Agenda item

Business Planning

Minutes:

The Committee considered the report which provided them with an update on the council’s revenue and capital financial position including the council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to 2023/4.  The paper further set out the proposed amendments to the capital programme.

 

The Director of Finance (Section 151) drew the Committee’s attention to the additional recommendation that had been tabled, which recommended;

 

6.         That the Open-Door scheme within the Capital Programme is increased by £4.88m funded by, and subject to, the realisation of Right to Buy Receipts.  This is required in order to support the Open-Door Homes business plan following increased build costs.

 

Councillor Barry Rawlings, duly seconded by Councillor Arjun Mittra proposed the following additional recommendation:

 

6.         Further streamline Committees as follows:

 

§  Delete FPCC and Chair’s SRA subsume functions into relevant Themed Committees – £15,333

 

§  Merge ARG and Housing – delete one Chair’s SRA – £15,333

 

§  Merge Adults and HOSC – delete one Chair’s SRA – £15,333

 

§  Merge Environment and CLLC – delete one Chair’s SRA and put Libraries into merged ARG/Housing – £15,333

 

§  Delete CGP – subsume functions into Audit – delete on Chair’s SRA - £15,333

 

§  Delete all 10 Vice-Chair’s SRAs - £23,680

 

§  Reduce SRA from Planning, Area Planning, Audit and Pension Fund to tier below – £38,886

 

§  Reduce Licensing SRA to tier below - £ 6484

 

-       Make Committees paperless - £68,000

 

-       Delete Cllrs refreshments at Council meetings - £3,500

 

-       Delete Cllrs free parking permits - £2,100

 

-       Make Barnet First cost neutral through sponsorship/advertising - £75,000

 

Total saving approximately - £278,982

 

-       Introduce target to reduce spend on senior management costs by 20% - approximately £1m

 

-       Dismantle commissioning model – restructure to take out duplication of roles – report back possible saving.

-       Set up a Working Group to look at income generation across Council services (beyond development)

 

Upon being put to the vote the additional recommendation proposed by Councillor Barry Rawlings was declared lost. The vote was recorded as follows: 

 

For

5

Against

7

Abstain

0

Absent

0

 

Upon being put to the vote, the additional recommendation proposed by the Director of Finance (Section 151) was unanimously agreed and become the substantive recommendation 6.

 

Councillor Rawlings requested that a separate vote be taken the remaning recommendations.

 

Upon being put to the vote recommendations 1, 5 and 6 were unanimously agreed.

 

Upon being put to the vote recommendations 2, 3 and 4 were agreed. The vote was recorded as follows  

 

For

7

Against

5

Abstain

0

Absent

0

 

 

RESOLVED – that the Committee

 

1.    Notes the current forecast of the revenue overspend for 2018/19 as set out in paragraph 1.2.3;

 

2.    Approve the capital programme additions, deletions, slippage and accelerated spend as set out in Appendix B;

 

3.    Approves that the council fund a 10% contribution to the cost of both the Henrietta Barnett School and St Michael’s School applications to the Selective School Expansion Fund, should they be successful, up to a maximum cap of £1 million across the two schools at a revenue cost of £53,000 per year;

 

4.    Approves the deletions from the Capital Programme as set out in table 1; and

 

5.    Approves the debt write offs over £5,000 described in paragraph 1.2.11

6.   Approves that the Open-Door scheme within the Capital Programme is increased by £4.88m funded by, and subject to, the realisation of Right to Buy Receipts.  This is required in order to support the Open-Door Homes business plan following increased build costs.

Supporting documents: