Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that, subject to an amendment under item 6 (in relation to a Member’s comment that a previous request for the Committee to receive specialist external advice had not been progressed) to add the words “despite there being adequate time for this”,  the minutes of the meeting held on the 11 June 2013 be approved as a correct record.

An apology for absence had been received from Councillor Joan Scannell who had been substituted for by Councillor Andrew Strongolou.

a)      Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Non-Pecuniary Interests

b)      Whipping Arrangements (in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 17)

None.

None.

The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Daniel Thomas, the Deputy Chief Operating Officer, John Hooton, and the Head of Programme and Resources, Tom Pike, presented the Quarter Four and Year End 2012/13 Financial and Corporate Performance report.

Responding to a question from the Committee, Officers reported that the legal costs of the judicial review were approximately £400,000 as of the end of May 2013.  It was noted that the cost of the delay had been estimated at £8.6 million for the period April and November 2013 due to lost savings and delayed mobilisation. 

Some Members commented that the Council had not adequately consulted with residents on the One Barnet Programme which had resulted in a legal challenge.  It was suggested that the Corporate Risk Register be amended to make specific reference to the judicial review appeal and the impact on the Medium Term Financial Strategy. 

Councillor Schneiderman had submitted questions in advance of the meeting.   Details of the questions asked and the answers provided are set out below:

1.      (9.8) Why have earmarked reserves increased by £10m?

Earmarked reserves have increased for a number of reasons. Firstly, the New Homes Bonus (£3m) was received by the Council and has been earmarked for infrastructure projects, but as at 31^st March 2013 remains unspent. The Council allocated in the 2012/13 budget funding for the “service development” reserve (£5m) – most but not all of this was spent during the year. The Council received funding from the NHS for “winter pressures” of £1.1m but only received this in March, so it remained unspent in the year and is allocated to a specific reserve. The Council also underspent on redundancy and capital financing budgets, and these underspends were moved to earmarked reserves. This earmarked reserves position puts the Council in a stronger position to deal with the costs that are being incurred as a result of the judicial review (legal costs, additional project and mobilisation costs and lost financial benefits from the New Support and customer Services Organisation (NSCSO) and Development and Regulatory Services (DRS) deals) in 2013/14.

2.      (9.13) Why has agency and consultant spend continued to rise to almost £30m for 2012/13?

There has been a conscious policy to hold posts vacant or use agency staff as a result of the need for the Council to make budget cuts and staffing reductions, and as a result of the pending transfer of staff to DRS and NSCSO providers. This enables the Council to minimise the cost of redundancy, as noted in the response to the question above.

3.      (9.16.3) What period does the Special Parking Account (SPA) debt write off relate to? Why has such a large amount been written off?

This relates to historic write offs of penalty charge notice (PCN) income that have not been collected, and the cancelling of PCNs that have been issued in error or successfully appealed. The position reported in the special parking account is not impacted by this write off as it was  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Committee considered the One Barnet Programme Highlight report which provided a summary of the programme status up to June 2013. 

RESOLVED that the One Barnet Programme Highlight report be noted.

The Committee considered the Budget and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme for 2013/14 as set out in the report.

RESOLVED that:-

1.            the Budget and Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee Forward Work Programme for 2013/14 be noted

2.            the following items be added to the Forward Work Programme:

·         One Barnet – Sport and Physical Activity Review (Date TBC); and

·         One Barnet – Waste and Street Scene Review (Date TBC).

None.