Meeting documents
Venue: The Paralympic Room - AVDC. View directions
Contact: Bill Ashton; Email: bashton@aylesburyvaledc.gov.uk;
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To approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meeting held on 8 November, 2017, attached as an appendix. Decision: RESOLVED –
That the Minutes of 8 November, 2017, be approved as a correct record. Minutes: RESOLVED –
That the Minutes of 8 November, 2017, be approved as a correct record. |
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Connected Knowledge Investment Proposal PDF 499 KB Councillor J Blake Cabinet Member for Commercialisation and Business Transformation
To consider the attached report.
Contact Officer: Maryvonne Hassall (01296) 585663 Decision: (a) Decision(s)
That provision be made as part of budget planning for £1.53m from the unallocated balance of the New Homes Bonus funding for 2017/18, to be made available for investment in the next phase of the Connected Knowledge programme as specified in the Cabinet report. (This decision was replicated following the consideration given to initial budget proposals for 2018/19, referred to elsewhere in this Decision Notice)
(b) Reason(s) for Decision(s)
To enable the Council to proceed with implementation of the next phase of the programme.
(c) Alternative Options Considered
Not to fund the next phase but this would be contrary to the Council’s previous decision to deliver a leading edge, forward thinking platform to enable AVDC to develop customer first processes.
(d) Relevant Scrutiny Committee
Finance and Services. The detail of the proposal would form part of the budget options report to be considered by that Committee at its January meeting, and call-in is therefore unnecessary.
(e) Conflicts of Interest / Dispensation(s)
None. Minutes: The delivery of the "Connected Knowledge" strategy was central to enabling AVDC to continue to make savings in the provision of services, to remain at the vanguard of innovative thinking and to the provision of excellent customer service. It also provided the opportunity to generate income by both supporting general commercial opportunities and providing consultancy services to other councils keen to emulate the approach being taken by AVDC.
As referred to in earlier reports, the strategy would be delivered over a five year period. The first phase of the strategy (approved by Council in February, 2017), was now coming to an end and Cabinet received a report on the achievements made so far and the proposed programme for phase 2 covering the period up to the end of the 2018 financial year. The Cabinet report and the investment proposal for phase 2 was available to read on the Council’s website.
Phase 2 required investment across three key areas, namely:-
· Innovation – the introduction of innovative new solutions such as voice recognition and artificial intelligence for call handling and decision making.
· Transformational – the roll-out of internal process automation and customer self service.
· Legacy reduction – the removal of legacy technology and the introduction of more flexible systems that would further support integration of data to enable customer needs to be anticipated.
Experience of previous change programmes had indicated that strong governance processes were required both to ensure that the programme delivered on time and to budget, and that any variations to scope (and cost) were closely scrutinised and that benefits realisation was tracked. To this end, the release of funds during the programme (and benefits realisation) would be closely monitored by the governance board to ensure on-going value for money.
The Cabinet report (and accompanying investment proposal document) set out the resource implications and specifically the staff resource requirements which required specific skills sets. The total investment required had been estimated to be £1.53 million and subject to Cabinet approval, this would be built into the budget requirements for 2018/19 onwards. This element had been taken into account in the formulation of budget proposals for next year, as referred to elsewhere on the Cabinet agenda.
Part of the programme of works took into account the new data handling compliance requirements of the European General Data Protection Requirements (GDPR) Directive. The revenue cost of this had been estimated to be £100,000 p.a. and a pressure had been provided for within the draft budget proposals.
RESOLVED –
That £1.53 million be included within the budget proposals for 2018/19, to be funded from the unallocated balance of New Homes Bonus funding, to enable work to continue on delivering a leading edge, forward thinking platform to facilitate the development of customer first processes, a streamlined internal operation and a framework for increased opportunities for external commercial sales. |
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Draft Budget Proposals for 2018/19 PDF 354 KB Councillor Mordue Cabinet Member for Resources, Governance and Compliance
To consider the attached report.
Contact Officer: Andrew Small (01296) 585507 Decision: (a) Decision(s)
That the following be approved for the purposes of scrutiny in relation to budget proposals for 2018/19 and the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP):-
(1) To take into budget planning the £2.63m of proposed savings as set out in the Cabinet report.
(2) To take into budget planning the £2.60m of forecast pressures as set out in the Cabinet report.
(3) To increase council tax by an annual amount equal to £5 (3.48%) for a Band D property (equivalent to less than 10p per week), with effect from 1 April, 2018.
(4) To continue work on the development of the budget proposals and for any net variance resulting to be either added to, or deducted from General Fund Balances.
(5) That the schedule of fees and charges attached to the Cabinet report be approved.
(6) To approve the use of £1.53m from the New Homes Bonus reserve to meet the costs of the Connected Knowledge programme in 2018/19.
(7) That the level of the Band D Special Expenses charge for 2018/19 should remain unchanged.
(b) Reason(s) for Decision(s)
The Council is required to set a budget for the next financial year and to formulate expenditure/income proposals for subsequent years as part of the review of the Medium term Financial Plan.
(c) Alternative Options Considered
None.
(d) Relevant Scrutiny Committee
Finance and Services. The initial budget proposals will be considered by the Committee at its meeting in January, 2018, and call-in is therefore unnecessary.
