Agenda item
Performance and Corporate Budget Monitoring Quarter 2
(Time allocated – 20 minutes)
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed Councillor Alibor Choudhury, Lead Member Resources and Mr Chris Naylor, Corporate Director Resources to present the monitoring report that was to be submitted to Cabinet on 1 December 2010.
Mr Naylor commented that the current expected outturn position for the General Fund was an overspend of just over £1m to the end of September on a budget total of £320m. However, the overspend to the end of October had been reduced by £200,000.
Councillor Rachael Saunders declared a personal interest when putting questions, on the basis that she had formerly been Lead Member for Adults’ Health & Wellbeing.
Members then put questions on budgetary issues, including Older People Commissioning costs; Homelessness overspend; transfer of homecare packages; rent collected as a percentage of rent due (Tower Hamlets Homes); Housing Revenue Account overspend; any costed impact of the current leaseholder audit; service sharing with neighbouring boroughs and joint posts; workforce reflecting the community and the matter of job reductions in the current economic climate. Mr Naylor responded in detail to the queries, making particular points that:
· He would contact the Corporate Director Adults’ Health & Wellbeing to provide additional information for Members on Older People Commissioning, the quality of homecare packages and associated costs.
· Transforming Older People could be an agenda item for a future meeting of the Committee.
· Grant funding for the Homelessness Service had been reduced owing to the low number of homeless families currently but numbers could well increase in future.
· He would ask the Corporate Director Development & Renewal to provide Members with regard to the shortfall of income from estate parking and leaseholder service charges, together with details of any costed impact arising from the leaseholder audit. Mr Naylor added that information was still awaited from the ALMO following the most recent quarterly meeting with them.
· Consideration was being given to possible service sharing with neighbouring boroughs but this would be subject to establishing which areas could result in absolutely certain savings as setting up joint staff posts was complex.
Members expressed the view that the elected Mayor would need to make difficult decisions regarding Council staffing levels and should concurrently publish reasons for the decisions to ensure transparency.
Councillor Alibor Choudhury, Lead Member Resources stated that there would be a strategy of achieving financial savings while minimising job losses. Members would be working with the Trades Unions and Directorates to that end. Concentrating on reducing agency posts and not filling vacancies would aim at 200 permanent posts being lost out of 500 projected job cuts and the process would be managed to reduce the impact on individual staff as far as possible. He added that he had asked for more emphasis on equalities impacts in future reports to Cabinet on the matter. Efforts were still ongoing to diversify the workforce and create more opportunities.
The Chair suggested that any queries relating to Appendix 3 of the report – a summary for You Decide! Participatory budgeting projects – be referred by email to Ms Stephanie Ford, Interim Performance Manager.
After further discussion, the Committee –
RESOLVED
(1) That the report, together with actions being taken to address reported overspends, be noted.
(2) That Transforming Older People be included on the agenda of a future meeting of the Committee.
Supporting documents:
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8.1 Strategic Performance and CRCBM Report Q2 17 Nov - OS, item 8.1
PDF 150 KB
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8.1a Appendix 1 - Strategic Plan Monitoring, item 8.1
PDF 115 KB
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8.1b Appendix 2 - Strategic Indicators Q2 - LAB, item 8.1
PDF 146 KB
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8.1d Appendix 4 Budget Module Rec, item 8.1
PDF 11 KB
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8.1e Appendix 5 - 06 GF CMBM, item 8.1
PDF 113 KB
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8.1f Appendix 6 - 06 HRA CMBM, item 8.1
PDF 14 KB
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8.1g Appendix 7 Efficiency Savings, item 8.1
PDF 14 KB
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8.1h Appendix 8 - Capital Budget Reconciliation, item 8.1
PDF 17 KB
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8.1i Appendix 9 - Capital, item 8.1
PDF 56 KB