Agenda and minutes

a)    To confirm the Minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 26 November 2013 as a correct record; and,

b)    To note any update on matters for which follow-up action had been requested.

RESOLVED that:

1.         Subject to an amendment to record that apologies had been received from Councillor Brian Gordon, the minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 2013 be approved as a correct record;

2.         Responses to resolutions which were passed by Budget & Performance Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting of 16 September 2013 were noted as follows:

a.    That the Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance be requested to provide Members with a breakdown of assets targeted for capital receipts by site. Provided to Committee Members via email on 4 December 2013.

b.    That the Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance be requested to provide Members with details of outstanding S106 projects and funding. A response was being considered and to follow.

c.    That the Director for Place is requested to provide detail of any performance related fines incurred by NSL since the start of the contract. Provided to Committee Members via email on 9 December 2013.

d.      That the Cabinet Member for Education, Children and Families be requested to provide detail on the number of additional school places that had been provided in the last five years. Provided to Committee Members via email on 21 November 2013.

Apologies for absence had been received from Councillor Ross Houston (who was substituted for by Councillor Barry Rawlings).

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The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance, Councillor Daniel Thomas, the Head of Programmes and Resources, Tom Pike and the Assistant Director for Finance (Capita), Phil Brown, presented the Quarter Two Financial and Corporate Performance report.

Alongside established and emerging challenges it was noted that changes to the local demographic and the consequences of welfare reforms had been identified as carrying a significant risk to financial performance. The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance, in response to a question on value for money, confirmed that the most recently reported figures showed Barnet to be in the top three amongst London Boroughs in relation to its Value for Money services; with 50% of services rated as high performance, low spend.

Members discussed the report that the Council would recover an amount in excess to the principal of funds deposited with Icelandic banks (9.8.6, p.20).  The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance advised that an excess on principal was expected but that this excess would not be to the same value as originally projected to have been returned through interest growth. Committee noted that the total value in sterling to be returned to the Council would be subject to currency exchange rates. A Member asked for a comparison between the expected excess on principal and the interest value that had originally been anticipated.  It was agreed that this information, presented alongside information on other local authorities’ performance in this regard, be provided subsequent to the meeting. The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance highlighted that the Council’s treasury management policy, revised since the Icelandic banking crisis, was stringent and fit for purpose.

A Member questioned the rationale of budget cuts in light of the fact that some service areas regular reported recurring overspend. The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance agreed that the budgeting process should forecast and account for known expenditure insofar as possible, however, as in previous years, recovery plans were in place to bring expenditure back within budget over the following two quarters. Moreover, it was noted that environmental factors could also create need for additional investment in areas such as road maintenance. The Cabinet Member for Resources and Performance highlighted that the total variance on budget was less than one percent and expected this to be brought back in line by year end.

The Committee invited the Family Services Director, Nicola Francis, to comment on matters relating to performance of the Children’s Family Services. Members noted that, despite revisions to the budget to include an additional £1m as at 30 September 2013, a further £1.162m have been projected to be overspent by year end (Table 1, p.13). The Family Services Director attributed the overspend primarily as being driven by the cost of providing residential care for looked-after children which would place sustained pressure on the budget.

Acknowledging Committee Members’ concerns that less than 5 looked after children made the expected level of progress in English and Maths between Key Stages 2 and 4, the Family Services Director outlined  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

The Cabinet Member for Environment, Director for Place, Pam Wharfe, and Street Scene Director, Lynn Bishop presented the update report on the StreetScene transformation.

The Street Scene Director gave an update on the status of negotiations with the company responsible for delivery of the new bins. Members noted that due to the delay in achieving full borough-wide roll-out, a rebate on a proportion of the cost of delivery was being sought.

Responding to a question on missed collections, the Street Scene Director highlighted that there were now three times as many bins being collected and that missed collections were reducing as the new waste programme settled in. The target (under 50 per 100,000 collections) was expected to be achieved by January 2014.

