Agenda item - Recommendations from the Cabinet

Agenda item

Recommendations from the Cabinet

To consider the recommendations from the meetings of the Cabinet held on 4th October 2017 and 1st November 2017:

 

4th October 2017

·         Black Country Core Strategy Issues and Options Report – Council Response

·         Council Tax Support Scheme 2018/2019

·         Commercialisation and Financial Strategy

·         Review of Financial Regulations and Contract Procedures

 

1st November 2017

·         Medium Term Financial Plan 2018/19 to 2021-2022 – Budget Assumptions

 

(The background papers to the recommendations are contained at the back of the Council Agenda)

Minutes:

Black Country Core Strategy Issues and Options Report

 

The recommendation in respect of the Black Country Core Strategy Issues and Options Report was proposed by Councillor C. B. Taylor and seconded by Councillor G. N. Denaro.

 

Councillor Taylor, as Portfolio Holder for Planning and Strategic Housing introduced the report and in so doing reminded Members that this was the third response which had been sent out in respect of neighbouring districts.  It was confirmed that the Council would be keeping a close eye on the impact of all of these on the District’s boarders whilst still taking into account the need for co-operation between Councils. 

 

During the following debate a number of areas were discussed in more detail:

 

·         Land/houses which had previously been given up to Birmingham City Council and ongoing discussions with that local authority.

·         The Local Transport Plan 4 which had recently been agreed by Worcestershire County Council (WCC) and the pressures it placed on the District.

·         The need for these items to be dealt with in a timelier manner as this had first been raised three months ago.

 

Councillor Taylor thanked Members for their input and confirmed that their comments would be taken on board.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)  that the contents of the report be noted; and

(b)  that the draft officer response to the Black Country Core Strategy Issues and Options report, as attached at appendix A to the Cabinet report, be approved and submitted to the Black Country Authorities as this Council’s consultation response.

 

Council Tax Support Scheme 2018/19

 

The recommendation in respect of the Council Tax Support Scheme 2018/19 was proposed by Councillor B. T. Cooper and seconded by Councillor G. N. Denaro.

 

Councillor Cooper, as Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling, introduced this report and reminded Members that on 1st April 2013 Council Tax Benefit was replaced with the Council Tax Support Scheme.  Each local authority was required to adopt the scheme and specify reductions payable in their area.  In April 2015, the Council decided to cap the support at 80% of Council Tax liability for all working age claimants.  This has been in place for every year since.  Cabinet once again was recommending that no changes should be made to the Council Tax Support Scheme in 2018/19.

 

Following presentation of the report Members discussed a number of areas in more detail:

 

·         The content of the report appeared to be diluted each year.

·         The need to consult with those that the scheme impacted the most and what was being done to support them.  The Portfolio Holder advised that pensioners were entitled to up to 100% support.

·         The impact on those residents who now had to pay 20% of their Council Tax and any impact on the hardship fund provided by the Council.

·         Whether, from the information provided, Members were in a position to make a decision on this.

·         The lack of reference within the report to any data in respect of the impact of the implementation of the scheme two years previously.

 

A call to defer the report was made by Councillor C. J. Bloore and seconded by Councillor L. C. R. Mallett.  It was confirmed that a decision needed to be made by 31st January 2018 for implementation by 1st April 2018.  After further consideration it was agreed that the report would be deferred and considered at the Council meeting to be held on 24th January 2018.

 

Commercialisation and Financial Strategy

 

The recommendation in respect of the Commercialisation and Financial Strategy was proposed by Councillor G. N. Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. J. May.

 

The Leader explained that this Strategy pulled together a number of areas which had been implemented over the last year in the drive for financial sustainability.  This document clearly outlined the areas which the Council would be looking at to support Commercialisation and closely looked at the Council’s income streams in order to determine the level of recovery.  This had been illustrated by work carried out through the Finance and Budget Working Group, which showed a wide difference in the Council’s level of support to different functions.  However, it was important that the Council looked at the social context of its decisions as well as the financial. It was acknowledged that the document was relatively short but it brought together many of the aims identified in the Council Plan, the Medium Term Financial Plan and the Acquisitions and Investment Strategy.

 

Following presentation of the report a number of areas were discussed in more detail:

 

·         The Council being more business-like and whether it was necessary for this to include being more commercial in its way of working.

·         The need for the Council to be more “outward” thinking and for staff and Members to use their imagination.

·         The need to build houses in order to obtain the New Homes Bonus grant, which could conflict with the planning decision process.

·         The need to make investments and where the financial gain was from investments did not necessarily sit with the Council’s ethos.

·         Accepting that looking at alternative ways of working brought associated risks and being able to take on those risks.

·         The need for all groups to work together in order to take the Council forward.

·         The lack of substance within the strategy and the need for the Council to take action particularly in respect of its assets; Burcot Lane was highlighted including the delays which had occurred in moving this project forward and the financial impact of this.

·         Ensuring the corporate principles were adhered to, particularly in respect of putting the customer at the heart of what the Council did.

·         Whether officers had the skills needed in order to carry out the work needed to put the commercialisation strategy into practice.

·         The cost of the transformation work which had been carried out over a number of years by consultants.

·         The impact of financial cuts made over a number of years and whether future arrangements would be sufficient.

·         The level of risks the Council was prepared to take on in order to make the savings needed.

·         The need to monitor the outcomes of any projects.

·         Whether the three year strategy was sufficient.

·         The amount of land which had been sold in the District and the extent to which new industry had been brought into the area.

·         The new Leisure Centre being run by an outside contractor – it was suggested that if the contractor was able to make a profit from this then the Council should have considered retaining the facility and running it.

 

The Leader thanked Members for their comments and responded that this was a starting point and acknowledged that a great deal more work needed to be done.  Members needed to be more adventurous and everyone had particular skills which could be of benefit to ensure the Council had a future.  The strategy would be amended and updated as the Council progressed.

 

RESOLVED that the Commercialisation and Financial Strategy as attached at Appendix 1 to the report be approved and adopted.

 

Review of Financial Regulations and Contract Procedures

 

The recommendation in respect of the Review of Financial Regulations and Contract Procedures was proposed by Councillor B. T. Cooper and seconded by Councillor G. N. Denaro.

 

Councillor Cooper, as Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling advised Members that the present contract and financial procedures rules had been reviewed and updated in the light of available best practice.

 

These provided clarity on roles, responsibilities and limits which needed to be followed by the Council.  The rules had been revised to reduce the thresholds at which officers had to undertake the various levels of procurement.  There was also now a framework in place for the procurement of consultants, which was to ensure that the cost, rationale and outcomes were more clearly identified and monitored.

 

The financial procedure rules provided certainty on what was permitted. They set out the framework for the way that the financial procedures of the Council were undertaken and formed a key part of the Council’s internal control framework.  These rules covered the key processes such as income, ordering, payments budget management and virement.  There were no major changes other than revisions to the virement rules.  These included the transfer of budgets between budget headings.

 

The Portfolio Holder explained that having considered the virements policy with the Finance and Budget Working Group a number of changes were proposed from those initially recommended by Cabinet.  The revised virement levels were to replace those currently included within the agenda.

 

It was therefore proposed that the following amendments be made; virements up to £20k be agreed by the Head of Service and Executive Director, Finance and Resources, virements between £20k and £40 k to be approved by Cabinet and Virements over £40k to be presented to Cabinet and recommended to Council.

 

Following presentation of the report a number of comments were made:

 

·         From the document it seemed there was a tightening up on the procedures which was appropriate in the current circumstances.

·         The Portfolio Holder appeared to be taking a more active role.

·         Reference was made to procurement and the need to ensure that the correct process was followed (the Chief Executive and Monitoring Officer were asked to look into a recent incident, which had come to light at the Overview and Scrutiny Board in respect of the production of the Centres Strategy).

 

Councillor Cooper thanked Members for their feedback and advised that this had been an opportunity to tighten up the process and that it would be regularly reviewed. Should any issues arise these would be considered in consultation with officers and the Portfolio Holder.

 

RESOLVED:

 

(a)  that the revised Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Procedure Rules as set out in Appendices 1 and 2 to the Cabinet report be approved, subject to the amendment to section 11.5.7 (v) of the Contract Procedure Rules and Virements policy as contained in the preamble; and

(b)  that the revised rules come into effect as from 23rd November 2017.

 

Medium Term Financial Plan 2018/19 – 2021/2022 budget Assumptions

 

The recommendation in respect of the Medium Term Financial Plan 2018/19 – 2021/22 was proposed by Councillor B. T. Cooper and seconded by Councillor G. N. Denaro.

 

Councillor Cooper, as Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling presented this report and in so doing explained that the Council was legally obliged to produce a balanced budget.  The assumptions that were being used for the Council’s 2018-19 budget and for the provisional budgets for the years 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2021-22, and the risks that had been identified were shown within this report.

 

It was explained that the budget would be based on known levels of expenditure and anticipated levels of services delivery, as well as a number of assumptions.  The most significant risks to the Council’s forward projections were detailed within the report, with the main assumptions being an increase in Council Tax of £5 on a band D house and a staff pay increase of 2%.  The Portfolio Holder also made reference to superannuation and an advance payment which had been made of £6.5m for 90% of the anticipated contributions and for back funding for the three years 2017-20, which had resulted in a saving of approximately £137k per annum, after allowing for borrowing costs. 

 

The budget also assumed a 0% increase for the majority of the Council’s non-pay expenditure budgets including grants, with an increase in utilities of 6%.  It was understood that, following Central Government budget announcements, business rates would rise by 2.8%.

 

It was confirmed that discretionary fees and charges would be brought before Council at its January meeting and that in line with the Medium Term Finance Plan these would also rise by 2.8%.

 

Following presentation of the report a number of areas were discussed in more detail, including:

 

·         Concerns that the Council was attempting to pre-determine its budget.

·         The assumptions had not necessarily been successful in previous years and therefore it was questioned whether these were needed.

·         An increase to fees and charges and in particular for garden waste – it was highlighted that as the Council had the “monopoly” on this service residents had no option but to pay.

·         Whether it was necessary for the report to come to Council as a decision was not being made.

·         The capital programme and the impact of interest charges on the budget.

·         The need to be realistic about the Council’s current financial position and to ensure that its policies reflected this.

·         Assumptions had been made in previous years and it was questioned whether some increases arising from the assumptions had been necessary in light of the figures in the final accounts.

The Leader took on board the comments which had been made and suggested that in future the report would not be brought to Council.  However, as the information within the report was useful, it was suggested that it should go to Cabinet and either the Overview and Scrutiny Board or its Finance and Budget Working Group for consideration.

 

RESOLVED that the revenue assumptions as set out in paragraph 3.4 of the report be incorporated into the budget setting process for 2018/2019 – 2021/2022.

Supporting documents: