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SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT)

 

 

MINUTES of a meeting held on 27^th November and 4^th December, 2007.

 

Present on 27^th November, 2007: Councillor N.P. Hodges (Chairman); Councillors R.J. Bertin, Ms. L. Burnett, J. Clifford, G.A. Cox, A.D. Dobbinson, E. Hacker, Mrs. M. Kelly Owen, Mrs. A.J. Preston, Mrs. S.I. Sharpe and M.R. Wilson.

 

Also present: Councillor R.F. Curtis.

 

 

578     APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE -

 

These were received from Councillors Miss J. Cole, Mrs. A.J. Moore,

W.C. Vaughan, S.T. Wiliam and A.J. Williams.

 

 

579     MINUTES -

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T the minutes of the meetings held on 2^nd October and 13^th November, 2007 be approved as a correct record and the minutes of the Coldbrook Catchment Flood Risk Management Group, circulated at the meeting as supplementary information in relation to the flooding issues discussed at the extraordinary meeting of this Committee on 13^th November, noted.

 

 

580     DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST -

 

No declarations were received.

 

 

581     INITIAL REVENUE BUDGET PROPOSALS 2008/09 (DFICTP) -

 

The Council’s budget was largely determined by the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) settlement set by WAG.  Whilst notification had been received of the provisional settlement which had informed the Council’s Aggregate External Finance (AEF) and resulted in a 3.6% increase over 2007/08, it was noted that - in terms of spend per head of population - this Council was in fact ranked 20^th out of the 22 Welsh Local Authorities.  The severity of the settlement was stressed although it was accepted that final figures had yet to be announced.

 

Prior to assessing proposals for 2008/09, consideration was given to the revised estimates for 2007/08 as appended to the report, contained within which were details of the changes which had been required to the original budget.  Attention was drawn to the anticipated deficit of £168k. over all Directorates which would need to be funded from reserves and that some specific reserves would, therefore, be required to be “un-earmarked”.  It was noted that the amended original budget and the projected outturn for 2007/08 both equated to £26,690.  Particular reference was made to the proposal to set an additional savings target for the remainder of 2007/08 for the Directorate of £650k. and the ways in which that could be achieved together with the predicted impact on services as a consequence.  Consideration then focused on the Base Budget 2008/09 a summary of which was appended to the report.  Attention was also drawn to the Budget Strategy for 2008/09 which outlined that

 

·             services should prepare initial revenue budgets based on the cost of providing the current level of service and approved policy decisions (including the cost of price increases and pay awards);

·             increases to budgets approved during the course of the financial year could restrict the freedom the Council had to allocate its resources to priorities during the following budget cycle and consequently

-     supplementary estimates would only increase the base budget if the Council had given specific approval to that effect

-     the cost of increments and staff changes should be found from the base budget unless specific approval had been given for additional funding

-     the effect of replacing grant from outside bodies that had discontinued would not be treated as committed growth and, before any project or initiative that would be met either by wholly or partly by way of grant might proceed, the exit strategy had to be approved

-     certain items of unavoidable committed growth would continue including, for example, the effect of interest changes and financing costs of the Capital Programme

-     services would be expected to identify and achieve recurrent efficiency savings equivalent to at least 2% of their budget;

·             the cost of service development would need to be met from within the respective services from savings that they identified.

 

As indicated above, the summary of the overall base budget was appended to the report.  Inflation amounted to £0.652m. of which £0.339m. related to pay awards and £0.313m. for general price increases.  Committed growth totalled £0.364m. and related to Visible Services Landfill Tax annual increase.

 

A list of the 2008/09 cost pressures as identified by the services was appended to the report.  Altogether those totalled £1.713m. for the Directorate of Environmental and Economic Regeneration although it was noted that the cost of any potential redundancies was not included in that total.  Discussion ensued on the potential impact of the International Sports Village and the resultant likely loss of income on, in the main, Penarth Leisure Centre.  It was agreed that a report on that cost pressure together with the steps proposed to mitigate the impact of loss of income be submitted to this Committee in January, 2008. 

 

It was then

 

RECOMMENDED -

 

(1)       T H A T Cabinet be notified of the Committee’s concern at the proposal to set an additional savings target for the Directorate of £650k. at this late stage in the financial year and at the consequent impact on services.

 

(2)       T H A T, following the conclusion of the business to be transacted at the meeting, Committee stand adjourned until 4^th December to allow a report detailing both the proposals to achieve the £650k. savings within the current financial year, as referred to above, together with the anticipated outcome on services to be considered prior to any recommendation(s) being submitted to the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources).

 

Reasons for decisions

 

(1)       To inform Cabinet of the concerns of the Committee.

 

(2)       To inform the consideration of the initial revenue budget proposals more fully.           

