Agenda and draft minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

The Chair drew attention to the emergency evacuation procedure.

Apologies were received from:

Councillor Colin Blackburn (substituted by Councillor Shaun Hughes)

Councillor Toby Simon

Councillor Hal MacFie

Councillor George Tomlin

At this point in the meeting declarations of interest are received from Members in any of the agenda items under consideration at the meeting. Members are asked to indicate:

(a) The agenda item number in which they have an interest to declare.

(b) The nature of their interest.

(c) Whether their interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest or an other interest, (as defined in Part 4.4 Appendix B of the Code of Conduct and Rules for Registration of Interests)

Any Member who needs to clarify any matters relating to the declaration of interests is recommended to seek advice from the Council’s Monitoring Officeror a member of his staff before the meeting to expedite dealing with the item during the meeting.

There were none.

There was none.

There were none

The Panel confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting as a true record and they were duly signed by the Chair.

The Cabinet Member will update the Panel on any relevant issues. Panel members may ask questions on the update provided.

Councillor Mark Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, gave an update which covered the following:

·  The current primary focus is on the areas that are predicted to be over budget (Corporate Estate, Waste Management and Children’s Services). The Cabinet Member is having regular meetings with the relevant Heads of Service.

·  Regarding Children’s Services, the Cabinet Member stated that there is a commitment to providing the best care to vulnerable children and also to looking at ways to best support them. He reported that the top 10 cases represent 20% of the budget.

·  Regarding the BOB (Being Our Best) Programme, he reported that this programme is aimed at making the Council organisational structure fit for purpose (Great jobs, smarter structures and cultural excellence). The Cabinet Member reported good progress and engagement with Trade Unions. He stated that this is a significant piece of work and that the lead officer could give a full update at a future meeting of the Panel.

Councillor Halsall asked if Corporate Estate and Waste Management departments are being realistic in setting their budgets. The Cabinet Member explained that it is an exercise in lifting the lid and seeing what departments need and to get better visibility on this. The Executive Director (Operations) explained that in Waste Services there are some underlying pressures (staff costs/sickness pay etc). Budgets are now very lean. It is a heavy staff-based service. There is now a better understanding of the cost base.

The Executive Director (Sustainable Communities) explained that the underlying issues regarding the Corporate Estate are also being explored. There are three main issues – the cost of empty assets (eg Culverhay); lost income/rent for assets and plans to make savings in the running of the Corporate Estate which has been more challenging than anticipated.

Councillor Treby asked if there were any themes regarding the Corporate Estate savings and empty buildings. The Executive Director explained that a big issue is the cost of maintaining buildings which can fall within different budgets. Also, some recruitment (eg surveyors) can be difficult.

Councillor Halsall asked if any short-term measures could help such as short-term lease of properties while they are empty. The Executive Director explained that this is done already – an example is the short-term lease shops currently in the Post Office building.

Councillor Hodge asked if we are getting anywhere with Commercial Estate contributions regarding maintenance. The Cabinet Member explained that this is being worked on but there have been recruitment issues in the maintenance area. He is pleased with the progress on the Commercial Estate.

Councillor Hughes asked if these events could have been predicted at the time the budget was set and are the any more surprises to come. The Cabinet Member explained that you can never know everything, especially with demand led services. The Executive Director added that she is reasonably secure that there are no further surprises and Quarter 2 should show the presssure coming down (this will be reported to the Panel at the next meeting).

Councillor  ...  view the full minutes text for item 98.

Councillor Mark Elliott, Cabinet Member for Resources, introduced the item, making the following points:

·  This document is a holding pattern based on assumptions until the Chancellors statement in October when there may have to be readjustments.

·  The financial position of the Council is sound.

·  Children’s Services continues to present extraordinary challenges.

·  Adult Social Care – we have made the move to bring this back in house.

·  Heritage and Parking Services are performing well.

Panel members made the following points and asked the following questions:

Councillor Halsall asked if we are going to ask the Government about a tourist tax. The Cabinet Member explained that this was an idea that is being floated.

Councillor Halsall asked if the Cabinet Member believed that the Government recognised that a World Heritage City is in a unique position. The Cabinet Member explained that, being a relatively small authority, we need to emphasise our particular issues.

Councillor Hounsell asked why highways showed an underspend when there is so much work to do. The Executive Director (Operations) explained that the Highways cost centre is a mix of income and expenditure. The figure showing an underspend is showing income rather than a reduced spend. She gave assurance that we are on track in terms of revenue and capital.

Following a question from Councillor Treby, the Cabinet Member explained that he would be surprised if there was an underspend on revenue. Regarding capital expenditure – there may be an underspend as we want to have a better understanding of the work to be delivered. The Executive Director (Sustainable Communities) explained that a more professional delivery function is being developed regarding the capital programme and sometimes there is a proactive decision to delay a capital spend.

Councillor Treby asked if it would be better to budget slightly higher regarding revenue and slightly lower for capital. The Executive Director explained that an underspend is budgeted regarding capital.

Councillor Hughes stated that he was reassured that the issues in Children’s Services are being tackled. He asked if the Heritage Business Plan had been updated to show the latest figures. The Executive Director stated that she would get back to the Panel to explain the discrepancy.

Councillor Hughes stated his concerns about supporting businesses especially in relation to North East Somerset parking charges. The Cabinet Member stated that economic development money is being invested in Midsomer Norton high street regeneration and he disagreed regarding parking charges. Councillor Hughes stated that the bulk of investment in the town is in the Market Square, this was a Heritage Issue. We would not have chosen that. He added that sometimes projects take away money from where it should have been spent. The Cabinet Member stated that he would not characterise this as a misspend. Decisions on where money is spent are not within his portfolio.

Councillor Moss stated that some of the investment in the Somer Valley is reliant on partnerships.

Councillor Hodge asked the following questions. Cabinet Member and officer responses are in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

This report presents the latest workplan for the Panel. Any suggestions for further items or amendments to the current programme will be logged and scheduled in consultation with the Panel’s Chair and supporting officers.

The Panel noted the future workplan with the following:

November 2024 likely items:

·  Quarter 2 Monitoring Report

·  ADL Annual Report

·  Council Tax Reduction Scheme Update

Other possible future items:

·  BOB (Being Our Best) Programme

·  New Performance Indicators (when available for Scrutiny)