(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 the Chief Officer (Regeneration and Planning) reviews the options available to reduce engagement in Regeneration Projects and Economic Development, after assessing what the impact would be on the economic well being of the district and the ability of the Council to engage with the LEP 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.
(3) That the Chief Officer (Regeneration and Planning) be instructed to commence detailed work on the review in these areas together with appropriate Chief Officer support from Management Team.
(4) That a report be prepared for Cabinet containing worked up options for savings.
Officers responsible for effecting the decision:
Chief Officer (Regeneration & Planning)
Reasons for making the decision:
Managing the Council’s resources is a key supporting theme in the Corporate Plan. The Council needs to act decisively at this very difficult time to maintain its ability to function across a wide set of statutory functions. Regretfully this now means that it has to accept that it may no longer be able to engage in discretionary activities, a number of which could, and ought to be provided by the private sector. The decision does highlight the importance of retaining staffing capacity to ensure delivery of Economic Regeneration and Housing Regeneration.