Agenda and minutes

Members and officers must declare any pecuniary or personal interest in any business on the agenda.  They should also make declarations at any stage such an interest becomes apparent during the meeting.  Consideration should be given to leaving the meeting if the nature of the interest warrants it.  If in doubt please contact Democratic Services before the meeting.

22.1     In accordance with the code of conduct, the following declarations of interest were declared:-

22.2     Cllr Milne in respect of item 5, a personal interest as Cabinet Member for Planning and Infrastructure at Horsham District Council.

22.3     Cllr Gibson in respect of item 6, a personal interest as a member of Mid Sussex District Council.

The Committee is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 7 September 2023 (cream paper).

23.1     Resolved – That the Minutes of the meeting held on 7 September 2023 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

Items not on the agenda which the Chairman of the meeting is of the opinion should be considered as a matter of urgency by reason of special circumstances, including cases where the Committee needs to be informed of budgetary or performance issues affecting matters within its terms of reference, which have emerged since the publication of the agenda.

24.1     No urgent matters were raised.

The Committee is asked to note the responses to recommendations made at previous meetings of the Committee.

25.1       The Committee received responses to its recommendations at recent meetings.

25.2       A member clarified that the question around CR61 was whether the risk level had changed in the Property and Assets Risk Register after the Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) announcements.  The Chairman reassured the Committee that the risk level had changed within the Property and Assets Risk Register.

25.3       A member raised a point on page 15 regarding information on property team performance to deliver school places being included in the PRR.  The member had actually raised a concern about the timeliness of delivery of school places and felt the measure did not capture the implications of projects being delayed but delivered within the academic year.  Action: The Cabinet Member for Finance and Property agreed to consider the matter and report back to the Committee.

25.4       Resolved – That the Committee notes the responses.

A report by the Chief Executive and Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the corporate performance, finance, workforce, risk and capital programme positions as at the end of September 2023.

The Committee is asked to examine the data and supporting commentary for the Performance and Resources report and make any recommendations for action to the relevant Cabinet Member or Scrutiny Committee.

26.1     The Committee considered the Quarter 2 Performance and Resources Report (PRR) by the Director of Finance and Support Services summarising the position on finance, performance, risk and workforce as at the end of September 2023 (copy appended to the signed minutes).

26.2     Two corrections were tabled to the papers, which would be appended to the signed minutes, on page 27 Table 4 the Highways and Transport underspend should be coloured green not red. On page 30 the bullet points under point 47 do not align with Table 5 which has the correct data.

26.3     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

·         A member welcomed the opportunity to consider value for money but suggested that, as the service scrutiny committees would review their portfolio areas, that this Committee should focus on overall value for money with comparative data at the end of the financial year, or another appropriate time, being provided in the PRR.  Action: The Cabinet Member for Finance and Property agreed to take the idea forward and would discuss with officers.

·          The additional £6.3m income received into the 2023/24 Business Rates and Collection Fund exceeds the budget prediction set in January. This now reflects actual income received above the estimate from the district and borough councils.

·         Under the Government’s current statutory override, the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) balance can be held off the balance sheet and therefore shows as an Unusable DSG Reserve balance.  This deficit is forecast to be approximately £67m by the end of the financial year.  Action: The Director of Finance and Support Services agreed to provide further information in relation to the £16m of transfers to/(from) General Fund on Appendix 2.

·         The Cabinet Member for Finance and Property was confident that, at this point in time, all the projects in the Capital Programme would be delivered.  The Assistant Director Property and Assets explained that there were a range of different reasons why the Capital Programme projects were showing as red in their RAG status and provided an up-date on those projects listed in Table 7.   The Cabinet Member for Finance and Property highlighted that there were many other Capital Programme projects, not shown in this report, that had a green RAG status, including approximately 36 school projects.  Some projects were delayed due to water neutrality problems, particularly in the Horsham area. Projects that have seen an increase in cost due to delays will be reviewed to ensure they are still viable, but at present expect all to continue as planned.

Finance and Property Portfolio

• Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) – Following the Department for Education (DFE) guidance, 112 schools had been required to complete a stage 1A (walkthrough) inspection.  This led to a few schools requiring further inspection which confirmed that RAAC was not present.  Approximately 12 schools undertook a stage 1B inspection to understand the building better.  No RAAC was found through the stage 1B inspections. One academy school had been identified as having  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.