 

 

582     INITIAL CAPITAL PROGRAMME PROPOSALS 2008/09 (DFICTP) -

 

Progress on the 2007/08 Capital Programme up to 31^st October, 2007 was presented together with the Initial Capital Programmes proposals for 2008/09.  Progress on the Capital Programme at 31^st October, 2007 was appended to the report.  As regards amendments to the 2007/08 Capital Programme, Cabinet had approved the following changes and, where indicated, referred the same to Council for approval:

 

·             Victoria Park Restoration - increase the Capital Programme by £65,000 to reflect additional grant funding;

·             Barry Regeneration Partnership - increase the Capital Programme by £5,000 to match fund grant aid;

·             Rhoose and Llantwit Major Vale of Glamorgan Line - increase the Capital Programme by £18,000 in order to conclude the scheme;

·             Barry Central Station - Council approval sought for an additional committed cost of £195k. over the existing budget.

 

As regards the 2008/09 Capital Programme, WAG had announced provisional General Capital Funding of £8,198,000 (an increase of 0.28%) over the current year.  It was noted that the final settlement was expected to be announced during January 2008.  It was further noted that the Major Repairs Allowance had not yet been announced by WAG and that Cabinet would be advised of the same as soon as possible.  In addition to funding from WAG, the Council would finance part of the Capital Programme from its own resources and the table below detailed the General Capital Funding and internal resources required to fund the proposed schemes:

 

Analysis of Net Funding Required for the Indicative 2008/09 Capital Programme	£,000	£,000
General Fund Resources from Welsh Assembly Government
Supported Borrowing	6,161
General Capital Grant	2,037
		8,198
Council Resources
Capital Receipts	3,666
Reserves/Leasing	1,942
		5,608
Net Capital Resources		13,806

 

Appendix B outlined the indicative 2008/09 Capital Programme for the Directorate of Environmental and Economic Regeneration.  An indicative asset renewal budget of £800,000 had been included for Visible Services and £150,000 for Leisure Services (constituting an un-earmarked general provision).  In addition, specific bids had been received which had been classed as asset renewal.  Due to the inclusion of the indicative asset renewal budgets, those specific bids had been shown as a separate heading in Appendix C which listed the unsuccessful bids.  Due to the shortage of capital funding, the only addition to the indicative Capital Programme for 2008/09 was that of the Relocation of Road to Dunraven Bay, whereby further costs were required on an already committed scheme.

 

Bids had been received for schemes that were 100% grant funded even though grant approval had not yet been received.  Whilst the following schemes had no cost to the Council, it was proposed that they be not included in the programme at the current stage since it was uncertain whether approval would be received:

 

·             Central Station Land Purchase - £1,400,000

·             Dinas Powys Bus Prioritisation Lane - £500,000

·             Five Mile Lane Highway Improvements - £250,000

·             Safety Cameras - £50,000.

 

It was noted that, should grant funding be approved, Cabinet had delegated authority to include those schemes in the Capital Programme.

 

Discussion then ensued on the unsuccessful bids as appended to the report, in particular the priority 3 awarded to VS3 - Flood Prevention Schemes.  Reference was made to the devastation caused by the flooding in certain areas, to the continuing concerns of local residents, changing climatic conditions and to the positive and productive meeting of this Committee on 13^th instant - as a consequence of which Cabinet would be considering six recommendations.  It was explained that there could be funding available for such matters from within the £800k. allocated to the Visible Service Asset Renewal budget and emphasised that every effort would be made to maximise external funding.  In order to allow proper consideration of the priority that should be afforded to the bid, further information was requested - in particular, the detail of the various schemes proposed, specifying the locations and aims.  Since VS32 - land drainage was clearly related to potential flood mitigation, details were also requested of the proposed schemes contained within that bid in order that a better assessment on the priority of the scheme could be made.  Subsequent questions included identifying under which heading funding for the provision of disabled parking bays had been made, and details of all unsuccessful priority 1 and 2 bids.

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T, following the conclusion of the business to be transacted at the meeting, Committee stand adjourned until 4^th December to allow a report on the following matters to be considered prior to any recommendation(s) being submitted to the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources):

·                    details of proposed flood schemes including the location and intended outcome

·                    details of proposed land drainage schemes

·                    clarification as to the funding allocated for the provision of disabled parking bays

·                    details of the unsuccessful Priority 1 and 2 bids.

 

Reason for decision

 

To inform the consideration of the initial Capital Programme proposals more fully.

 

(Note: Councillor R.F. Curtis spoke on the above matter with the consent of the Committee.)

 

 

583     PERFORMANCE MONITORING: QUARTER 2 (CX) -

 

Details of the performance monitoring statistics in respect of the four services within the Directorate were submitted.  It was noted with pleasure that no services were shown as being below target or not achieving performance.  During the course of subsequent discussion, reference was made to L618 - percentage of all eligible properties receiving a gas servicing visit; details relating to the numbers and frequency of properties visited together with those not inspected would be forwarded to the enquirer in due course.

