Introduction by the Chairman.

The Chairman welcomed the members of the Committee.

In accordance with the Members’ Code of Conduct, Members are requested to declare any interests orally at the start of the meeting and again immediately before consideration of the matter. Members are reminded to specify the agenda item number to which it refers and whether the interest is of a personal or prejudicial nature.

Members are also reminded of the requirements of Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 that they should declare and not vote on specified matters if they are two months or more in arrears with their Council Tax payments.

Alison McDade declared a personal interest in item 7 by virtue of her husband being an employee of Richmond Council.

To consider and approve the minutes of the Co-ordination, Finance and Performance Commission meetings held on 30 September 2010 and the extraordinary meeting on 13 July 2010– attached.

The minutes of the extraordinary meeting held on 13 July and the meeting on 30 September 2010 were approved and the Chairman was authorised to sign them.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Montague. Councillor Stockley attended as his substitute.

This report contains the Council’s latest information in relation to the Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) announced on 20^th October 2010 and provides information on some of the key underlying assumptions in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS).

Representations were heard from Councillor Samuel, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, and Mark Maidment, Director of Finance.

Councillor Miller said he had received a letter from a member of the public in relation to this item. He agreed to reply to them personally.

Councillor Samuel explained that the Council was waiting for a local funding settlement to be agreed before moving forward with financial planning.

The Director of Finance said all employees had been informed, by email, of the restructure to the Environment directorate.

They expected to inform all directorates of structural changes in good time.

The Director said the Financial Planning and Comprehensive Spending Review would be going for approval at Council in March.

Councillor Samuel said the All in One (AIO) was to be extended till February. He was confident that the AIO results could be given due regard within the Councils financial planning.

Councillor Knight asked if the Deputy Leader could approximate the Council Tax rate after 2011. He explained there were numerous variables which made it difficult to give an approximate answer (including the current uncertainty of government grants) but the Council was aiming for a Council Tax freeze for 2011 - 2012 and possibly for 2012 – 2013. Councillor Samuel said that development of shared services in local governments would contribute to substantial savings and play a considerable part in setting the Councils budget.

The Director confirmed that he had taken into consideration the proposed pay increases for Council workers earning less than £21K.

Councillor Knight said he was surprised to see the majority of Council employees would receive a 0% increase in salaries for 2011 – 2012. He was concerned that unions would react. He hoped the Council could avoid an industrial dispute.

Councillor Harrison asked about the Capitalisation Fund. The Director said that Councils that have reserves, like Richmond, could not get access to the fund. The Director agreed to investigate this further.

Councillor Elliott asked about the Re-growth Fund. The Director confirmed that this was one of several options he would be considering. 

Councillor Miller asked if the AIO surveys completed online had provided any good suggestions for the spending review. The Director explained that the Cabinet Member for Performance and the Chief Executive would be assessing the completed forms and would report back any viable suggestions.

RESOLVED that the report be noted

This report highlights areas of the Council’s performance which Committee may choose to investigate further.

Representations were heard from Mandy Skinner, Assistant Director Commissioning Corporate Policy and Strategy.

The Committee expressed disappointment that Adults with learning disabilities in settled accommodation was only expected to achieve 56% in Richmond Borough when the London Borough average was 67.9%.

Councillor Williams felt that the total number of notifiable crimes would be more relevant than reporting small numbers of specific crimes.  The Assistant Director Commissioning Corporate Policy and Strategy, explained the National Indicators were chosen based on the Local Economic Assessment. The indicators used were not necessarily considered locally important.

Councillor Miller asked that colour copies of the report be provided in future, as requested.

Councillor Knight asked if there had been confirmation of the affordable housing programme. The Director of Finance explained that the Capital programme was not in place yet. Once it had been established the Council would need to decide how to allocate the capital. The Assistant Director said that although the Homes and Communities Agency had been restructured to devolve funding at a borough level she did not expect Richmond to receive any assistance. However, the government still had announcements to make on affordable housing.

The Assistant Director said that housing proposals would be submitted in the Housing Capital Programme report going to Cabinet in January 2011.

Councillor Miller asked how housing would be scrutinised. The Assistant Director replied that the Council hoped the AIO consultation would provide information on how the public wished to be engaged.  The Director said that most of the detail in the budget would need to be in place before the Christmas period so they can go to Overview and Scrutiny committees in January. However he assured the Committee that, where possible, the results from the AIO would influence the budget proposals. However, the AIO had not been planned to set the budget. The Council aimed to use the results flexibly and influence a range of different functions. 

RESOLVED that,

·         the report be noted,

·         that the All In One results be presented at the next Committee meeting in January.

Report providing Members of the Committee with an update on the Council’s efficiency work to date, the next steps and the governance processes that are in place.

Representations were heard from Mike Gravatt, the Assistant Director of Finance and Corporate Services and Mark Maidment, the Director of Finance.

The Assistant Director explained that the Council was looking to close the “net savings gap yet to be identified” but there was no firm date in place yet. They were likely to know a lot more in 3-4 months time at which point a report could return to the Committee.  

The Director of Finance explained the Council was in the process of securing several substantial contracts which he hoped would help the Council meet their planned figures.

Councillor O’Malley asked if the figures in appendix 1 represented new income streams and what would the role of Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) be moving forwards.The Assistant Director explained that at present PWC were responsible for income generation review, providing ongoing support to the procurement contract and reviewing the Councils largest contracts. The Director said that Council officers were on hand to review PWCs recommendations and the recommendations would go to the Income Generation Task Group.

In response to a question from Councillor Porter, The Director explained that PWCs recommendation to invest £7m (a one off cost) would not have a significant impact on the Councils budget. A significant part of the investment would be used to fund redundancies. He was unsure what the annual investment figure would be.

The Council needed to invest considerably in IT, but this was to implement essential upgrades.

The Director said that a document would be ready in February which would present the work of the Zero Based Budgeting and the Efficiency Review more clearly.

In response to a question from Councillor Harrison, The Director said the “Net savings gap yet to be identified” was over a 4 year period.

RESOLVED that the report be noted

[Alison McDade declared a personal interest by virtue of her husband being a Council employee]

To consider the proposal for a new local performance framework and considers how the committee can contribute to its development.

RESOLVED that:

the item be deferred to the next meeting in order for the Cabinet Member for Performance to attend.

Report detailing the proposed work programme for the remainder of the municipal year 2010/11.

RESOLVED:

·         that the Work Programme for the remainder of 2009/10 be agreed,

·         that the All in One consultations initial findings be received at the next committee meeting (January 2011).