Agendas, Meetings and Minutes - Agenda item

Agenda item

Performance, In-Year Budget Monitoring and 2021/22 Budget

Minutes:

The Strategic Director, Senior Officers and Cabinet Members with Responsibility had been invited to update the Panel on performance and in-year budget monitoring and to outline the draft Budget 2021/22 for areas within the remit of the Panel.

 

Draft Budget 2021/22

 

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) explained that all of the Overview and Scrutiny Panels had been issued with Papers which reflected the 7 January Cabinet position, however the 4 February Cabinet Agenda had subsequently been published.  The changes were minor, however, those relevant to the remit of the Panel included:

 

·         Additional spend for Public Rights of Way (PROW), identified out of Strategic Initiatives, doubling the Capital and Revenue budget

·         Increase in the Gigabit voucher scheme usage in rural Broadband rollout, enabling more coverage across the County.

 

The CFO outlined the overall financial position, reporting that with inflation and predicted demand in services, the Council would need an additional £26.5m for 2021/22.  As a result, there was a proposal to increase Council Tax by 2.5%, including a 1.5% general council tax and 1% increase in the Adult Social Care Levy for 2021/22.  An additional £9m was expected in grants, including from COVID-19 specific grants.  The overall result would be a shortfall of £7.1m across the Council, with £2.2m relevant to the remit of the Panel.

 

Further savings were anticipated from the Council’s ongoing re-organisation and insourcing of Place Partnership, however, £3m would be required from the use of Reserves.

 

The final Government Financial Settlement was expected on 4 February and additional grant money was anticipated.  The loss of income from non-payment of Council Tax would not be known until September, however, it could be up to £3m.  The Government had guaranteed Council’s 75% of this debt. 

 

It was proposed not to look at additional savings at this stage, rather, bridge the gap from Reserves and wait until September to establish the level of need.

 

The CFO outlined the engagement process since 7 January Cabinet, reporting that all stakeholder feedback would be considered prior to 18 February Council when the 2021/22 Budget would be agreed.

 

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Government’s Fair Funding Review had been postponed, however, it was hoped to report in Summer 2021.  Furthermore, additional COVID-19 grants may be received over time.

 

In the ensuing discussion, the following main points were raised:

 

·         The Panel Chairman was particularly pleased to hear of the additional funding for PROW and the Gigabit voucher scheme, although commented that the administration of the scheme was quite cumbersome and it would be helpful if this could be reviewed

·         For clarity, the Council had received some New Homes Bonus, however, it was £1.1m less than predicted due to the lack of houses being built during the pandemic.  The future of the Bonus was uncertain; however, it was believed that it was important to have some incentive

·         The Panel sought assurance that the additional PROW funding would be fully utilised by using volunteers to assist with projects, especially as the health and wellbeing benefits of being outdoors were known and Worcestershire had such beautiful countryside.  In response, the Strategic Director reiterated his position that projects would be triaged to determine how best to deliver them.  He agreed that lifestyles had changed during the pandemic and volunteers were a great asset, including corporate social responsibility schemes whereby employees were given the opportunity to volunteer on a working day

·         The Panel sought more information on the additional Gigabit funding, which Officers agreed to provide

·         The Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy and Infrastructure was also pleased with the additional PROW funding and hoped that Officers would make the most of the allocated budget through the use of volunteers.      

 

The Head of Finance outlined the elements of the Draft Budget relevant to the remit of the Panel, which included:

 

Strategic Initiatives Capital Funding:

 

·         £6m for Highways

·         £4m for Footways

·         £2.5m for Flood Mitigation

·         £2.5m for Streetlighting

·         £1.25m for Local Members Fund

 

Strategic Initiatives Revenue Funding:

 

·         £0.5m contribution to the Environment Agency Scheme for Flood Mitigation in Bewdley

·         £25,000 for Highway Safety Marking and Signage

 

Further areas of the Draft Budget included:

 

·         Waste Management demand and inflation

·         Pay/Contract/Income inflation

·         Growth, including investment into Transport Strategy and Waste and Minerals Strategy

·         Savings relating to capitalisation and income generation

 

