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.

15.1     None declared.

The Committee is asked to agree the minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2024 (cream paper).

16.1      Resolved – That the Minutes of the meeting held on 21 June 2024 be approved as a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

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

17.1          Resolved – That the Committee notes the responses to recommendations from previous meetings.

A report by the Chief Executive and Interim Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the corporate performance, finance, workforce, risk and capital programme positions as at the end of June 2024.

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.

18.1     The Committee considered the End of June (Quarter 1) Performance and Resources Report (copy attached to the signed minutes).

18.2     The report was introduced by the Cabinet Members for Finance and Property and Economy and Support Services. The projected overspend of £22.8m was highlighted as a particular area of concern, with the Executive Leadership Team working to address pressures on service budgets.

Performance

18.3     The Committee made comments including those that follow. Members:

·       Noted that KPI 51a-c on customer satisfaction performance was due to be combined. It was asked that as customer satisfaction is a key priority of the Council that this be kept as it currently is, to ensure that careful scrutiny can continue to be carried out on this key area.

·       Requested that when KPI 50 (Value for Money (VFM)) is reviewed and the Annual Benchmarking Report produced that consideration be given to whether each individual scrutiny committee could be presented with data on their portfolio areas to scrutinise ahead of reporting at Cabinet.

·       Concern expressed over the high number of red/amber rated indicators and the fact that 18% of indicators currently have no rating. The committee were assured that the Executive Leadership Team are taking mitigating action to address the issues.

Finance

18.4     The Committee made comments including those that follow. Members:

·       Noted the challenges in achieving the identified savings, particularly in the Adults Services portfolio and asked HASC to review and support the service in achieving these. Asked that all scrutiny committees monitor savings in their areas. Using value for money indicators split by committee would be helpful if possible.

·       Recognised that spending controls have been introduced in relation to recruitment, staff restructures, duplicate posts, and the use of agency staff. These controls can be broken down into those that can be introduced immediately and those that require consultation. The committee expressed the need to manage and maintain staff

·       Expressed concern about whether the current level of contingency for pay increases would be sufficient for the forthcoming nationally negotiated pay award for staff and any impact this might ultimately have on staff retention. Recognised that the unions are currently balloting staff on strike action and that business continuity plans are to be reviewed to ensure services are maintained if any strike action materialises.

·       Queried the projected overspend being reported for property reactive maintenance and whether this has been adequately budgeted for. A new contractor is due to start work at the end of September with costs being closely monitored. There is a growing concern over unforeseen costs such as those related to weather or national issue such as RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) emerging. Any additional pressures identified will be reported through future reports.

Capital Programme

18.5     The Committee made comments including those that follow. Members:

·       Noted that the reasons for delays in certain capital building projects were varied, with no common factors. Delays on projects in Horsham were partially down to the declaration of water neutrality in those areas - ACTION: a private briefing  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

A report by the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development summarising the Health, Safety and Wellbeing performance data for 2023/24.

The committee is asked to examine the information and make any recommendations for action to the relevant Cabinet member or senior officers.

19.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of HR and Organisational Development (copy attached to the signed minutes).

19.2     The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Economy and Support Services, who highlighted that the incident subject to the Health and Safety Executive report had taken place in a school, and that the fine was reduced substantially because the Council had taken reasonable steps to promote health and safety best practice in the school.

19.3     The Committee noted the report and requested that the Council took steps to understand any best practice in other local authorities in this matter.

A report by the Interim Director of Finance and Support Services setting out the planning process for updating the Council Plan and Medium-Term Financial Strategy to support business and financial planning over the next five years.

The Committee is asked to scrutinise the report on the Council Plan and Medium-Term Financial Strategy.

20.1     The Committee considered a report by the interim Director of Finance and Support Services (copy attached to the signed minutes).

20.2     The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, who emphasised the continuing challenges for local government finances. He advised that the new Government had not given any indication yet as to whether any change was likely to help to improve this situation. The Medium-Term Financial Strategy was therefore based on existing expectations.

20.3     The Committee made comments including those that follow. Members:

·       Acknowledged the continuing uncertainty over local government finances, noting that the deficit in the Dedicated Schools Grant was of particular concern due to the level of the deficit and the loss of investment income that could be achieved.

