| Place: | Cross Room, Civic Centre, West Paddock, Leyland, PR25 1DH |
| Present: | Councillors O'Hare (in the chair), Breakell and Hamman. |
| In attendance: | Corporate Directors (Policy and Neighbourhoods) (John Dakin) and Resources (Mike Nuttall), Head of Shared Financial Services (Susan Guinness), Principal Management Accountants (Jane Blundell and Gordon Whitehead), Risk Manager (Andy Armstrong), Democratic Services Officer (Carol Eddleston) and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources (Councillor S Robinson). |
| Public attendance: | 0 |
| Other Officers: | The Head of Shared Assurance Services (Garry Barclay) and three other officers were present. Other Members:- Councillors Mrs M and P Smith. |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OPEN ITEMS | ||||
| 33 |
Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Mrs Ball and Ogilvie. |
Noted | ||
| 34 |
Declarations of Interest There were no declarations of interest. |
Noted | ||
| 35 |
Minutes of the Last Meeting Minutes attached RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 January 2010 be approved as a correct record and signed by the chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 36 |
Update on Corporate Risk Register ? Key Project/Action No.7 (Local Transport Issues) Report attached The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources introduced the update report which had been prepared at the committee?s request. The Risk Manager explained that the information provided by the Head of Planning and Housing had reassured him that the committee could be confident in the veracity and adequacy of the systems and processes used to classify the status and risk rating of this key project/action. He reminded the committee that this particular project was strategic rather than operational and it had already been subject to challenge by the Senior Management Team, Cabinet and the Scrutiny Committee. The Chairman assured the Risk Manager that members had not doubted that work that had been carried out to allow the ratings to be made but they had asked for an assurance that the systems and processes in place were adequate and whether there was any independent assessment of the ratings. The Head of Shared Assurance Services echoed the Risk Manager?s comments about existing arrangements for challenge by the Senior Management Team, Cabinet and the Scrutiny Committee but suggested that his service area could look into the feasibility of introducing ?spot checks? on a random basis. RESOLVED: That officers be thanked for the update report and that the report be noted. |
Agreed | ||
| 37 |
Budget Monitoring Report - Quarter 3: October - December 2009/10 Report (360K/bytes) attached The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources presented an update on the Council?s overall financial position and financial strategy for 2009/10. He reported that efforts were ongoing to identify any further possible efficiencies, with a total of ?2.030m efficiencies currently identified, against a target of ?2.280m. In response to a question from the chairman about whether such a target had been realistic, Councillor S Robinson said that it was a very challenging but necessary target in view of income levels, with particular areas of concern being building control, land charges and car parking income. Councillor Breakell commented that, in the past, car parking had usually been forecast to produce a surplus and queried why this was no longer the case. Councillor S Robinson explained that there had been a number of changes to parking arrangements in the borough, including the introduction of a number of free spaces in Leyland. In response to reducing footfall in the town and consultation with local traders, attempts were being made to balance encouraging people to come into the town and generating parking income. In response to observations and questions from the Chairman about some of the items in Appendix 2, Councillor S Robinson explained that the anticipated funding from the South Ribble Partnership had originally been identified as a saving for 2009/10 but the funding was no longer expected to be received. The Head of Shared Financial Services said that the savings target remaining from Commercial Services/Caretaking/Cleaning was partly explained by the fact that, although bookings at Worden Arts and Craft Centre had remained more or less as forecast, they were increasingly for the types of event which generated less additional income, e.g. conferences rather than weddings which generated significant bar income. The Corporate Director (Resources) pointed out that the Commercial Services area was currently the subject to a substantial review and had been set a particularly challenging efficiency target; this included some vacant posts being left open but kept on the establishment until it was clear whether the posts could be deleted, without detriment to the service, thereby generating recurring savings. A major restructure in the Planning and Building Control service areas had resulted in savings significantly above target and the Planning Delivery Grant had been significantly higher than expected. From the audience Councillor P Smith commented on the difficulty in setting a budget when the timing and amount of items such as the Planning Delivery Grant could not be predicted. The Corporate Director (Resources) agreed