Agenda and draft minutes

To note any substitution of Members made in accordance with Council Procedure Rules.

There were no substitutions of members.

There were no apologies for absence.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 14 December 2023 (previously circulated).

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 14^th December 2023 (previously circulated).

There were no notifications of urgent business.

To note declarations of Members’ disclosable pecuniary interests, non-disclosable pecuniary interests and non-pecuniary interests in respect of items on the Agenda.

Councillor Thusu declared an interest as a County Councillor.

The report for the Budget and Medium Term Financial Forecast 2024/25 can be found here under Item 8(a):

(Public Pack)Agenda Document for Cabinet, 09/01/2024 19:00 (welhat.gov.uk)

The Chair informed the Committee that OSC had been asked to make recommendations to Special Cabinet to consider at it’s meeting on the 23^rd January 2024, before putting the budget to Full Council on the 5^th February 2024.

The Chair of the Budget Task and Finish Group provide the Committee with the following update:

“The Budget Task and Finish Group met in October and December following the approval of the medium term forecasts by Cabinet. At the first session, we were given an overview of the forecasts and the anticipated budget gap for the next three years. We discussed some of the newer pressures facing the Council, including reductions in planning income and an ongoing increase in demand for temporary accommodation.

At the meeting in December, we discussed most of the proposals that have been included in the proposed budget, along with an overview of the community's views on the budget principles, particularly around fees and charges.

We met again last night to receive an update on the provisional local government finance settlement which was more positive than previously expected, although it was only provided with a one year settlement. We were also given an overview of the approach to fees and charges. A standard approach of increases in fees and charges by 10% has been adopted in the budget, and any exceptions to this approach were explained in the meeting. Members asked a number of questions around these exceptions to obtain clarity and detail around the proposals. Members of our Group expressed their concern at the assumed reduction in the planning fees and the reduction in the staffing costs at Campus West.

Officers explained the proposal to reduce the borrowing requirement through the transfer of land to the HRA for new housing developments, or potentially its sale on the open market. The Group discussed this; recognising the positive financial impact this has on the budget but also noting that assets can only be disposed of once which needs to be considered carefully. Taking these updates into account, it was explained to the Group that the proposals provided a balanced budget with a small use of reserves of £10,000s.

The Panel received an update on the new financial forecasts which includes a reserve strategy. This strategy will utilise some of the Council reserves to reduce a savings target in the areas in the earlier years of the Medium Term Strategy and smooth the impact of any service changes or fees and charges increases over this period.  Similar to the proposal around assets Members highlighted that reserves can only be used once and we discussed the risks around these proposals. Officers explained how the use of reserves went in response to specific risks and could not be used if those risks do not occur.

They also explain how the Council would still be above the minimum assessed reserve levels at the end of the medium term period if the smooth savings targets are delivered.

The forecast were explored in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 92.

There were no items of urgent business.

The Committee is asked to resolve:

That under Section 100(A)(2) and (4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be now excluded from the meeting for Item 9 (if any) on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of confidential or exempt information as defined in Section 100(A)(3) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act (as amended).

In resolving to exclude the public in respect of the exempt information, it is considered that the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.