Agenda item

Report of the Head of Financial Services and S151 Officer. 

Councillor Lewis, Leader of the Council and Councillor Whitehead, Cabinet Member with Responsibility, were in attendance for this item. 

The Head of Financial Services submitted a report that provided details of the draft Capital Investment Strategy and its accompanying appendices as presented to Cabinet on 27^th October 2020.  This enabled the Panel to consider and comment on the draft proposal ahead of formal presentation to Council in accordance with the Council’s Constitution.

It was noted that the Council’s Constitution (Part 3 Section 5 – Budget and Policy Framework) required that when a new or existing strategy was being considered, the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or Budget and Performance Panel had an opportunity to comment.  If it then considered it appropriate, Cabinet may then amend its proposals before submitting them to Council for consideration. 

Councillors asked a number of questions regarding the Strategy, including the following:

·            Commercial aspects and how success could be judged;

·            Why there is no criteria for success;

·            Profitability and social values;

·            Need for clarity and expected outcomes;

·            How the Panel could monitor and the need for KPIs;

·            Returns on investments;

·            The need to review commercial property in the light of the recession and the impacts on tenants;

·            Investment in the local economy;

·            Need for an evaluation system;

·            Requirement for a balanced scorecard;

·            Procurement Strategy, social value elements and work that that could be applied and transferred to this Strategy;

·            How the Council can move forward and not lose out on opportunities;

·            Queries regarding investments outside of the district;

·            How the Council review external resources and consultants;

·            How absorbed costs are managed;

·            Progress on the investment worksheet.

The Chair advised that if individual Members wished he would collate their individual Member ideas, input and recommendations for consideration by the Cabinet Member Responsible Councillor Whitehead. 

It was moved by Councillor Dant and seconded by Councillor Young:-

“That before the Capital Investment Strategy is considered by Council, the issue of the social value matrix is clarified to ensure that there is some attempt to show how social value is going to be measured or judged and how this is going to be considered in relation to economic value and that a balanced scorecard be included as part of this Investment Strategy document.” 

Councillor Wood moved the following amendment which was seconded by Councillor King:-

“That the Panel asks, in the spirit of the recommendations, that the recommendation be re-phrased to ask whether Cabinet and/or Councillor Whitehead consider having the social value matrix accompany the Strategy if possible.” 

Councillors then voted on the amendment which was lost with 4 votes for and 5 against. 

Members then voted on the substantive motion, with 5 Members voting for the substantive motion, 3 against with 1 abstention, whereupon the Chair declared the proposal to be carried. 

Resolved:

That before the Capital Investment Strategy is considered by Council, the issue of the social value matrix is clarified to ensure that there is some attempt to show how social value is going to be measured or judged and how this is going to be considered in relation to economic value and that a balanced scorecard be included as part of this Investment Strategy document.