Agenda and minutes

Minutes of the meetings held on 13^th November 2018 and 22^nd January 2019 (previously circulated). 

The minutes of the meetings held on 13^th November 2018 and 22^nd January 2019 were signed by the Chairman as a correct record. 

There were no items of urgent business. 

To receive declarations by Members of interests in respect of items on this Agenda. 

Members are reminded that, in accordance with the Localism Act 2011, they are required to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which have not already been declared in the Council’s Register of Interests. (It is a criminal offence not to declare a disclosable pecuniary interest either in the Register or at the meeting). 

Whilst not a legal requirement, in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 9 and in the interests of clarity and transparency, Members should declare any disclosable pecuniary interests which they have already declared in the Register, at this point in the meeting. 

In accordance with Part B Section 2 of the Code Of Conduct, Members are required to declare the existence and nature of any other interests as defined in paragraphs 8(1) or 9(2) of the Code of Conduct. 

No declarations were made at this point. 

Report of Executive Support Manager. 

The Panel received a report from the Executive Support Manager to report on the performance of key indicators for October to December 2018.

The report was primarily for noting and comments. 

Members were advised of the headline projections, as set out in the report, as follows:

Changes to Corporate Indicators

Indicator A2.2 (Number of fly-tipping enforcement notices issued) has been removed from the scorecard for Quarter 3, in anticipation of the development of a new set of indicators covering Clean, Green and Safe Neighbourhoods for future measurement.

Project Reporting

The Delivering Our Ambitions report for Quarter 2 included summarised updates on key corporate projects. It is proposed that future Delivering Our Ambitions reports include a more developed report on progress of key projects, in line with the development during Quarter 4 of a full portfolio of documentation for use on future projects.

Significant Achievements

·                Percentage of minor, other and major planning applications determined within statutory timescales (A1.1, A1.2 and A1.3) continue to perform strongly, with Lancaster City Council ranked 7^th of 330 authorities in England for non-major applications, and 23^rd of 330 authorities in England for major applications.

·                Residual waste collected (A2.3) has decreased by 8.3% in comparison with the same quarter last year, partly as a result of the warm weather and its impact on garden waste; this is a ‘lagging’ measure so data is provided in respect of the period July-September 2018. 

·                Diesel consumption (A2.5) has decreased by 3% in comparison with the same quarter last year, as a result of initiatives to reduce business travel and increase usage of electric vehicles.

Areas for Improvement

·                Admissions to Salt Ayre Leisure Centre (A3.6) were below target for this quarter, but anticipated to exceed target across the whole year 2018-19; income for the Centre is also ahead of target despite the decrease in admissions. 

·                Average number of days of sickness absence per full-time employee (A4.2) has increased in comparison with the same quarter in previous years. The Human Resources team continue to support managers in proactively managing sickness absence to ensure a successful return to work at the earliest opportunity.

Panel Members asked several questions of the officers present regarding the performance indicators outlined:

Percentage of household waste recycled, charges for garden waste disposal, new waste strategy issues, not receiving Your District Council Matters with e-billing, fleet replacement with electric vehicles, planning statistics and measurements for public engagement with the service, footfall at Salt Ayre,

The Panel requested officers to report back on:

·                Presenting separate figures for dry recyclables and garden waste. 

·                Social media issues, particularly twitter, to consider in future the reach and interaction rather than the number of followers. 

Resolved:

That the performance of key indicators for Quarter 3 be noted and the issues raised for future reporting, as outlined above, be considered and reported back to the Panel.

Report of the Interim Financial Services Manager

The Panel received a report from the Interim Financial Services Manager, which provided an overview of the Council’s financial position for Quarter 3 of the 2018/19 monitoring cycle and the supporting actions underway. 

Appended to the report were:

·                Corporate Financial Monitoring 2018/19;

·                2018/19 Quarter 3 Revenue Monitoring – General Fund;

·                2018/19 Quarter 3 Performance Monitoring Salt Ayre Leisure Centre;

·                General Fund Capital Programme 2018/19;

·                Council Housing Capital programme 2018/19;

·                Reserves Statement (including Unallocated Balances);

·                General Fund – 2018/19 Savings Monitoring (Period 9);

·                Treasury Management Update – Quarter Ended 31^st December 2018. 

Members were advised of the headline projections, as set out in the report, as follows:

·                Quarter 3 monitoring is against the original budget as approved by Council 28^th February 2018 and not a revised position as has been the case previously;

·                As at 31^st December 2018 a slight overspend of £17k existed.  Should spending progress as currently forecast, a net overspend in the region of £13k could be experienced by year-end, once agreed funding from the Council’s reserves is applied.  Although officers are currently taking action to address each area of overspending, an amount of £13k would equate to approximately 0.08% of the Council’s Net Revenue Budget for 2018/19.  However, should a net overspending still be forecast then General Fund unallocated balances would need to be used to fund it.

·                The Housing Revenue Account is currently underspent by £87k, and this is expected to increase to £143k by the year-end.  The key message relates to the significant improvement in void property turnaround times, which has led to forecast additional rental income of £100k. 

At the Chairman’s discretion, as set out in Part 4, Section 5, paragraph 15(c) of the City Council’s Constitution, the Chairman welcomed other Councillors present to ask questions. 

Members asked a number of questions regarding the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP), allocation of funding from Central Government to prepare for Brexit, implication for Ports, business rates, Lancashire business rates pool, Williamson Park boiler, triple glazing for Council houses and Salt Ayre. 

It was noted that future reporting would provide the Panel with the relevant information required to provide the bottom line information on both capital and revenue and an improved reporting for the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). 

Resolved:

That the report be noted. 

The Treasury Management Strategy 2019/20 to 2022/23 documents to be considered by Cabinet, at its meeting on 12^th February 2019, are attached. 

The Interim Financial Services Manager will present to the Panel. 

The Financial Services Manager introduced a report of the Chief Officer (Resources) that sought the Panel’s views regarding the proposed treasury management framework for 2019/20. 

The report outlined that each year the City Council must review and approve its treasury management framework for the forthcoming year.  Budget proposals were to be considered by Cabinet and then ultimately approved at full Council, however the Panel had explicit responsibility for scrutiny of the treasury management function, including a review of the proposed annual strategy. 

Resolved:

That the report be noted. 

Report of the Interim Head of Legal and Democratic Services and Monitoring Officer. 

The Principal Democratic Support Officer requested Members to consider the Panel’s Work Programme. 

It was report that, at its meeting, held on 9^th January 2019, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee considered an update report on the Peer Review.  The Committee agreed:

To refer future monitoring of key outcomes, identified through the LGA Peer Review or other strategic analysis, to be reported via “Delivering our Ambitions” performance and project reporting. 

The Panel was asked to note the resolution of the Committee. 

Members of the Panel also requested Officers to consider how the Council’s Climate Change Strategy could be monitored and built into the Council’s performance targets. 

Resolved:

That the Panel’s Work Programme report be noted.