(e) Conflicts of Interest / Dispensation(s)
None. Minutes: Cabinet received a report on the progress made with developing the five year financial plan (2018/19 to 2022/23. This report and its enclosures had been posted on the Council’s web site. On the basis of the information contained in the report, Cabinet considered initial budget proposals for the purposes of scrutiny.
The report to Cabinet on 8 November had set out the context for 2018/19 budget planning and had outlined a series of high level issues facing the Council in developing budget proposals and updating its Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP). The report now before Cabinet sought to bring together those factors that could be predicted with some certainty and proposed a strategy for dealing with those issues where some uncertainty still existed.
As had been highlighted in previous years, the Council’s strategy for balancing the budget was an on-going process and not an annual exercise undertaken once a year. The on-going work across the Council in terms of its commercial aspirations avoided the need to take lists of potential service cuts through the scrutiny process. The tone of the budget setting process was primarily focussed around the delivery of efficiency savings and new income generation.
The MTFP set out the service based operational income and expenditure expectations and the financing arrangements. The Cabinet report divided the main elements of budget planning between service pressures, savings proposals and funding streams, including Government Grant, business rates and proposals for council tax. The net budget for service related expenditure available across the organisation for 2018/19 was £17.498m. This largely represented baseline funding of £17.525m carried forward from 2017/18, with additional provision made for service pressures for the 2018/19 year, offset by possible savings.
Given the dynamic national and local environments, it was appreciated that it might be necessary to amend the initial proposals in view of any emerging changes to financing. It was reported that the Grant Settlement for local authorities had recently been announced and its implications for this Council were currently being analysed. Work would continue on refining the elements of uncertainty between now and the time when Cabinet made the final budget proposal. This would be informed by the Finance and Services Scrutiny Committee’s comments, the latest projected position on business rate growth and the initial grant numbers from Government.
As at the end of September, 2017, the Council was forecasting an overspend against last year’s plan of £0.469m (after the application of reserves). Work was continuing in order to manage this overspend down during the last few months of the financial year. It was anticipated that the exceptional costs underlying the forecast deficit would be managed through the use of balances in 2017/18 and that there would be no major impact on the 2018/19 planning assumptions.
The Cabinet report covered the following factors:-
· Savings and income identification options. A total of £2.63m of savings had been identified and included further savings arising from continued review of staffing requirements (£0.78m), savings arising from improved income generating opportunities (£0.85m) and ... view the full minutes text for item 3. |
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Capital Programme Update 2018/19-2021/22 PDF 56 KB Councillor Mordue Cabinet Member for Resources, Governance and Compliance
To consider the attached report.
Contact Officer: Andy Barton (01296) 585430 Decision: (a) Decision(s)
That the Capital Programme as presented to Cabinet be approved for the purposes of scrutiny.
(b) Reason(s) for Decision(s)
The Council reviews the capital resource position at regular intervals to assess the need for any adjustment having regard to the timing and amount of capital receipts available.
(c) Alternative Options Considered
None.
(d) Relevant Scrutiny Committee
Finance and Services. The Capital Programme will be considered by the Committee at its meeting in January, 2018, and call-in is therefore unnecessary.
(e) Conflicts of Interest / Dispensation(s)
None. Minutes: The Council maintained an integrated strategic Capital Programme divided into three elements:-
· Major projects - These being the largest and highest profile.
· Housing Schemes - These being the housing enabling and housing grant based schemes.
· Other Projects - These being all other schemes included within the Capital Programme.
The Programme was reviewed annually and Cabinet considered a report on the current position with capital resources. The report could be read in full on the Council’s web site.
The following table set out the available resources as at the beginning of 2017/18 and the projected resources during 2017/18 and 2018/19 before any expenditure had been taken into account:-
The Council had for some time been in a position where the generation of significant capital receipts was no longer likely as the asset base now comprised largely of small land holdings and operational property. Large capital resources were now dependant upon external funding sources and in particular, borrowing. The Capital resource position was the subject of an on-going review within the context of future demands and needs. A copy of the Capital Programme had been appended to the Cabinet report. The report contained a summary of the position in relation to various capital projects and other capital expenditure items.
Particular reference was made to the housing enabling element of the Programme. The Council had been successful in its delivery of affordable housing, the capital commitment to which was tied to the VAHT housing stock transfer. With the ending of the VAT shelter, beyond residual right to buy capital receipts and nominal sums from New Homes Bonus, the Council had no means to fund new schemes other than by way of borrowing. However, as borrowing for this purpose provided no return by which to recover the borrowing costs, funding an affordable housing programme though this means was not sustainable.
Housing Associations had been obliged to review their business plans in the light of a change in the level of rents they could charge and so demand for potential new schemes had been delayed. The Government had made it clear that housing provision was a priority and the recent Budget hadincluded a number of commitments to provide funding. However, the details had not yet been made available. The Council would continue to work with Housing Associations to deliver as many affordable homes as possible, but it had become clear that there was a need for a fundamental review of this funding element. Whilst this review was being undertaken, the Capital Programme made provision for all receipts from right to buy and the affordable housing element of New Homes Bonus to be ring fenced for affordable housing investment.
In relation to other projects, the most notable items were provision ... view the full minutes text for item 4. |