Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor N Smith, for whom Councillor D Harrison acted as substitute. Apologies were also received from Councillor A C Saffell.

Under the Code of Conduct members are reminded that in declaring interests you should make clear the nature of that interest and whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest, registerable interest or other interest.

No interests were declared.

To receive questions from members of the public under rule no.10 of the Council Procedure Rules. The procedure rule provides that members of the public may ask any question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the District, provided that three clear days’ notice in writing has been given to the Head of Legal and Support Services.

No questions were received.

To approve and sign the minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2022.

Consideration was given to the minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2022.

It was moved by Councillor G Hoult, seconded by Councillor J Simmons and

RESOLVED THAT:

The minutes of the meeting held on 7 December 2022 be approved as a correct record.

To consider any items to be included in the work programme. The plan of forthcoming Cabinet decisions and the current work programme are attached for information.

Consideration was given to the inclusion of any items on the work programme.  The plan of forthcoming Cabinet decisions and the current work programme were set out in the agenda for information.

It was highlighted that there had been a minor typing error in the work programme and that at the March meeting members would be considering the Quarter 3 report, not the Quarter 4 report as stated in the document.

A member enquired whether the item on housing repairs, on which a scoping document had been drafted that evening could be considered at the Committee meeting in March. The Strategic Director stated it would be possible to bring a report to the next meeting, albeit that timescales were challenging.

Report of the Interim Head of Finance

The Interim Head of Finance and S151 Officer presented the report and highlighted the key points. Firstly, it was noted that the Council would be facing significant inflationary pressures and secondly there was a lack of certainty with regard to government funding levels over the medium term within the General Fund.

Officers informed the meeting that business rates growth had benefitted the council in recent years, however that it would not be prudent to continue to rely on this as a source of income due to the potential for changes from the government in the future. It was observed that this year the budget process had been more robust and intense than in previous years.

It was noted that financial strategies and policies were guiding principles and it would be important to follow these, and to use business rates growth for ‘one off’ funding and capital projects, as opposed to relying on it as a source of income for on-going costs.

With regards to capital strategy, it was observed that the improvements proposed to governance and the management of schemes through their project life cycle were in line with best practice.

With regards to treasury management strategy, it was observed that the improvements proposed would be in line with national guidelines.

In relation to the general fund, it was suggested that the council would need to start planning ahead as the government would be giving consideration to changing how local government would be financed. The earliest any changes would be implemented would be in 2025/26.

The budget key risks were noted, along with specific actions required to mitigate or minimise these risks. Primarily, it was highlighted that the medium term financial plan would need to be implemented.

Officers emphasised the fact that a positive opinion could be provided with regards to the robustness of budget estimates and adequacy of reserves provided that the actions set out in the report were undertaken.

A member expressed concerns that the HRA budget featured reference to taking action to reduce the forecast overspend in 2022/23 and asked what the impact of this would be to tenants and enquired how the council would be making provision for it. It was asserted that there was no clear functional savings plan in place. Concern was voiced that no impact assessment had been carried out and if the potential for negative impact should the scope of repairs be reduced as a consequence.

Officers responded that in terms of setting any budgets for the future it would be important to consider the pressures that the council is experiencing in the current year, and therefore to factor the underlying causes for the overspend in the current year into the budget for the next year. Some of the key reasons for the overspend in the current year were outlined. Officers explained that with both the HRA and the general fund, it would be necessary to minimise the overspend as far as possible, however this would not lead to decisions which would  ...  view the full minutes text for item 72.

Report of the Interim Head of Finance

The Finance Team Manager presented the report and outlined the proposed updates for these core financial strategies which would go out for consultation along with the draft general fund and Housing Revenue Account budgets. It was noted that the two main changes were firstly the improvement of governance and the process to the managing scheme through their project lifecycle, the second change being how the general fund capital programme would be financed.

A member asked if the changes to the MRP had had any significant impact on budgets and was advised that this would have an impact in the future. Members commended officers for taking decisive action with regard to capital funding.

RESOLVED THAT:

Corporate Scrutiny Committee provide comments on the Draft Capital Strategy, Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators (Appendix A) for consideration by Cabinet on 10 January.

Report of the Interim Head of Finance

The Interim Head of Finance presented the report and wished to draw members attention to the additional paper distributed prior to the meeting. It was reiterated that the council had been subject to inflationary pressures, which had caused a significant increase. The number of efficiencies to be adopted and increases in fees and charges were noted, and it was observed that government funding to local authorities had not increased in line with inflation.

A member noted that the budget seemed to be ‘cautious’ and enquired whether an assessment had been undertaken as to what level of resource would be required for a more, or increased level of, proactive enforcement for example with regards to planning, antisocial behaviour and housing and expressed a wish to propose that Cabinet take into account the need for more proactive enforcement. Officers advised it would be necessary to confer with the relevant head of service in order to offer clarification and offered to do so. Officers wished to draw members’ attention to the Task and Finish group around fuel poverty and advised that findings from the group would be presented to Cabinet and would contain proposals around additions to the enforcement team but that this would not be revenue funded.

A member wished to formally express the proposal that Cabinet be requested to assess what is required to deliver a full spectrum, proactive enforcement service and set out a plan to address any shortfall in staffing levels. Officers assured members that any comments made would be taken forward to Cabinet in the form of the minutes, for Cabinet to give full consideration to.

A member enquired whether it was correct that the full cost of rolling out a food waste collection scheme would be paid for by the government and if so, had this been included in the budget. Officers responded that the council was awaiting further information from the government prior to moving this forward and would not be able to include this until the promised funding be received. Officers informed the meeting that Cabinet and Community Scrutiny had been involved in the consideration food waste collection and had decided to await the government funding coming forward, and whilst the government had ‘reconfirmed’ that this funding would be made available no detail had been provided to date.

A member enquired how it had been proposed to make savings to the community services budget and if these cuts would lead to a reduction in services. Officers responded that the primary reason had been the income generated from the new leisure centre so it had been attributable to an increase in income as opposed to a cut in service.

A member noted that the Property Services budget had been increased by around £800,000 and questioned why such a large increase would be occurring. Officers offered to respond to this following the meeting, as it had not been immediately apparent at first glance.

A member noted that the Coalville Regeneration Programme featured work associated with a Coalville  ...  view the full minutes text for item 74.

Report of the Interim Head of Finance

The Interim Head of Finance and S151 Officer presented the report and outlined that inflationary pressures had been a major strain which the HRA had seen. There had been a proposal to increase rents which would generate an extra £1.5m but this increase would be under the rate of inflation which the country is currently experiencing. It was noted that the affordable rent homes would continue to be capped at the relevant local housing allowance level.

A member requested clarification on the large investment proposed to restructure the asset management team and asked for more information on exactly what the £350,000 would be spent on. Officers advised that this was still in process but would primarily be staff focussed and at the time of the meeting was dependant on various factors such as staff changes, which could be discussed outside of the public meeting.

A member expressed disappointment at the reduction in the zero-carbon budget and asked whether the council would be able to reach the zero carbon goals given this cut. The question as to why there had been such a considerable reduction in government funding towards the zero-carbon budget was also raised. Officers explained that there had been a combination of things happening, for example awaiting government grants for which applications had been made to inflate the programme back to its former state. In terms of a future approach, it was recommended that the council take a more conservative estimate of what government may fund in future and that this had been factored in.

A member enquired about the obligations of the council around new tenancies and EPC and existing tenancies and EPC and was advised that the whole programme was geared towards achieving this target and was assured that 2025 and 2028 targets would be met.

A member raised concerns regarding the new build programme and requested figures around what was expected to be achieved. Officers responded that these figures would be included as part of quarterly monitoring so would be available shortly and assured members that three major sites were being actively pursued.

RESOLVED THAT:

Corporate Scrutiny Committee provide comments on the Draft General Fund Budget and Council Tax 2023/24 (Appendix 1) for consideration by Cabinet on 10 January 2023.