Referring to the cost pressure of £1.3m income not being achieved due to the change in market value of co-mingled recyclates, the Director for Place detailed how work with the West London Alliance was being done to find the best deal in a highly volatile market. Members heard that the complexity of the market made it difficult to determine whether fixed price contracts would prove valuable in the longer term.

Following a discussion on the recycling rates, the Street Scene Director attributed the increase (to 38% from 33% under the previous system) as being due to convenience for residents of co-mingling recyclates. A Member asked whether the sharp initial increase in food waste had settled to a manageable level. The Street Scene Director responded that the combined amount of waste and recyclates was still higher than had been expected but this was being handled through the use of a local tipping point at Frith Lane which would remain in operation until tonnages levelled out and could be reviewed in the new year. The Cabinet Member for Environment confirmed that the total volume of waste and recycling was over and above what had been projected in the business case and that a customer satisfaction survey was underway that was targeted to provide feedback from 40% of Barnet households.

Noting a Member’s concern that early feedback from some residents had shown there to be a perception that food waste was being combined with general refuse at point of collection, the Cabinet Member for Environment acknowledged that this perception had been compounded by the fact that the colour of the transit or 'slave' bin for food waste on the waste collection vehicle had initially been the same as the recycling bin. This has now been changed to a brown transit bin. The Cabinet Member stated that letters had been sent to residents confirming that their food waste was being collected within a separate compartment of the waste collection vehicle. Members noted that a video was available online that illustrated how recyclates were processed.

A Member questioned whether an increase to the number of flats in the borough would cause a challenge for the handling and collection of waste and recycling. The Cabinet Member for Environment considered that appropriate arrangements for storing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Cabinet Member for Access and Partnerships, the Cabinet Member for Public Health and the Director for People, Kate Kennally, presented the Sport and Physical Activity (SPA) review outline business case report. The Cabinet Member for Public Health highlighted that physical activity was key to health to the same degree, if not more, as diet. Members heard that participation in simple physical activities could cut stroke, diabetes and some cancers by half and had been linked to prolonging mental health. The Cabinet Member for Public Health directed the Committee to the core strategic aims of the SPA (9.2, p.86) which outlined the approach being proposed to increase physical activity in Barnet, which currently ranked 23^rd of 33 boroughs for physical activity in adults.

Responding to Members concerns surrounding the ambition of the proposals in light of the MTFS savings target of £967,000 and the historical low uptake from residents, the Cabinet Member for Access and Partnerships indicated that the plans included identifying other forms of physical activity that took place but currently not known and promoting these more widely. Members noted that providers to some councils across the county were contracted at zero cost and discussions with GLL were being held prior to the contract end to review costs. Given that satisfaction levels with the current offer under the GLL contract were lower than average, the Cabinet Member for Access and Partnerships agreed that this would need to be resolved going forward. Members heard that other potential avenues for delivery were being explored that included partnerships with other agencies such as Saracens. A Member questioned why, with the exception of the Burnt Oak facility, each of the leisure centres operated at a loss to GLL. The Director for People acknowledged that investment was required at Copthall if the facility was to be sustainable in the long-term. Members noted that those leisure centres with wet areas were cost more to run and work was currently underway to review use of the facilities in order to reduce overheads whilst maximising the resources available.

The Director for People outlined that, though one of the key purposes of Council owned leisure facilities was to promote SPA, walking and other activities were equally important. The Director for People informed the Committee that, in order to understand local need and barriers to participation, 1,013 residents had been surveyed and focus groups had been held. Key barriers were attributed by some residents as being cost and accessibility.

Members asked for further information on research undertaken to identify examples of best practice elsewhere in the country and the feasibility of adopting such practices in Barnet. It was agreed that this research be circulated to Members subsequent to the meeting.

A Member asked how the borough’s parks could be promoted to encourage more use and what actions were being taken to promote cycling. The Cabinet Member for Public Health emphasised the ten marked and measured routes across the borough which provided a focus and interest to the parks.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

The Head of Programmes and Resources, Tom Pike, and the Head of Corporate Programmes, Matt Waters, presented the One Barnet Highlight Report.

RESOLVED that the One Barnet Programme Highlight Report be noted.

RESOLVED that the Forward Work Programme be noted.

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