 

RECOMMENDED - T H A T the position with regard to the Quarter 2 performance monitoring be accepted.

 

Reason for decision

 

To be aware of the Quarter 2 statistics and to monitor progress.

 

 

Present on 4^th December, 2007: Councillor N.P. Hodges (Chairman); Councillor S.T. Wiliam (Vice-Chairman); Councillors R.J. Bertin, Ms. L. Burnett, J. Clifford, Miss. J. Cole, G.A. Cox, A.D. Dobbinson, Mrs. M. Kelly Owen, Mrs. A.J. Preston and Mrs. S.I. Sharpe.

 

 

584     APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE -

 

These were received from Councillors E. Hacker, Mrs. A.J. Moore, W.C. Vaughan and M.R. Wilson; and from Councillor R.F. Curtis (Cabinet Member for Visible and Building Services).

 

 

585     INITIAL REVENUE AND CAPITAL PROGRAMME PROPOSALS 2008/09 - ADDITIONAL BUDGETARY INFORMATION (DEER) -

 

As requested on 27^th November, details were presented of the proposed areas where savings had been identified to achieve the target of £650k.  22 areas had been identified within Visible Services, Planning and Transportation and Economic Development and Leisure amounting to a potential total saving of £713k.  It was noted that it was intended that each area would be continually monitored for the remainder of the 2007/08 financial year and that alternative areas might need to be identified should the potential savings not be forthcoming from the areas originally identified.

 

The Director had identified the following list of potential areas with estimates as to the amount of savings that could be realised:

 

 

 

 

 

 

He then clarified the detail in respect of the proposed actions and amplified the potential effect on service delivery.  He stressed that whilst there would be an impact on services, the aim was to ensure that priority services were delivered efficiently and effectively in order to mitigate any impact on the public, health and safety concerns being paramount.  The Director further stressed that, where feasible, the potential savings listed had been based on the profile of last year’s spending during the same period but that the figures quoted were necessarily estimates.  The situation would be closely monitored during the course of the remaining financial year in order that alternative areas could be identified should the originally identified savings not be forthcoming. 

 

In respect of the unsuccessful capital bids VS3 - Flood Prevention Schemes and VS32 - Land Drainage, Members considered the information before them. The six schemes to be submitted to the WAG for consideration for flood prevention works and potential grant funding of 85% were

 

·                    Coldbrook catchment

·                    Penarth flooded areas

·                    Woodham Park, Barry

·                    Caerleon Road, Dinas Powys

·                    Conybeare Road, Sully

·                    Readers Way, Rhoose.

 

Until the WAG had agreed particular schemes, the final value of the Council’s 15% would not be known;  however it would be necessary for a sum of money to made available in preparation for the acceptance of any schemes put forward.  Without capital allocation, it was considered that funding could be made available from either the Visible Services Asset Renewal budget or from other schemes not being progressed.  In respect of land drainage, the proposal was to undertake works to watercourses within the Vale to protect certain areas from flooding incidents in the future.  It was considered that, should the bid not be successful, money could be found from the Asset Renewal fund.  It was explained that this fund had traditionally been used to fund capital schemes where need had been identified but no specific allocation previously made.

 

Attention was drawn to the fact that the provision of disabled parking bays was not funded from the Capital Programme.  Funding currently existed in the Revenue Budget to implement up to 10 bays per annum at a total cost of approximately £6k.  Discussion ensued on the Council’s current practice in respect of the provision of such bays and the fact that public expectation was high but the budget was extremely limited.  It was subsequently proposed that the Committee review the current situation in light of the likely worsening budgetary position.  It was noted that there had been no unsuccessful Priority 1 Priority or 2 Bids (and that the supplementary report had been updated accordingly). 

 

Following further discussion on the above and related matters, it was

 

RESOLVED -

 

(1)               T H A T, having carefully considered the savings put forward by the Director, and the fact that the £650k. cuts required by Cabinet within the current financial year were considered excessive and would inevitably lead to a reduction in services, the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) be asked to recommend to Cabinet that, if savings were required to be made, those proposed savings relating to Highway Maintenance affecting weed spraying, priority patching and surfacing repairs only and the non-replacement of stolen / damaged street names be removed from the list shown above given the importance to the public and, in the case of the latter two, the false economy of not undertaking the necessary work would place further service pressures on the Directorate for the following financial year.

 

(2)       T H A T the Initial Revenue Budget proposals for 2008/09 and the Initial Capital Programme proposals for 2008/09 be noted and the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) be requested to take account of the views of this Committee as indicated above.

 

Reasons for decisions

 

(1&2)  To notify the Scrutiny Committee (Corporate Resources) of this Committee’s view.