·       Asked for clarification on the difference in the MTFS between cost increases being calculated on the consumer price index rate and the retail price index rate. The Deputy Director of Finance confirmed that this varied depending on a range of factors and that the most appropriate index is used for the particular area of spend. RPI is often written into high value contracts, including construction projects.

·       Welcomed assurances that the Capital Asset Board regularly considers assumptions made in the MTFS about expected capital receipts and their impact on the capital budget.

·       Raised concern over the previous assumptions about capital receipts and movement in the reserves – ACTION: Specific information to be provided to committee members by email.

·       Noted that current housing assumptions for council tax levels were based on the increase in the number of houses in each district, although changes to discounts for single person households and on second homes could be made by district and borough councils, and these would be factored into the MTFS when more information had been made available by those councils.

20.4     Resolved –

(1)    The Committee recognises the pressure around how the dedicated schools grant deficit will be dealt with and the impact this is having on investment income and monies available for the capital programme.

(2)    The Committees recognises that assumptions in the report are continually reviewed and updated to ensure that the most accurate data is used in the budget.

A report by the Director of Human Resources & Organisational Development and the Interim Director of Finance & Support Services updating the Committee on progress with the Oracle Fusion Programme.

The Committee is asked to review the progress report on the Oracle Fusion Programme.

21.1     The Committee considered a report by the Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development and the interim Director of Finance and Support Services (copy attached to the signed minutes).

21.2     The report was introduced by the Cabinet Member for Economy and Support Services, who highlighted that an implementation partner had been appointed for the project, which could now be progressed.

21.3     The Committee made comments including those that follow. Members:

·       Welcomed the report and the assurances that effective governance systems are in place for the project, with a strong focus on risk, although commented that a standalone risk register for the project could be beneficial. It was noted that a member of the Oracle Fusion team would sit on the governance board as an implementation partner, and it was hoped that this individual could attend a future meeting of the Committee to provide further information and an up-date on the implementation.

·       Queried the high level of contingency budget included for the project and were reassured that this was due to each area of the project being assessed individually meaning that officers were fully aware of what the costs and risks for every element should be. This will prevent any overclaiming of costs as the project progresses.

·       Request that the distinct responsibilities of this Committee and the Regulation, Audit and Accounts Committee are taken into account in regard to the Oracle Fusion project to avoid any duplication.

·       Requested an updated high-level business case on the costs and benefits of the programme and that the programme, including its revenue budget, should continue to be monitored by the Committee.

·       Noted that the value of the costs of the original £13m spent on the project were being assessed and that an update should be available in October 2024.

21.4     Resolved –

(1)        That a business case on costs and benefits of the programme be provided, for monitoring by the Committee and that the future monitoring reports include an update on the timing of the programme and a quarterly budget monitor to ensure the project is on-track.

(2)        The report should also include information on how previous project costs have been utilised.

(3)        The Cabinet Member and senior officers are asked to consider whether it would be helpful to have a separate risk register for the programme and that this Committee, and the Regulation, Audit and Accounts Committee should liaise on the matter in terms of their distinct responsibilities.

(4)        That the Committee’s BPG be asked to consider whether a representative from the Implementation Partner organisation should be invited to attend a future meeting.

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.

22.1      The Committee considered an extract of the Forward Plan of Key Decisions and the committee’s Work Programme (copies appended to the signed minutes).

22.2      Resolved – that the Committee notes the existing work programme.

The next meeting of the Committee will be at 10.30am on 29 November 2024 at County Hall, Chichester.  Probable agenda items include: -

·         Quarterly Performance and Resources Report (PRR) – Quarter 2

·         Careers and Skills Executive Task & Finish Group - progress update

·         Digital Strategy

·         Social Value, Sustainable Procurement and up-dated Procurement Strategy

·         Economy Plan and Strategy, including Growth Deals

·         Budgetary Implications

·         Grant Funding Task & Finish Group findings and recommendations

Any member wishing to place an item on the agenda for the meeting must notify the Director of Law and Assurance by 14 November 2024.

23.1      The Committee notes its next meeting will take place on 29 November 2024, commencing at 10.30am.