Agenda item

To consider the following Part I Decisions of the Executive taken on 15 November 2023.

2.    Minutes – 12 October 2023

3.    Minutes of the Overview & Scrutiny Committee and Select Committees

4.    Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan Review 2023

5.    Housing Asset Management Strategy 2023 – 2028

6.    Second Quarter Revenue Budget Monitoring 2023/24

7.    First and Second Quarter Capital Budget Monitoring 2023/24

8.    Mid-Year Treasury Management Review 2023/24

9.    Balancing the Budget Options 2024/25

10.Urgent Part I Business

Notice of Decisions to follow.

2.    MINUTES – 12 OCTOBER 2023

Noted.

3.    MINUTES OF THE OVERVIEW & SCRUTINY COMMITTEE AND SELECT COMMITTEES

Noted.

4.    HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT (HRA) BUSINESS PLAN REVIEW 2023

Members were advised that the report detailed the work that had been carried out on the HRA business plan revision and followed consultation with the Executive on the 15^th November. There had also been a presentation to the Community Select Committee on the 19^th October. The recommendations in the report formed the basis of the HRA budget 2024/25 which would be presented to the Executive in December.

The Strategic Director (CF) reminded Members there was a Modern Member Programme on the HRA Business Plan being held in December.

5.    HOUSING ASSET MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2023 - 2028

The Committee was advised that the report was seeking approval of the Housing Asset Management Strategy (HAMS) 2023 – 2028 and set out the framework on investment into the existing SBC housing stock. This included investment priorities and how the Council met the new requirements.

In response to questions, the Strategic Director (RP) advised:

·         There were communication plans with both the HRA and HAMS on how the Council shared the strategies over the next 15 months. There had been consultation with the Community Select Committee on how to communicate this and aimed to show the positive work the housing service was undertaking.

·         More detail on the criteria for housing stock surveys could be provided to Members. It was oriented around the Decent Homes Standard and the Stevenage Standard was also applied. The government was potentially changing the Decent Homes Standard so the criteria is likely to change again in the future.

6.    SECOND QUARTER REVENUE BUDGET MONITORING 2023/24

Members were advised that the Executive approved the General Fund and Housing Revenue Budget for Quarter 2. There was a net increase in the General Fund of £1,850 and an underspend of £1.229m from the HRA. This was due to two key decisions, firstly, not to take out borrowing within the first 6 months of the year, and the interest earnt on balances due to the interest rates increasing. The budget does not include the recent pay award, and this would be included in the Quarter 3 report.

In response to questions, the Strategic Director (CF) and the Assistant Director (Finance) advised:

·         There would be an ongoing assessment of the commercial viability of the skip service and work to generate additional business.

·         The increase in income generated related to the investment earnings on the current balance.

·         Officers were looking at using agencies for specific activities such as seasonal work, but this would always fluctuate, and the recruitment market remains challenging. In terms of agencies, Officers confirmed that seasonal agency staff are not more expensive than employing directly, however in was professional roles, day rates are usually more expensive than permanent employment. 

7.    FIRST AND SECOND QUARTER CAPITAL BUDGET MONITORING 2023/24

The Committee were advised that this report was approved by the Executive. There was a net change of £447,000 a year. The report also sought approval for a £15m of budgets to be reprofiled into 2024/25. The main areas were Regeneration where £6m was being move back by a year due to working through the spend and delivery plans for Town Fund schemes, and Housing Development where £8m was being moved as the team were still finalising Section 106 agreements. The spend calculated in September showed £16m which accounted for 22% of the revised budgets.

In response to questions from Members, it was advised that:

·         The term TMS stood for Treasury Management Strategy.

·         Officers needed to see the trajectory of spend before locking in any investments as they were always security accredited. Investments were from Council balances, there was not a separate portfolio for this.

8.    MID-YEAR TREASURY MANAGEMENT REVIEW 2023/24

Members were advised that there were no breaches or recommendation changes in the policy. The average yield of investments was 5.27%.

In response to questions, the Assistant Director (Finance) advised:

·         The Debt Management Office (DMO) is part of the treasury department in the Government.

·         Debt management was stipulated from government regulations, and it was becoming even more heavily regulated. There was a lot of scrutiny on Council finances and wasn’t much that the Council could change.

·         The DMO was the opposite of the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB). The rates weren’t as good, so the Council avoids investing here. There was an increase in interest by the Government in terms of the levels of debts. Some indicators weren’t reaching the mark, but this included the HRA debt which was the majority of the Council’s debt.

9.    BALANCING THE BUDGET OPTIONS 2024/25

The Committee were advised that the Balancing the Budget Options report came annually and there was an annual gap based on meeting the general fund need and the funding that was available. Due to this, difficult decisions had to be made. There was a £1m savings target going forward and the Council Tax increase did not cover the level of inflation. There was a £56,000 gap next year that Officers were looking to close when bringing the General Fund draft report to the Executive in January.

In response to questions, the Strategic Director (CF) advised:

·         The recommendations were the end result of the financial services deliberation group.

·         The HCC verge maintenance was based on CPI and was higher now. The contract was renegotiated resulting in a greater figure.

·         The reasons for closing the customer service centre (CSC) were based on a number of factors. Mainly to reduce the number of CSC staff in natural turnover, moving more services to digital in line with the transformation programme, and more efficient use of the building.

·         There was a saving of £145,000 but there was greater volume of customer demand around repairs and housing management queries.

·         More services are available online, but people who didn’t want to or were unable to, could still use the service by phone or in person.

·         The rebranding of the CSC was not in the report, but this could be fed back.

·         There would be a 1-, 3-, and 6-month review of the CSC to see how it was going and how to improve.

·         £5.2m of central government funding had been lost and there was a bigger number of residents and properties to deal with.

·         The Council was looking into renting the previous CSC area, but it was a question of whether it would be possible to in the current market. Officers were exploring potential tenants.

·         Officers were aware when car parks were quieter, usually Mondays and Fridays due to hybrid working patterns. Car park use was heavily linked to working and commuter patterns.

·         In relation to Car park use, it is still one of the three biggest income streams for the Council. The surplus was reduced but there were no overall losses and the surplus funded other services. Part of the regeneration strategy is to build on some of the car parks so these would need to be replaced.

·         The Council Financial Security Group (CFSG) was run by the resources portfolio holder and had one member from the Liberal Democrats and one member from the Conservatives.

·         The planning team were multiskilled and were able to handle both applications and start enforcements. The graduate planner position would be expected to get to grips with applications, enforcement and planning policy.

10.  URGENT PART I BUSINESS

There was none.