BABERGH DISTRICT COUNCIL
OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (STEWARDSHIP) COMMITTEE
MINUTES OF A MEETING OF THE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY (STEWARDSHIP) COMMITTEE HELD IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBER, COUNCIL OFFICES, CORKS LANE, HADLEIGH ON TUESDAY 31 JANUARY 2006
PRESENT: Ms J A Jenkins – Chairman
|
Mr J C Brand
Mr D M Busby
Mrs S Carpendale
Mr N H J Irwin
|
Dr M R Miller
Mr J M Owen
Mrs W J Sadler
Mr G S White
|
64 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS
There were no declarations of interest.
65 MINUTES
RESOLVED
(1) That the Minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 2005 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.
(2) That the Minutes of the joint meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee and the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee held on 12 December 2005 be confirmed and signed as a correct record, subject to the concurrence of the Overview and Scrutiny (Community Services) Committee.
66 PETITIONS
None received.
67 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS
None received.
68 WORK PLAN
The Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services submitted a report (Paper E250) which provided details of the Committee’s anticipated work for the remainder of 2005/06, including items that may be the subject of call-in procedures.
It was noted that some Members had requested a review of the call-in procedures. It was agreed that Dr Miller and Mrs Carpendale would complete a Planning Assessment Sheet so that the Committee could consider at its meeting scheduled for 21 March 2006 how such a review might be carried out.
It was noted that the Committee wished to review the ways in which Members were kept informed of issues arising in their wards.
RESOLVED
That the Work Plan submitted as Paper E250 be noted.
69 BUDGET SCRUTINY
Mr Geoff Kistner, Corporate Director, presented a report (Paper E251) setting out issues to be considered whilst scrutinising the draft budgets which had been approved by the Strategy Committee on 12 January 2006.
In doing so he drew Members’ attention to paragraphs 4.4 and 4.5 of the report which gave an update on issues which had arisen since the Strategy Committee meeting and which would affect the General Budget Fund for 2006/07. In addition, it was noted that the costs involved in creating the New South Suffolk Leisure Trust were greater than had been originally anticipated. The Procurement Task Group would be submitting a report on this matter to the meeting of the Strategy Committee scheduled to be held on 9 February 2006.
The Committee accepted those items in the report which were cost neutral. Members’ attention was drawn to paragraph 4.7 of Paper E251. It was noted that in relation to the CAST Budget, the Strategy Committee was recommending that any costs would only be incurred with the agreement of full Council, rather than by the Strategy Committee, as was recommended by the joint meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.
In relation to the possible feasibility study on the redevelopment of the Sudbury Town Centre (Bus Station) site, it was noted that there were different views in Sudbury on the value of such a study.
RECOMMENDED TO STRATEGY COMMITTEE
(1) That the level of Council Tax for 2006/07 should not under any circumstances be increased by more than 2.7%.
(2) That any changes to the draft Budget for 2006/07 should not be financed by taking from reserves any more money than already agreed, but by making savings on other priorities.
(3) That the allocation in the Budget for 2006/07 for “Suffolk Speaks” should not be increased beyond that already agreed.
(4) That spending on e-government projects in 2006/07 should not be increased beyond that already agreed although some re-balancing may be advantageous.
(5) That the possible feasibility study on the redevelopment of Sudbury Town Centre (Bus Station) site be not supported by Babergh District Council, unless it can be funded from alternative sources and there should be wide consultation.
RESOLVED
That the Strategy Committee’s decision as set out in paragraph 4.7 of Paper E251 be supported.
70 REVENUE BUDGET – QUARTERLY MONITORING REPORT
The Head of Finance submitted a report (Paper E257) reviewing expenditure and income against budgets to the end of the third quarter of the financial year 2005/06.
The Committee noted that, mainly due to higher than expected investment income, it was estimated that there could be an overall net saving on the budget of approximately £300,000.
RESOLVED
(1) That the position on the 2005/06 budget variations as set out in Appendix 1 and the key areas highlighted in Section 4.3 of Paper E257 be noted.
(2) That officers continue to work with budget holders on action plans to monitor and deal with any unfavourable variations.
71 CAPITAL PROGRAMME MONITORING
The Head of Finance and the Head of Technical Services submitted a joint report (Paper E256) setting out progress on the current year’s Capital Programme to the end of December 2005 under the agreed performance management arrangements.
Members’ attention was drawn to paragraph 4.5 of Paper E256 which indicated that approximately 44% of the total £7.4m adjusted budget had been spent so far, a modest improvement on the equivalent figure for 2004/05.
As requested at a previous meeting officers had investigated non-construction related projects to see if there were any capacity problems, and their findings were set out in paragraph 4.7 of Paper E256. It was noted that in general terms capacity was not seen as an issue.