In the ensuing discussion, key points included

 

·         Pay inflation of 2% had been expected in 2020/21, however, 2.75% was awarded, therefore 0.75% was not in the 2020/21 Budget, estimated to be £187,000.  Contract inflation, relevant to the Directorate, was £2.1m, equivalent to 3.8%

·         For clarity, funding for Cycleways was included in the budget for Footways

·         The Panel was pleased to hear of the £0.5m revenue contribution to the flood mitigation scheme in Bewdley

·         In response to a query as to whether all Members would receive the triaged list of PROW projects, the Strategic Director confirmed that the list would be shared with Local Members

·         In relation to the Directorate’s £2.2m savings plan, increased use of capitalisation would be looked at with an indicative target of £2.247m

·         The reported £200,000 investment into transport strategy was not to develop the Local Transport Plan (LTP), as LTP4 was still valid

·         The Panel Chairman was disappointed that Members were not able to scrutinise the draft budget in advance of the meeting, with some Members hoping for a real time digital solution in future.  The CFO was pleased to report that an online collaborative planning system had been introduced, which may be able to be shared with Members, an approach which was welcomed by the Panel

·         In relation to drainage, despite negative media reporting, of the 100,000 gullys in Worcestershire, 60,000 had been successfully emptied between April and November 2020 which was very positive.

 

The Panel Chairman summarised the discussion as follows:

 

·         The Draft Budget was good, with no huge changes

·         The additional Capital funding for Highways and Footways/Cycleways was very welcome

·         The Panel was delighted with the additional PROW funding, although it was vital that it was fully utilised by engaging with communities

·         Further information was requested on drainage, the additional funding for PROW and Gigabit and actions being taken to address delays in Section 278 technical approvals.

 

In-Year Budget Monitoring

 

The Head of Finance reported that as of Period 8 (November 2020/21), the situation had slightly improved, with an end of year underspend of £18,000 predicted, with little change since reporting the end of Quarter 2.

 

The Chairman invited questions and the following points were made:

 

·         A Member asked when there may be some improvement in Planning and Regulation reporting vacant posts, to be informed by the Director that due to the nature of the work, there would always be the need for a mixed workforce of fixed and temporary/consultant positions.  There had been recent successful recruitment of Planners, ensuring the Council now had a full Team

·         The Council’s contract with the Directorate’s Professional Services contractor was coming to an end, although a contract extension was anticipated whilst a new model was developed.

 

Performance

 

Members had been provided with Quarter 3 (October to December 2020) Performance Information.  The Chairman invited questions, with the following points made:

 

·         A Member was pleased to read the reduction to 9.9% of household waste going to landfill, however, asked whether there was scope to further reduce this further?  For clarity, around 45% of waste was being recycling or composted, resulting in the remaining waste being diverted to the Energy from Waste facility.  Initiatives to reduce waste at source were vital

·         In response to a Members question about how quality assurance was measured as part of performance report, it was confirmed that the performance report provided was quantitative information rather than qualitative. The Chairman advised that qualitative data was an aspiration for the Panel to look at in the future.  The Director advised that there were contractual guarantees for latent defects but maintenance issues were more complex.  If workmanship was poor, the Council would expect contractors to make good.  It was confirmed that weekly meetings took place with the Contractor where such issues would be discussed

·         The overall downward trend in the number of Public Enquires (PEMs) was ongoing, with drainage accounting for 20.2% of PEMs in Quarter 3 and 43.2% in relation to roads, footpaths and cycle tracks

·         The Panel Chairman highlighted that as of December 2020, there were 6,096 PROW reports outstanding (including 5,386 defects and 710 obstructions)

·         In response to a comment made by a Public Participant, the Cabinet Member with Responsibility for Economy and Infrastructure drew attention to the Dashboard reports relevant to climate change, with a Panel Member highlighting that everyone in attendance was helping the situation by not travelling to the meeting.  In addition, it was hoped that in future, at least some meetings could continue being held remotely

·         The Panel Chairman highlighted that although 97.01% of Worcestershire homes and businesses were connected to Superfast Broadband it was important to target the remaining 3%.

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