Issue - meetings

Outline Proposals for Service Review: Regeneration & Planning Service

Meeting: 05/11/2013 - Cabinet (Item 55)

55 Outline Proposals for Service Review: Regeneration & Planning Service PDF 69 KB

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Hanson)

Report of Chief Officer (Regeneration & Planning)

Minutes:

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Hanson)

Cabinet received a report from the Chief Officer (Regeneration and Planning) which sought Cabinet’s agreement to the scope of detailed review work needed to present the Council with savings options.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:-

	Option 1: To undertake no review of services	Option 2: To find efficiency savings only	Option 3: To undertake a review which could highlight the need for service reduction
Advantages	None. The Council’s budget position is real and there is no alternative but to undertake reviews.	None. The extent of the forthcoming budget reduction cannot be mitigated by simply making efficiency savings.	This gives the Council the opportunity to prepare for 2015/16 well in advance. To manage the removal of services in a planned approach and to give affected staff greater time to make alternative employment arrangements.
Disadvantages	By not commencing any reviews now the Council would have to take urgent corrective action later as a budget crisis developed.	Such a limited review would address only the 2014/15 challenge and give insufficient time to prepare for the larger challenge the following year.	The community will have to prepare realistically for a reduction in services which the Council can no longer provide.
Risks	The Council may risk failing to set a balanced budget at some point in the medium term, leading to crisis management, massive service disruption and related repercussions.	The Council may risk failing to set a balanced budget at some point in the medium term, leading to crisis management, massive service disruption and related repercussions.	If the reviews maintain expectations that some services will continue to operate, with less resources, it may be over stretched

Option 3 is preferred. The Council must plan realistically. Many years of budget reduction and efficiency savings had removed options for simple efficiencies.

Councillor Hanson proposed, seconded by Councillor Sands:-

‘(1) That the recommendations as set out in the report be approved, with the following addition to recommendation (1):

and that the review focuses on reducing costs in all service areas, transforming the service delivery of visitor information and increasing income from Council operated venues and events.

and the following insertion at the end of recommendation (2):

and that the priority be to position resources so that the Council can maximise external investment opportunities both now and in the future, and, therefore, ensure the required project management capacity remains in place in terms of Economic Regeneration and Housing Regeneration.’

Councillors then voted:-

Resolved unanimously:

(1) That Cabinet agrees that the areas to be reviewed in the Regeneration and Planning Service are :

· Strategic Management of the visitor economy

· Commissioned activities supporting the visitor economy

· The provision of events

· Visitor Information centres

· Council operated venues

· Communications and Marketing

and that the review focuses on reducing costs in all service areas, transforming the service delivery of visitor information and increasing income from Council operated venues and events.

(2) That ... view the full minutes text for item 55