A report by the Director of Finance and Support Services and Director of Law and Assurance setting out the preparations for refreshing the Council Plan, proposals for the draft 2024/25 revenue budget and the updated Capital Programme.

The committee is asked to review the information and make any recommendations for action to the Cabinet Member.

27.1     The Committee considered the preparations for refreshing the Council Plan, proposals for the draft 2024/25 revenue budget and the updated Capital Programme.

27.2     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

·         The Cabinet Member for Finance and Property confirmed that there was confidence that the savings planned for 2024/25 were deliverable.  Work was ongoing with all service directors to ensure that if 2023/24 savings were at risk of not being delivered that mitigations needed to be found and put in place. Service pressures would be accounted for when setting the 2024/25 budget.

·         The proposed budget for 2024/25 had been calculated using the latest inflation forecast figures from the Office of Budget Responsibility and the latest forecasts for interest rates,  these figures would be kept under review.

·         At this stage in the budget setting process the County Council had not included any funding for the New Homes Bonus in the figures as the Government had not yet confirmed that the scheme would continue.

·         The rising costs of home to school transport for school children was a national issue and had been discussed extensively at a recent County Councils Network meeting, who had agreed to continue lobbying the Government.

·         The planned budget stakeholder event would involve key partners, including district and borough officers, voluntary sector representatives, statutory and non-statutory partners.  It was reported that the online budget consultation had received a good response so far with three more weeks to run.  Analysis would be available for the Committee in January 2024.

·         The recent Autumn Statement from the Government had given an increase in the minimum wage that was higher than the County Council had budgeted for.  This would have an impact on care providers who were seeking additional finance from the County Council. The continuing lack of clarity over the Adult Services precept was recognised as a concern and needed continuing lobbying to Government to resolve.

·         Once the core funding settlement is announced the County Council will establish how much funding needs to be raised through the Council Tax levy.  It is currently budgeted at the maximum increase level, which is expected to fall in 2025.  The County Council has been working with the County Councils Network providing feedback for them to lobby the Minister.  A decision on the level of Council Tax funding would be made at the County Council meeting in February 2024.

·         The level and cost of capital borrowing was confirmed to be £468m at an annual cost of £18.8m in 2023/24. The Capital Programme is currently under review to ensure borrowing is sufficient, this will be presented to the committee in January 2024.

27.3     Resolved – That the Committee:

                     i.        Seeks reassurance that savings included in the budget proposals are achievable.

                    ii.        Welcomes the work being done around the budget including monitoring the continuing service pressures and mitigating actions.

                  iii.        Supports the lobbying of Government in terms of increasing local authority funding.

                  iv.        Supports the continuation of plans to replenish  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

A report by the Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the outcomes and lessons learnt from the insourcing of support services.

The Committee is asked to review the information presented in the report and make any recommendations to officers and Cabinet Members in relation to future cross-cutting change programmes.

28.1     The Committee reviewed the report on the outcomes and lessons learnt from the insourcing of support services.

28.2     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

·         Members welcomed the insourcing work and recognised that this  would produce a £300,000 saving on costs and acknowledged that the funding allocated for the insourcing project had not been fully used. Savings have been found through more efficient working and by departmental team hierarchies resulting in fewer management layers

·         Staff capacity would always be a challenge when completing large, corporate projects, therefore thought must be given to the prioritisation of tasks which will have the biggest impact for residents.

·         Members asked that learning from the project be shared across the County Council and officers confirmed that learning was being shared with leadership teams, other management teams, digital project teams and the Smartcore programme internally and externally through networking groups.

28.3     Resolved – That the Committee:

                i.       Welcomes the report and thanked officers and Cabinet Members.

               ii.       Welcomes the Value For Money achieved through the insourcing in terms of lower costs and higher quality services.

             iii.       Recognises that there are capacity issues in a lean organisation and therefore the need to prioritise resources.

             iv.       Supports the lessons learnt from this project being transferred to other programme areas, particularly around being clear about objectives and outcomes from the outset of any project.

               v.       Supports the continuing review of contracts across the organisation in order to benefit from the lessons learnt.  

