To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting of the Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 18 December 2012 and to note actions taken since that meeting.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on 18 December 2013 be confirmed and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To receive from Members any declarations of interest and of any political whip in relation to any agenda item.

There were no declarations of interest or political whip in relation to any agenda items.

To receive any announcements from the Chairman and any matters of communication.

The Chairman had no announcements.

To receive petitions from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 2 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

No petitions were received from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Part D2 of the Constitution.

To receive any questions, statements or deputations from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of part A4 of the Constitution.

No questions, statements or deputations were received from members of the public in accordance with the Public Participation Procedure as set out in Annex 1 of Part A4 of the Constitution.

To consider any decision of the Executive referred to this Committee for review  in accordance with Procedure Rule 10.10 of Part D2.

The Committee were advised that no decisions of the Executive had been referred to them under the Call-in Procedures set out in Appendix A to Rule No. S18 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules.

To consider any items referred to the Committee at the request of a Member under Procedure Rule 3.1 of Part D2 of the Constitution.

No items were referred to the Committee for consideration at the request of a Member under Procedure Rule 3.1 of Part D2 of the Constitution.

The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Corporate Resources provided the Committee with an update on current activities pertaining to his portfolio, which were not already included on today’s agenda and which covered the following issue:-

·               The outcome of consultation with Town and Parish Councils regarding Council Tax Support grant distribution. The Executive Member confirmed that in general those responding were supportive of the methodology proposed to be used to distribute this grant, which would be based on the Council Tax Support awarded in each parish as a percentage of the total.

Members of the Committee raised the following issue during the verbal update, which was acknowledged by the Executive Member and officers present:-

·               The need to monitor the methodology used during the year to ensure its continued appropriateness.

RECOMMENDATION

That the Committee supports the methodology proposed to be used to distribute Council Tax Support grant to Town and Parish Councils subject to adequate monitoring during the year to ensure its continued appropriateness.

The report allows Members the opportunity to review the Council’s draft Budget for 2013/14, Medium Term Financial Plan and Capital Programme, which was presented to Executive on 8 January 2013.

Members are requested to bring their 8 January Executive papers (Items 8 & 9) to this Committee meeting.

The Executive Member introduced this report, which provided the Committee with an opportunity to comment upon the draft budget 2013/14, Medium Term Financial Plan 2013 to 2017 and Capital Programme 2013/14 to 2016/17, which had been presented and approved for consultation at a meeting of the Executive on 8 January 2013.

The Executive Member drew the Committee’s attention in particular to his supplementary briefing note, which had been circulated at the meeting and which provided Members with further detail regarding the changes made since preparation of the draft budget report as a result of the announcement of the Local Government funding Settlement for 2013/14. The net effect of these changes equated to a £1.8M shortfall, which would be met by not making the previously planned contribution to reserves of £1.4m and £0.4m use of reserves.

Members of the Committee discussed the content of the report in further detail and raised a significant number of specific queries, all of which were addressed by the Executive Member and officers in attendance. In addition, the following issues were also raised:-

• Members were concerned about the proposed reduction in partnership funding, specifically the planned 10% reduction in the grant to the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and Voluntary Community Sector organisations from 2014/15 onwards. It was Members opinion that this proposal should be reviewed prior to implementation.
• Members were concerned about the proposals to reduce staffing levels generally as part of the Customer First programme, with particular reference to a proposed reduction of 5 Full Time Equivalents in the Revenues & Benefits team, and the impact this would have on the quality and speed of service provided. The Committee therefore agreed to monitor the programme carefully and requested regular, detailed, reports from the Executive Member concerning these issues.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Draft Budget 2013/14, Medium Term Financial Plan 2013-17 and the Capital Programme 2013/14 to 2016/17 be endorsed as set out.

The report sets out the financial position of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) during the first year of the Self Financing regime and presents the proposed 30 year Landlord Service Business Plan.

Members are requested to bring their 8 January Executive papers (Item 10) to this Committee meeting.

The Executive Member introduced this report, which set out the financial position of the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) during the first year of the Self Financing regime and presented the proposed 30 year Landlord Service Business Plan. The report also covered the budget setting process for 2013/14 and the assumptions that had been made in arriving at the projections in the Plan, to create the financial framework for the Landlord Service to operate within.

The report also contained recommendations concerning debt repayment over the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), together with proposals that would effectively make resources available to enable the Council to achieve the ambitions proposed in the developing Housing Asset Management Strategy (HAMS).

Members of the Committee discussed the content of the report in detail and raised a number of specific queries, all of which were addressed by the Executive Member and officers in attendance.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the draft HRA budget proposals for 2013/14 be endorsed as set out.

The report proposes the revised fees and charges rates to be effective from 1 April 2013 and identifies those charges where increases are different from the 2% advisory increase as per the 2013/14 Budget Strategy.

The Executive Member introduced this report, which proposed the revised fees and charges rates to be effective from 1 April 2013 and identified those charges where increases were different from the 2% advisory increase as per the 2013/14 Budget Strategy.

Members of the Committee discussed the content of the report in detail and raised a number of specific queries, all of which were addressed by the Executive Member and officers in attendance.

RECOMMENDATION

That the schedule of Fees and Charges for 2013/14 for Corporate Resources be endorsed as set out.

The report provides Members with details of the currently drafted Committee work programme and the latest Executive Forward Plan.

The Committee considered its current Work Programme and the latest Executive Forward Plan and were content with the agenda items proposed for consideration at forthcoming meetings.

RECOMMENDATION:

That the Corporate Resources OSC Work Programme be noted.