and pointed out that although higher than expected grants were welcomed when they were received, there could equally be occasions when funding was significantly less than expected. Concessionary travel forecasts were particularly volatile which made it extremely difficult to forecast with any degree of accuracy. He confirmed that the current budget process had taken into account all of the matters above. In response to a question from Councillor Hamman, the Corporate Director (Resources) explained that the revenue budget contained the ongoing impact of what the council spent from its capital budget. He used the analogy of a homebuyer taking on a mortgage which s/he then repaid from her/his salary. In response to an observation from the chairman that the capital programme always seemed to be behind on playground refurbishment, Councillor S Robinson explained that whilst there was a playground refurbishment plan in place it had previously been funded by borrowing, which was not currently considered to be prudential. Members joined the chairman in welcoming the relatively low negative forecast budget variation of ?0.185m. RESOLVED: That the committee note the report and welcome the relatively low negative forecast budget variation. |
Agreed | ||
| 38 |
Treasury Strategies and Prudential Indicators 2010/11 to 2012/13 Report attached The Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources presented the report outlining the Council?s prudential indicators and expected treasury operations for 2010/11 to 2012/13. He brought members? attention to the recommendations, on page 10, to increase the limit on call accounts from ?2m to ?3m and to increase the maximum period of investment from 3 months to 12 months. In response to a request for clarification from the chairman, the Corporate Director (Resources) confirmed that if the ?27K ?balance - funding to be identified? could not be identified, the particular scheme concerned would not go ahead. In response to questions from the chairman, Mr Whitehead explained that the large increase in the Council?s capital expend between 2009/10 and 2010/11, and in the Capital Financing Requirement between 2009/10 and 2012/13, on page 3, was due to the procurement of new refuse and other vehicles, for which the leases would be renewable over that period. Councillor S Robinson explained that the expenditure required to deliver the waste programme was currently assumed to be financed by leasing although an alternative financing option may ultimately be considered to be a better method as and when the procurement arrangements were finalised. The Corporate Director (Policy and Neighbourhoods) pointed out that the new model fleet of waste vehicles would result in an immediate saving of what the council paid to Enterprise and, after three years, would additionally generate an annual revenue saving in the region of ?270k. The chairman enquired whether the anticipated returns from the Icelandic Banks deposits had been factored into the prudential indicators. Mr Whitehead explained that the first table on page 6 was based on projections of when the monies would be returned and this would effectively allow the council to use its own resources over a longer period rather than borrow more. Referring to page 6 the Corporate Director (Resources) explained that Prudential Indicators 8 and 9 essentially set the limit of borrowing that the council could enter into. The Corporate Director (Resources) explained that CIPFA?s code of practice on Treasury Management in the Public Services had been modified following the Icelandic banks crisis and now included requirements for training of members of audit / governance committees to ensure that they were equipped with the skills required to fulfil their responsibilities as members of those committees. He was currently looking into the feasibility of arranging some joint training with a number of neighbouring authorities and would welcome members? agreement for him to take this forward. Members acknowledged that whilst they were not expected to be finance and accountancy experts, some of the documents which they had had before them in this meeting had been very technical and they agreed that they would welcome further training. They joined the chairman in thanking the Cabinet member and officers for the quality of the answers that they had been given in the course of the meeting. RESOLVED: 1) That the committee recommend that full Council approve the prudential indicators, strategies and statement contained in the report, 2) That the committee recommend that full Council adopt the updated CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management in the Public Services and the Treasury Management Policy Statement, 3) That the committee recommend that Council adopt the proposed amendments to the Council?s Financial Regulations [4G], and 4) That the Corporate Director (Resources) proceed with arrangements for joint member training with neighbouring authorities. |
Agreed | ||
| 39 |
Forward Plan Forward Plan attached Members noted the current Forward Plan and agreed that the Risk Management Anti-fraud Arrangements should be deferred to the 29 April meeting to allow the 8 March meeting to be dedicated solely to the Review of the Constitution. RESOLVED: That the Risk Management Anti-fraud Arrangements item be deferred to the 29 April 2010 meeting. |
Agreed | ||