Agenda and minutes

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

There were no declarations of interest.

Mr. Hodges of Kingsholm raised 2 questions for the Committee. He asked:

1.    Are the redundanices resulting from the council restructure a genuine result of overstaffing, or are they simply a result of the current Government’s continuing austerity measures?

2.    Does this mean that the work being done by those facing redundancy will no longer need to be done, or does it mean that those left will need to undertake the work previously carried out by their redundant colleagues? If so, do Councillors realise the stress the extra work is likely to bring about, as employers how does that fit with their duty of care to the workforce.

The Chair thanked Mr. Hodges for his question, and asked The Council Leader and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources to answer these questions during their initial introduction to the Draft Money Plan.

To receive any petitions and deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

·         Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·         Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings

There were no petitions or deputations.

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources which sets out the draft Money Plan for the period 2017 to 2022 and Budget Proposals for 2017 to 2018.

The format for the session will be as follows:-

1. Leader of the Council will introduce the report.

2. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources will add his comments on the report.

Each Cabinet Member will then present their respective portfolios in the following order (as set out in Appendix 5):-

1. Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economy.

2. Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources.

3. Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure.

4. Cabinet Member for Environment.

5. Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods.

6. Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning.

During their presentations the Cabinet Members will address the following points:-

1. Current staffing levels.

2. Financial pressures for next year, including any potential reduction in income streams.

3. The proposed budget savings in their area for next year and how these will impact on the services they provide.

4. Any new income streams identified during the process.

5. The main priorities for their portfolio and whether any have changed as a result of the Draft Money Plan

The Chair invited the Leader of The Council, Councillor James and the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources, Councillor D. Norman to address the Committee.

Councillor James provided an overview of the draft Money Plan and Budget Proposal, stating that in a difficult financial environment the Council had made savings of £10 million over the previous six years so identifying further savings was increasingly challenging. Councillor James emphasised paragraph 4.3 of the report and stated that the proposals would enable the Council to be the master of its own destiny. He stated that the aims of the proposals were to protect services, increase income, improve efficiency and promote shared services.

In the context of the question from Mr. Hodges, Councillor James explained that the Together Gloucester restructure was orientated around breaking up silos and empowering communities to provide for themselves. He clarified that it was not as straightforward as just increasing the workload of remaining officers, but was about new ways of working and a better use of the current warehouse space or moving officers out of the warehouses entirely.

Councillor James stated that it was too early to talk about redundancies, as the Together Gloucester proposals still had to go through consultation and approval. However, as the Council was carrying vacancies, they would look to minimise and manage any unavoidable redundancies. He said the administration was not choosing to reduce spending and if money were no object, then the management of the Council restructure would be different, however it was necessary to live within the Council’s means. 

Councillor D. Norman said that the Local Government Settlement had been published on 15 December 2016 and that it had had an effect on the figures within the report. He explained that updated figures would be available as soon as possible and that the Head of Finance would be working on these over the Christmas period. He added that it would be appropriate for the Head of Finance to speak to the Committee once these figures had been calculated.

Councillor D. Norman explained that the Council had been granted a four year settlement from Central Government, so there was some surety about finances for that time period. However, he explained that details of the New Homes Bonus were of concern, as the “Deadweight Factor” announced by the Government would create a shortfall of £354,000. An increase in Council Tax of £37,000 was anticipated, so the overall shortfall would be £317,000.

Councillor Wilson asked if the four year settlement was in line with the original forecast. Jon Topping, Head of Finance, explained that it was.

Councillor Wilson asked for clarification of how the percentage of new homes used to calculate New Homes Bonus would be reached. Jon McGinty, Managing Director, explained that during 2017-18 it would be calculated from 5 years of data and during 2018-19 would be calculated from 4 years of data.

Councillor Wilson asked for the reasoning behind the increase in the General Fund, at a time of economic  ...  view the full minutes text for item 59.

Monday 9 January 2017 at 6.30pm

Monday 9 January 2017 at 6.30pm