Agenda and draft minutes

An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Cllr Steve Evans.

No declarations of interests were made.

[For approval]

Resolved:

That the minutes of the previous meeting held on 1 October 2014 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

[To consider any matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting]

There were no matters arising from the minutes of the previous meeting

[To approve the budget strategy, to be used as a basis for budget consultation]

Cllr Andrew Johnson presented the report that identified additional proposals to achieve the £25 million savings target agreed by Council on 5 March 2014. He recommended that the proposals be approved as the basis of consultations.  In doing so he highlighted that:

·         Since the June report significant additional work had resulted in the identification of a total of £9.0 million of additional savings proposals bringing the total to £27.1 million. £2.0 million had been identified to meet an additional deferred Community directorate target.

·         Of the savings target of £123 million to address the budget gap in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), £86 million of savings had been identified leaving £37 million of additional savings to be identified for 2015/16 in order to address the projected budget deficit over the medium term to 2018/19. 

·        Whist delivering the savings had been difficult and not without pain, two external reports had commented on the way the Council has gone about it.  The Council’s external auditors PricewaterhouseCoopers in their report on the financial resilience of the Council’s finances had said that the Council had robust systems and processes to manage its financial risks and was moving in the right direction.  Also Eugene Sullivan, ex- chief executive of the Audit Commission, in his review of the process for the Council’s MTFS and Budget had said that the Council’s approach to five year planning was as good as she had seen anywhere else. 

·         The position on the projected uncommitted general fund balance.  In order to support the savings programme in rebuilding general reserves it was proposed, similar to last year, to approve that expenditure during the remainder of 2014/15 be restricted to that which is essential to enable the Council to undertake its planned level of services.

·         A technical change to the way the Council budgets for the way borrowing is repaid was proposed which would generate an annual saving of approximately £4.4 million. This proposal would require a separate approval by Full Council.

·         It was no longer proposed to change Council employee terms and conditions by the reduction of hours from 37 to 35 per week and the freezing of increments. 

·         The current levels of uncertainty and the outlook for local government finances at present had led to the planning horizon for the current Medium Term Financial Strategy being restricted to four years. If the current level of uncertainty persisted this would be further reduced to three years from 2016/17.

Resolved:

1.    That the budget and medium term financial strategy for the four year period 2015/16 to 2018/19 for general fund services be approved as the basis of budget consultation.

2.    That the key budget assumptions, including budget parameters such as inflationary increases be approved.

3.    That expenditure during the remainder of 2014/15 be restricted to that which is essential to enable the Council to undertake its planned level of services.

4.    That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Resources in consultation with the Assistant Director Finance to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

[To approve the revised policy]

Cllr John Reynolds requested approval to a revised Regeneration Compliance and Regulatory policy.  The policy reflected best practice as laid down in a new Regulators’ Code, as well as the outcome of systems thinking reviews within the Regeneration Service area.  He informed Cabinet that Regulatory services were already operating the best practice set out in the Regulators’ Code.  The revised policy was therefore a rewrite and update in accordance with the Code.  It also contained a shift in emphasis of regulatory activity more towards compliance assistance.

Resolved:

That the revised Regeneration Compliance and Regulatory policy be approved.

[To confirm the Council’s representative on the Sandwell Youth Employment Commission]

Cllr Roger Lawrence proposed a change to the Council’s representative on the Sandwell Youth Employment Commission.

Resolved:

            That Cllr Daniel Warren replace Cllr Julie Hodgkiss as the Council’s representative on the Sandwell Youth Employment Commission.