The Monitoring Officer has agreed to call-in the part of the proposed decision Property and Assets: Declaration Surplus FP04 23/24 by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property concerning Tangmere Perimeter Track, (Part), Tangmere Airfield, Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 3TT, published on the Executive Decision Database on 9 November 2023.

The decision report asked the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property to endorse that the County Council declares the following asset (amongst others not called-in) surplus to service operational requirements:

Tangmere Perimeter Track, (Part), Tangmere Airfield, Tangmere, Chichester, West Sussex, PO20 3TT.

The decision report by the Assistant Director of Property and Assets is attached as Annex 1.

The call-in was initiated by Cllr Oakley supported by Cllr Baldwin, Cllr Boram and Cllr Greenway. The decision has not previously been previewed by the Performance and Finance Scrutiny Committee.

Cllr Oakley has been invited to outline the reasons for the call-in request to the Committee.

Cllr Hunt, Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, has been invited to address the Committee and answer questions.

29.1     The Committee received the request for call in to part of the proposed decision Property and Assets: Declaration Surplus FP04 23/24 by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, Cllr Hunt, concerning Tangmere Perimeter Track (Part), Tangmere Airfield, Tangmere, Chichester, published on the Executive Decision Database on 9 November 2023.

29.2     The Committee received statements from Cllr Oakley outlining the reasons for the call-in request and from the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property on his reasons for taking the decision.

29.3     Members of the Committee asked questions and a summary of those questions and answers follows.

·         No decision had yet been made on the future of the land requested to be declared surplus.  Disposal for sale was just one option open to the County Council.   

·         The Cabinet Member felt that, in the current economic climate, it would be better to release the site rather than keep spending large sums of money on the upkeep of this private track.

·         A member of the Committee asked how much consultation had there been with the local member on the site?  The Cabinet Member confirmed that consultation had taken place but agreed to take this point away for consideration in relation to whether this could be improved for future sites.

·         Members of the Committee were keen to understand how they could scrutinise any future decision on the surplus land and the Cabinet Member agreed to take this point away.

29.4     Resolved – That on a show of hands the majority of the Committee supports the decision as it stands, but makes the comments and recommendations below for the Cabinet Member to consider when taking any further decision in relation to this site:-

                i.       The Committee requests that it be given the opportunity to scrutinise any future decision in relation to this site at the appropriate time. The decision should consider alternative uses for the site, sustainability requirements, compliance with corporate policies and any mitigating actions required as a result of the decision.

               ii.       That the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property and officers should consider the 4 points in the Focus for Scrutiny report when deciding what to do with the this land in future and that this is clearly set out in the decision report: -

Ø  Whether due consideration has been given to opportunities to promote active travel through the management and planning for this area of land.

Ø  In considering future options for this site, how environmental, climate change and transport aims have been balanced against budgetary considerations.

Ø  Whether it is important to give fuller consideration to improving the public rights of way network as part of the decision-making for this site.

Ø  How best to ensure future maintenance of this part of the perimeter track to a standard that ensures the long-term viability of the recycling site.

             iii.       Active Travel and maintenance of the asset to be a clear consideration when considering future options for the land.

             iv.       More generally the Committee recommends that the process around  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29.

The Committee is asked to review its current draft work programme taking into account the scrutiny checklist (Appendix A) and highlight any further possible items for future scrutiny.

If any member puts forward such an item, the Committee’s role at this meeting is to assess, briefly, whether to refer the matter to its Business Planning Group to consider in detail.

The Committee is also asked to review the Forward Plan of Key Decisions (Appendix B) and consider whether it wishes to enquire about any of the forthcoming decisions within its portfolio.

30.1     The Committee considered the Work Programme and the extract of the Forward Plan of key decisions (copies appended to the signed Minutes).

30.2     The Committee welcomed the funding received from Government for Digital Innovation work.

30.3     Resolved – That the Committee notes the Forward Plan of key decisions and its work programme.

The next meeting of the Committee will be at 10.30am on 24 January 2024 at County Hall, Chichester.  Probable agenda items include: -

·         Council Plan and Draft Budget 2024/25

Any member wishing to place an item on the agenda for the meeting must notify the Director of Law and Assurance by 9 January 2024.

31.1     The Committee notes its next meeting will take place on 24 January 2024, commencing at 10.30am.