Minutes:
60.1 The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources introduced the report and explained that the purpose was to confirm the Council’s current financial position against the agreed budgets for the 2021/22 financial year. She noted that the current forecast year-end position for the financial year was an increase to the General Fund balance of £173k against a budgeted increase of £123k.
60.2 The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that areas facing pressures included Planning, Environment and Performance and Resources. She further noted that areas that were seeing stability and therefore forecast to be on budget were Communities and Neighbourhoods and Culture and Leisure. In relation to parking, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources highlighted that the number of people parking in the city had slowly increased since May 2021 which had resulted an improvement to the year-end forecast outcome to a £500k shortfall, however this was being closely monitored.
60.3 The Chair noted his interest in the Culture and Leisure portfolio in particular and asked for the Cabinet Members’ comments as to whether any preparation was underway in light of the latest Covid-19 developments. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that she was not aware of any issues at that time, however she noted that where there had been restrictions on cultural venues during earlier stages of the pandemic, staff had handled the rearranging or cancelling of events excellently. She noted that she was confident that staff would do their best to minimise the impact on impact on services in the event of further restrictions.
60.4 Councillor Pullen expressed concerns that car parking income was an ongoing problem with little sign of improvement. He referred to the Sales, Fees & Charges claim which the Council had submitted for Quarter 1 and asked whether the Council could place a further bid to help towards the £500k shortfall in this area. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources clarified that the previous Quarter 1 return was the last Quarter Councils could submit Sales, Feels & Charges claims from Government. This said, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that should the Covid-19 situation worsen, local authorities would look to central Government to re-establish funding. She also reiterated that the Council were seeing some incremental increases in parking revenue.
60.5 In response to a further question from Councillor Pullen regarding the budget pressures and £326k shortfall from cemeteries and crematorium services, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that the lost income was mainly as a result of a reduction in income from wakes at the Arbor. She noted that she had been advised by colleagues in crematorium services that the next few months were predicted to be a busy period for the Arbor crematorium and further income would depend on whether people had the confidence to hold wakes. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that if further support was available from Government in due course, the Council would be at the front of the queue.
60.6 Councillor Pullen referred to the action point update included in agenda item 7 which confirmed that the Council was not currently pursuing historic debt or repayment of the rolling credit facility from Aspire Leisure Trust. He noted that the narrative at 5.12 suggested that the costs incurred by the Council were being recovered in full and asked for clarification on this point. The Head of Policy and Resources clarified that during the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions and prior to May 2021, the Council had not sought repayment for energy and overhead costs from Aspire however since the restrictions were lifted in May 2021, the Council would seek to recover the costs incurred since May 2021.
60.7 Councillor Wilson noted that the calculations outlined in the report were based on the assumption that there would not be further lockdowns. He asked for the Cabinet Member’s thoughts on whether the same level of support would be provided by Central Government in the event of further lockdowns. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources and the Head of Policy and Resources confirmed that they had not yet received assurances from Central Government regarding further financial support for local authorities. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources referred to previous comments made by Councillor Hilton where he noted that the Government had done the right thing in supporting local authorities and confirmed her expectation that this would be the case in the event of further restrictions.
60.8 Councillor A. Chambers asked for clarification on the 2021/22 budget, year-end forecast and forecast variance figures which the Head of Policy and Resources provided.
60.9 Councillor Hilton referred to the narrative at 5.14 confirming that the planning service was forecast to be adverse to budget by £253k. Councillor Hilton noted that the narrative confirmed that this was as a result of a surge in smaller-scale planning applications and asked whether the Council had needed to take on more staff to cope with the additional workload. He also asked whether the Council needed to plan for an increase in budget for this portfolio area.
60.10 The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that the shortfall in larger planning applications was behind the adverse position and noted that she was not aware of any changes to planning staffing. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources further confirmed that she had asked colleagues in planning services to tighten the forecast as much as possible to help avoid further adversity.
60.11 In response to an additional request for clarification from Councillor Hilton, the Head of Policy and Resources confirmed that Councillor Hilton was correct in stating that the slowdown in major planning applications was behind the shortfall and stated his hope that the income from major development projects within the city would boost income in the next year.
60.12 The Chair referred to 5.16 in the report stating that the homelessness budget for the year was forecast to be favourable to budget by £199k as a result of efforts to increase temporary accommodation. He asked for further information as to the progress which had been made in this area. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that 14 months ago, a business case was made to move forward with the acquisition of Potters Place to help provide supported and temporary accommodation for homeless people. She explained that the decision was subsequently ratified by Cabinet and that the Council then entered into an agreement with YMCA Cheltenham to help manage the facility on behalf with the Council. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources further noted that during the Cabinet meeting on 13th October, Cabinet had ratified a similar decision relating to Jubilee House and it was hoped that a similar approach would be adopted for this site.
60.13 Councillor Pullen requested clarity on the narrative at 5.14 in the report which stated that the statutory nature of the fees that could be charged for small scale planning applications prevented the full costs of providing the service from being recouped. He asked whether this meant that the Council was facing a loss as a result of being unable to access subsidies to help cover the costs of domestic planning applications and if this was the case, whether the Council had received any indication that this was going to be reviewed by central Government. It was agreed that further clarification would be sought from the Head of Place on this matter and that this would be shared with the Committee by way of follow-up.
60.14 In response to queries from Councillor A. Chambers regarding planning recruitment, the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources confirmed that planning recruitment was generally a challenge for local authorities as it was important to employ people with the appropriate skills.
60.15 In response to a further question from Councillor A. Chambers regarding the £915k budget for Revenues and Benefits and the favourable forecast variance, the Head of Policy and Resources confirmed that expected government grants had been received at the start of the financial year and expenditure across the year was in line with the budget.
60.16 Councillor Durdey referred to the Review of the City’s Corporate Management Function in Appendix 3 and asked and whether Members could have confidence that the savings target would be achieved. The Head of Policy and Resources confirmed that the review had been completed and that he was confident that the target would be met.
60.17 Councillor Durdey asked whether the Council was expecting significant investments as a result of the Capital Programme and whether any projects would come to fruition before next year’s budget. The Head of Policy and Resources noted that the Kings Square redevelopment was close to completion and that it was expected that the main works would be completed by the end of the year. He also referred to the development of the new Food Dock and noted that he expected progress to continue but did not have an exact date for completion.
60.18 The Chair asked for the Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources’ views on whether it was increasingly difficult to make savings. Referring to Appendix 3, the Chair also asked for an update on plans to reduce the Member Grant allocation. The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources expressed the view that it did get increasingly difficult to identify and make savings, particularly in light of the pressures caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. In relation to the Chair’s question on Member Grant allocation and community grants, she confirmed that this was monitored on an annual basis and that the Council considered the type of grants which could be allocated to community groups. She noted that some Members struggled to spend their grant allocation, but the situation would be reviewed and monitored.
RESOLVED – That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee NOTE the report.