DECISION

1.    To note the council’s forecast outturn position against General Fund, Dedicated Schools Budget, Housing Revenue Account and earmarked reserves for 2022-23, based on forecasts as at 30^th September 2022;

2.    To note the progress made against the 2022-23 savings targets, based on forecasts as at 30^th September 2022;

3.    To note the council’s forecast outturn position against General Fund and Housing Revenue Account capital programme approved budgets for 2022-23, based on forecasts as at 30^th September 2022;

4.    To note that there are no equalities implications directly resulting from this report, as set out in Section 4 of the report.

Action by:                                          

CORPORATE DIRECTOR RESOURCES (K. BARTLE)

(Director of Finance, Procurement and Audit (N. Visram)

Councillor Saied Ahmed, Cabinet Member for Resources and the Cost of Living introduced the report which presented the forecast outturn compared to the budget report 2022/23 as at Period 6 for the General Fund, Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) Budget, Housing Revenue Account (HRA), progress made against savings targets and the council’s capital programme. Councillor Ahmed explained some of the main areas of underspend, overspend and key pressures.

The Mayor welcomed the report and noted that some overspends and pressures, for example those for fuel costs and social care, were unavoidable in the current financial climate.  He stressed the Council must look after its most vulnerable residents at this challenging time. Following discussion, he agreed the recommendations as set out in the report.

RESOLVED

1.    To note the council’s forecast outturn position against General Fund, Dedicated Schools Budget, Housing Revenue Account and earmarked reserves for 2022-23, based on forecasts as at 30^th September 2022;

2.    To note the progress made against the 2022-23 savings targets, based on forecasts as at 30^th September 2022;

3.    To note the council’s forecast outturn position against General Fund and Housing Revenue Account capital programme approved budgets for 2022-23, based on forecasts as at 30^th September 2022;

4.    To note that there are no equalities implications directly resulting from this report, as set out in Section 4 of the report.

To consider the Strategic Performance Monitoring Strategic Performance & Delivery Reporting Q1 & Q2 2022/23 that is going to Cabinet on Wednesday, 14th December, 2022

The committee considered the report on Strategic Performance Monitoring Strategic Performance & Delivery Reporting Q1 & Q2 2022/23 presented by Cllr Saied Ahmed and Will Tuckley, Chief Executive, and Stephen Bramah, Corporate Head of Strategy and Improvement.

The committee made the following comments and questions:

·       The Mayor’s Energy Fund for the cost-of-living crisis, how is this funded and will it be seeking funding from government grants? Is it correct to call this a Mayor’s Fund, when it seems to be funded by the Government? Cllr Saied Ahmed confirmed that the fund has come from across different pots of money. The name of the fund is less concerning than what support is given out to the residents. Will Tuckley stated that the fund has been topped up from council funding, along with the funds from central government. However, the council is trying to support residents while we wait for the government to announce all the resources that they will provide to help during the energy crisis.

·       The reporting on the performance of refuse and recycling collections is seen to be very low, can this be explained? These figures do not reflect the true picture of the issue the borough is going through with our waste collection. Cllr Saied Ahmed stated that the Mayor has called a waste emergency and is currently being taken very seriously, with the aim to improve this service to compete with other boroughs on their waste performance. Stephen Bramah confirmed that the Q2 data will be following later in the month, as it was not ready for reporting. Will Tuckley confirmed that the council is not happy with the waste performance and the council is reacting to a borough that has got denser and busier, which has been impacted further by the affects of Covid-19. But the council will be looking at ways to improve this, it is a key priority for the council. The work of bringing services in house will have an improvement on performance.

·       The percentage of victims of violence against women and girls who feel safer, is lower in Q2, can this be explained? With the administration lacking representation of the marginalised groups who use these services, what will the council be doing to build confidence in victims coming forward? Stephen Bramah explained that the data collection could be better, reflecting more on those using the service. Cllr Saied Ahmed stated that more work is needed to be done, and the council is committed to improving this vital service. The council works with women across services and will work with specialists to ensure that this issue in the borough is supported correctly.

·       What is the council doing to ensure the top earners in the council are from diverse backgrounds? Do you feel the current target is ambitious enough? Will Tuckley stated that a lot of measures are needed to ensure that colleagues are able to step up and gain these positions, as a lot of our staff are from diverse backgrounds and should be able  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3