money.
The Leader indicated that on this occasion he was happy to support the spirit of the amendment and to support withdrawal of the recommendation at this stage in order to ensure all options had been considered.
The recommendation was therefore withdrawn.
Bromsgrove Energy Efficiency Fund and Scheme
The recommendation from Cabinet was proposed by Councillor C. B. Taylor and seconded by Councillor R. D. Smith.
In proposing the recommendation Councillor Taylor referred to the benefits of the proposed scheme which would assist local owner occupiers to heat their homes more efficiently and at a lower cost. This would have the effect of improving the health of residents through enabling the provision of warmer homes.
During the debate Members were in support of the proposals but queried whether the funding of £100,000 from the Disabled Facilities Grant Capital Budget would impact on the ability to undertake this work.
Councillor Taylor confirmed that additional funding had been received from central government in relation to DFG’s and this meant funding could be released for the Energy Efficiency Scheme. The remaining funding of £109,000 would be rolled forward and consideration would be given at a later date to its utilisation for other projects falling within the criteria of the Better Care Fund.
RESOLVED that the capital budget of £100,000 previously allocated to
Disabled Facilities Grants be transferred to a capital budget for funding the installation of energy efficiency measures and that this be split over 3 years as follows:
2016/2017 - £34,000
2017/2018 - £33,000
2018/2019 - £33,000
Efficiency Plan 2016/2017 – 2019/2020
The recommendation from Cabinet in relation to the proposed Efficiency Plan 2016/2017 – 2019/2020 was proposed by Councillor G. N. Denaro and seconded by Councillor P. L. Thomas.
In proposing the recommendation, Councillor Denaro referred to the proposed 4 year Efficiency Plan which would help to deliver the Council’s strategic purposes. Acceptance by the Government of the Efficiency Plan would at least ensure some certainty over the level of central government funding settlement over the next 4 years.
Councillor Denaro reported that due to concerns about the Government’s assumptions about the future funding and responsibilities of Local Government, there would be continued discussion with the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government regarding the level of funding and the other Group Leaders were involved in these discussions. It was intended that the cross party Finance and Budget Working Group would be examining and developing further some of the information contained within the Plan.
Councillor Denaro referred to the importance of promoting growth and providing support to small businesses, making full use of council owned assets and increasing income. It was proposed to invite a Peer Review of the Council through the Local Government Association.
During the debate some Members expressed the view that the Efficiency Plan at present lacked sufficient detail and substantial content and should not be submitted to the Secretary of State until more work had been undertaken on the document. There was concern that some of the content was based on estimates from officers of savings and increased income and there was reliance on the use of reserves which would be unsustainable in the long term. It was suggested that in order for the Efficiency Plan to be accepted by the Secretary of State there would need to be sufficient evidence of cross party working.
Councillor L. C. R. Mallett proposed and Councillor M. Thompson seconded an amendment that the consideration of the Efficiency Plan be deferred to allow the content to be reviewed and for a more detailed document to be produced.
The Chairman agreed to a short adjournment to allow discussion to take place with officers
When the meeting resumed the Leader stated that he was in agreement with the deferral of the recommendation at this stage to enable further consideration to be given to the information to be included within the Efficiency Plan.
Members thanked the Executive Director Corporate Resources and her team for the work undertaken to date.
Supporting documents: