To receive any apologies for absence.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Churchill, Evans and Porter who all sent substitutes to the meeting.

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 the nature of the interest being declared.

There were no declarations of interest.

To consider and approve the minutes of the Finance and Performance Overview and Scrutiny meeting held on 5 December 2012 – attached.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 5 December 2012 be received and approved and the Chairman be authorised to sign them.

This report seeks comments on the draft Corporate Plan and provides details of the updated Performance Management Framework which will be used to monitor the progress of the plan going forward.

Report of the Assistant Director of Commissioning, Corporate Policy and Strategy attached.

The Cabinet Member for Performance, and the Assistant Director for Commissioning, Corporate Policy and Strategy were present for this item.

The Assistant Director said that drafting the Corporate Plan was ongoing, with each scrutiny committee responsible for considering items within its remit.  The plan was due to be considered at Cabinet on 21 March 2013.

Following questions from members, the Assistant Director said that the specific measures listed in the plan were to be further developed before the Cabinet meeting, and would then be reported through the quarterly performance report.  It was agreed that the committee would receive an update on the measures in advance of the Cabinet meeting, which would be for information only.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

This report is a brief introduction to the following reports:

• The Revenue Budget and Council Tax setting report for 2013/14 including the updated Medium Term Financial Strategy

• Capital Programme 2013/14 to 2017/18

• Finance and Corporate Services and Central Items Budget 2013/14

• Quarter 3 Finance Update

Report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources attached.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources, and the Director of Finance and Corporate Services were present for this item and invited questions from committee members.

This report gives details of the budget strategy and recommends that the Richmond upon Thames element of the Council Tax remain unchanged at £1,287.39.

Report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources attached.

The Director explained how the target for business rates had been calculated.  He said that officers were originally expecting a higher target.

Clarification was sought on the “revenue funding of capital expenditure” amount.  The Director said that the projects funded by this figure were throughout the report and agreed to provide, at the request of members, a written breakdown of the coming year’s expenditure under this heading, along with the previous two years data.

It was reported that the Freeze Grant was a one off grant, which lasted for a period of two years.  It was to end in the next financial year.

Further information was given on what was being provided for under the “Central Items and Contingency” heading.  The Director said that the general contingency amount within this section was £500k, with further provision made for up to a 1% pay award for staff, which would cost around £600k.

Clarification was sought on the main findings of the residents’ survey – the Director reported that included within a range of responses was a strong indication that respondents did not support a council tax increase, preferring the use of things like savings and the increasing of fees and charges to keep increases to a minimal level.  The response to the survey was as expected.

Information was sought on the Welfare Reform Board.  Members were advised that the board did not act as an operational or appeal body, but instead monitored the overall impact of the Council Tax Support Scheme (CTSS) and other welfare support changes.  It was noted that the CTSS could not be amended mid-year.  When modelled, it was established that around 400 households would be impacted by the new scheme, with homes that had additional adult occupants in particular being asked to contribute more.  Modelling was also being carried out on how many individuals/households may be affected by more than one of the changes in the welfare system. The Director agreed to circulate details of the modelling once it had been completed.

The purpose of the “insurance reserve” figure was explained; the council was ‘self-insuring’ claims up to a value of £115k, with the overall value of the reserve being based on an independent valuation.

Questions were asked about the youth development fund, with particular interest around when the money was to be spent.  The Director said that he had contacted the Youth Service, who said that due to the uncertainty around Heatham House, an amount was yet to be spent.  The Youth Service were expected to confirm proposals for the sum in the coming year.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet report be noted.

This report considers the 6 year Capital Programme (2012/13-2017/18), provides details of new capital schemes and looks at how the Capital Programme is funded.

Report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources attached.

In response to a query about the budgeting for expansions at Vineyard School and Nelson Primary School, the Director said that these were accounted for under the heading “new schemes”.  The Director agreed to circulate as much information as possible on these proposals, although he stressed that there were ongoing discussions with the schools.

It was noted that the “pooled service provision” figure for sixth forms was to cover items such as set up costs, although each sixth form’s set up and running costs would vary depending on how much work was needed to adapt sites.  The Director agreed to provide further details on the unallocated sum shown in later years of the programme.

The Deputy Leader stated that the borough’s affordable housing achievement was partly dependent on the number of available sites.

The Director agreed that some of the Prudential Indicators (PIs) for years 4 and 5 would not include all of the information required from future capital programmes and this would be indicated in the final report to Cabinet.  The Director agreed it was probably fair to expect “some tightening” of the PIs in future years.

The Director agreed to provide details on how each of the new schemes in Appendix D were to be funded.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

This report sets out the detailed revenue budgets for Finance and Corporate Services and Central Items for the financial year 2013/14, highlighting significant changes from the previous year.

Report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources attached.

The Director reported that there was a relatively low number of contract staff in Finance and Corporate Services.  There had been a reduction in staff of around 15%, although it was difficult to make comparisons with figures from 2010 because of the various shared services.

The carbon reduction commitment was a charge levied against all local authorities, but as schools were omitted, the council had a decrease in its predicted charge.

Savings in Customer Services, and revenues and benefits had been achieved because of efficiencies and changes in working practices.  The increased cost of human resources was as a result of the one-off cost associated with changing payroll systems.  The Director agreed to circulate details of this.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

This report enables the scrutiny of the Council’s revenue and capital budget management.

Report of the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources attached.

It was reported that each overview and scrutiny committee was responsible for looking at items within their own service area.

The Director explained that capital receipts were difficult to predict and it was not unusual for there to be a variation.  He assured the committee that efforts were made to predict capital receipts as accurately as possible.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

This report gives details of the proposed work programme.

Report of the Head of Democratic Services attached.

The Senior Scrutiny Officer updated members on the work that the Environment, Sustainability and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee was carrying out around community safety.

RESOLVED that the work programme be updated, subject to the following amendment:

1. The Council Tax Support Scheme be reviewed in the early autumn.