Agenda item

To consider the recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 22^nd November 2023.

The Chairman advised that there were four recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 22^nd November 2023, which were presented for the Council’s consideration.

Governance Systems Review – Update Report

Council considered the recommendation which stemmed from action under the review of Council governance following the May 2023 election, where the Council was under no overall control and there was a desire to move forward in a more consensual way.

The Constitution Review Working Group had produced terms of reference for Cabinet Advisory Groups and a Memorandum of Understanding for cross party working.  The Overview and Scrutiny Board had supported the documents with minor amendments and subsequently the Cabinet had also agreed their content, including the minor amendments.

In response to a query, the Monitoring Officer clarified that the proposed principle relating to the chairing of Council and certain committee meetings by members not from the ruling administration was currently agreed for adoption by the Council. 

The Leader thanked Councillor P. McDonald and members of the Governance Systems Task Group who had carried out an extensive piece of work to support the review and also thanked the officers who supported it.

RESOLVED that the proposed Memorandum of Understanding concerning cross party working be approved, subject to an amendment to point 5 of the Principles section to read as follows: “Recognise and respect that each individual Member can contribute to decisions that are taken and should be given the opportunity to be involved and able to provide their opinion before a decision be taken”.

Medium Term Financial Plan – Tranche 1 Budget Update Including Fees and Charges

The Council set a 3 year Medium Term Financial Plan and adopted a 2 stage approach to this.  The budget position in late October when Tranche 2 was considered was a predicted deficit of £325,000 at the end of 2024-25 but the position would be clearer once Government grant support was announced before Christmas.

In the meantime, Council was requested to approve a commitment to additional capital funding for 2023-24 financial year for identified works to play areas in the District.  It was anticipated that additional projects would come forward when the Play Audit was published. 

In response to a question, the Cabinet Member reported that the fees the Council was able to charge for planning would be increased and it was hoped that there would be additional income to the Council via that route.

RESOLVED that the Play capital works for 2023/4 as set out in 3.38 of the report are approved and added to the Capital Programme.

Half Yearly Treasury Update Report 2023/24

In presenting the report, the Cabinet member thanked the finance team for their work in treasury management. 

A member referred to a sentence in the introduction to the report which referred to the Council being exposed to financial risks and sought clarification on this.  The Section 151 Officer reported that whilst professional advice was sought in terms of investment and risks were mitigated, a risk of adverse change would remain and that should be pointed out in the report.

RESOLVED that the position in relation to the Council’s Prudential indicators be noted.

Finance and Performance Monitoring Report Quarter 2 2023/24

In introducing the report, the Cabinet member for Finance and Enabling reported that the deficit at year end was predicted to be £464k. The majority of this was due to the pay award for 2023/24, temporary staff, additional fuel and fleet hire costs and costs of temporary accommodation due to homelessness. This had been offset in part by a utilities underspend and additional income from commercial activities.

In response to a query about whether the Council had received value for money for the Civica Open Revenues system, the Cabinet member assured member that this was the case.

A member asked for details of costs incurred by the Council during the periods when the Artrix was unoccupied.  The Cabinet member would provide a copy of a written response recently provided to Councillor P McDonald to all members. 

RESOLVED that Changes to the Capital Programme in relation to ICT be actioned, bringing forward Cyber Security linked Tape Drive replacements forward from 2024/5 into 2023/4, and increasing the budget in 2023/4 to ensure the continuation of the Civica OpenRevenues system for the administration of council tax, business rates and housing benefits.