RESOLVED
That the overall position on the 2005/06 Capital Programme at the end of December 2005 be noted.
72 DRAFT CORPORATE PLAN FOR 2006/07
The Corporate Support Manager presented a report (Paper E252) concerning the draft Corporate Plan for 2006/07. In the discussion on the Plan the following were among the points noted:-
-
The Corporate Support Manager and his staff were congratulated on the quality of the draft Corporate Plan.
-
It was suggested that the wording of the draft Plan might need to be amended to make clear those areas where the Council’s powers were limited, for example in the fields of health, education and the low wage economy.
-
It was noted that the Plan did not include a statement of the Council’s non-priorities.
-
It was suggested that on page 20 of the draft Plan it should be made clear that not all those on the housing waiting list were entitled to or had a recognised need for Council housing.
-
In relation to the priority of giving easy convenient access to quality services, it was suggested that greater emphasis should be laid on the findings of the recent State of the District and Babergh Matters! surveys.
RECOMMENDED TO STRATEGY COMMITTEE
That the draft Corporate Plan for 2006/07 be approved as set out in Paper E252, subject to amendments reflecting the comments detailed above.
73 E-GOVERNMENT PROJECTS – EXPENDITURE AGAINST GRANT
The Head of Organisational Development submitted a report (Paper E253) providing an update on the current state of expenditure against e-government (IEG) grant by e-government projects. The ICT Manager explained that no further clarification had been received regarding whether any IEG grant unspent by 31 March 2006 would need to be returned. It had been assumed that this would be the case and the E-Government Steering Group had continued to monitor and approve expenditure to ensure that the Council had the best chance of spending the entire grant by that date.
It was noted that invoiced expenditure to date had been closer to the “Best Case” plan and currently stood at £719,000. However, an expected slow down in expenditure in January and February was likely to mean that over those months the Council would dip down to the “worst case” scenario. Nevertheless it was expected that the Council would meet its target in March 2006.
As requested at the Committee’s meeting on 29 November 2005, Officers had sent an e-mail to Members summarising how access had improved from the customers’ point of view over the period 2000 – 2005. The IT Manager had also drawn up a list of the sums spent on e-government initiatives in that period. It was suggested that these two documents could be brought together to form an e-government annual report.
RESOLVED
(1) That the report on e-government projects as set out in Paper E253 be noted.
(2) That the E-Government Steering Group be requested to continue to monitor and take appropriate action to maximise the expenditure of the IEG grant under existing Delegated Authority arrangements.
74 LAND CHARGES – PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
The Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services submitted a report (Paper E254) setting out the latest performance trends for the Local Land Charges service. The Electoral and Administrative Services Manager reported that performance had suffered a slight reverse at the end of November and into the first week of December 2005 due mainly to the loss of a full-time member of staff. Currently standard searches were being answered within eight working days. It was noted that the Management Team was monitoring the situation regularly.
RESOLVED
That the report on Local Land Charges submitted as Paper E254 be noted.
75 REVIEW OF THE CONSTITUTION
The Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services submitted a report (Paper E255) concerning the review of the Council’s Constitution. The Committee Services Manager explained that at its meeting in December 2005 the Council had been requested to provide guidance on the timing and potential scope of any further review of the Constitution and to confirm whether any or all of the deferred matters (in Paper D241) should be considered further in advance of any such review. The Council had resolved to refer back all of the deferred matters contained in Paper D241 to the Overview and Scrutiny (Stewardship) Committee to undertake a quick review.
Paragraph 4 of the report contained proposals as to how the deferred matters might be dealt with. It was noted that minor changes to tidy up the Constitution could be dealt with by the Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services but that major changes to the Constitution would require approval by the Council.
In relation to paragraph 4.3.13, it was noted that the intention would be to submit a report to the Council setting out proposals for Member Champions. It would be for Council Members to decide whether or not they considered it necessary to appoint Champions.
RECOMMENDED TO COUNCIL
(1) That the deferred matters contained in Paper D241 be dealt with as outlined in paragraph 4 of Paper E255, subject to the addition in paragraph 4.3.13 of the words “…….. and where Council feels this to be necessary”.
(2) That the Acting Head of Legal and Administrative Services be authorised to draft appropriate amendments to the Constitution in relation to Recommendation (1) above and to bring the proposals to full Council for ratification.
NOTES:
1. The Committee adjourned for refreshments between 10.55 a.m. and 11.15 a.m.
2. After the meeting Members visited the Revenues Division to see a demonstration of Document Image Processing/Workflow technology which had recently been installed.
The business of the meeting was concluded at 1.10 p.m.
……………………….
Chairman
Back to Top
|