To approve as a correct record, the Minutes of the meeting of this Committee held on 22 January 2009.

(to follow)

RESOLVED

that the Minutes of the meeting of the Shadow Scrutiny Committee held on 20 January 2009 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

If any

None.

To receive declarations from Members (if any) in relation to the existence of a whip.  (Procedure Rule No. 16 refers)

There were no declarations by Members in relation to the existance of a whip.

No requests for agenda items under the terms of Rule No. 8 of the Scrutiny Procedure Rules have been received.

No requests for Agenda Items had been received under the Terms of Procedure Rule No. S10.

(To request the Shadow Scrutiny Committee to establish a Mid Bedfordshire Local Development Framework (LDF) Member Task Force for the period April to June 2009 to allow continuation of the current programme of business. (Contact Officer: Simon Andrews  Tel: 01462 611352))

The Committee considered a report of the Director of Sustainable Communities requesting the continuation of the Mid Bedfordshire Local Development Framework (LDF) Member Task Force which oversees work on the Mid Bedfordshire LDF.  Continuation of the current programme of business was needed until the elections in June 2009, when consideration will need to be given to the scrutiny arrangements for LDF business going forward.

RESOLVED

1.         that six Members be appointed to the Mid Bedfordshire Local Development Framework Member Task Force for the period 1 April to 4 June 2009 to allow continuation of the current programme of business.

2.                     that the Terms of Reference of the Mid Bedfordshire Local Development Framework Member Task Force be amended to specifically refer to the Mid Bedfordshire area.

(To comment on the revenue budget for 2009/10 and medium term financial plan. (Contact Officer: Matt Bowmer  Tel: 01462 611254))

Members are asked to bring with them the Financial Section of their Shadow Executive Agenda 17 February 2009.

The Director of Corporate Resources introduced the papers setting out the draft Revenue Budget for 2009/10 and Medium Term Financial Plan that had been considered by the Shadow Executive at its meeting on 17 February 2009 and circulated to all Members of the Council.

The Treasury Management Policy and Strategy for 2009/10 was a high level document defining the policies and objectives of treasury management activities and strategy for the year.  The £50m Capital Programme for 2009/10 – 2012/13 had been drawn together from the programmes of the three legacy authorities.  It was not a political led programme as such priorities would not be known until the new Council came into being and as such will be subjected to detailed review in 2009/10 in full consultation with members of the new Authority.

The main report contained the proposed Revenue Budget for 2009/10.  A net spend of £165.8m was being recommended.  This was considered to be a prudent and realistic baseline for the new Authority to go forward with.  It would be resourced by formula grant of £49.4m with the remainder being funded by the levying of Council Tax.

The proposed average Council Tax increase across Central Bedfordshire was 3.27% for 2009/10.  The impact of equalising council tax across Mid and South Bedfordshire was too much in one go, therefore the proposal was to harmonise rates over four years.  The Committee noted that there would have been more opportunity to reduce Council Tax if £5m had not been lost from investment income as a result of the current economic climate.

For the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) rent increases were in line with the Government’s recommended guideline rent to achieve convergence by 2021. Members were advised that the HRA was a strong account and predicted to have at least £1m balance until 2022. 

Where able to do so fees and charges had been harmonised between the two districts.  The Fees and Charges schedule highlighted in green those areas where the process of harmonising the charges had some measure of disadvantage in at least one affected district.  Where harmonisation could not take place a 3% increase was generally being recommended.

The Portfolio Holder for Resources then tabled the Shadow Executive’s decisions on the draft budget from its meeting on 17 February 2009.  Some Members’ were concerned that the budget proposals were too high. Equalisation of Council Tax between the two districts was also an issue, and the Shadow Executive had expressed a desire  to harmonise by the end of year 2.  In light of this the Shadow Executive had requested officers to formulate two options for reducing the rate of the proposed Band D Council Tax increase to 1% and 2.5% respectively and to report on the implications of these to the Shadow Council on 26 February.  It was stressed that the S151 officer must be satisfied that an alternative budget was sustainable and capable of delivering services to the residents of Central Bedfordshire.

The Committee was then invited to consider the budget  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.