Issue - meetings

The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance and Governance.

RESOLVED:

1.    To note the Key Performance Indicator performance for Q2 2020/21.

2.    To note the revenue and capital budget position at Q2 2020/21.

3.    To RECOMMEND to Council the allocation of an additional allocation of £0.054 million in the Capital Programme for the Horley Pay-on-Exit parking to be funded through prudential borrowing.

The Executive Member for Corporate Policy and Resources, Councillor Lewanski, introduced a report outlining the Council’s performance up to the end of Quarter 2.

Councillor Lewanski explained that seven out of the ten Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) were on target or within the agreed tolerance. Two were red rated and one had been unable to report.

Councillor Lewanski explained that one of the red rated KPI tracked the number of affordable housing completions. The low rating was reflective of the slowdown in construction earlier in the year. It was expected that affordable units at several sites were to be completed later in the year.

The other red rated KPI tracked the Council’s recycling performance. The tonnage and composition of household waste had changed significantly due to the covid-19 pandemic, with 520 tonnes of additional refuse collected in Quarter 1 of 2020/21 compared to last year. A shortfall of around 2,000 tonnes of garden waste also weighed on recycling performance. Councillor Lewanski explained that the planned rollout of full kerbside recycling services to flats and properties with communal bin areas would recommence in the New Year and would deliver the opportunity to recycle more to around 8,000 properties. A communications campaign would be undertaken with Surrey Environment Partnership to encourage further participation in the Council’s food recycling service.

Councillor Lewanski explained that the KPI unable to report tracked the Council’s performance in Local Environment Quality Surveys, which measure the cleanliness of places. The Council was unable to report on this indicator due to resources being focused on responding to the pandemic. The indicator will be picked up in future quarters.

The Deputy Leader and Executive Member for Finance and Governance, Councillor Schofield, presented the report which provided the Council’s Revenue and Capital Budget position for Quarter 2 to 30 September.

In terms of the Revenue Budget, the projected full year outturn at the end of Quarter 2 was £23.02m against a management budget of £24.60m. This resulted in a forecast underspend for the year of £1.58m.

In terms of the Capital Programme, Councillor Schofield explained that the forecast at the end of Quarter 2 was £36.81m below the approved Programme for the year. The variance was as a result of £46.76m slippage and £0.40m net underspend. Councillor Schofield highlighted the recommendation to Council in the report to increase the capital programme allocation for the Horley Car Park project by £54k following confirmation of the final project costs.

Councillor Schofield explained that he had continued to monitor the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the Council’s finance with the officer Incident Management Team and the Leader. The forecasts in the report were the latest forecasts, not a cut off at 30 September as the position changed rapidly. There had been more clarity on the extent to which Government would help fund the extra costs incurred and reimburse the Council for income losses. However, it was a challenge to form a complete picture, particularly in relation to the impact on the Collection Fund.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 57

To consider the Performance Report for Quarter 2 (2020/21) including Revenue and Capital Budget Monitoring report and to make any observations.

Members considered and discussed the Quarter 2 2020/Performance Report. This included the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), Revenue and Capital Budget monitoring and the allocation of an additional payment of £0.054m in the capital programme for the Horley Pay-on-Exit parking to be funded through prudential borrowing.

Councillor V. Lewanski, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Policy and Resources, said that two KPIs were red rated. These were KPI 7 – Net affordable housing completions and KPI 10 – Recycling performance (Q1 2020/21 performance). The reasons for the red ratings were set out in the report but both were due to the pandemic. The report also contained figures on the Revenue Budget and Capital Budget with some detailed analysis. Councillor Lewanski thanked Councillor T. Schofield, Portfolio Holder for Finance, and the Finance team for their work in preparing this information.

Members asked questions and discussed the following points:

·         Building Partnership Control – Members asked about the building partnership control with Tandridge and the budget for a financial shortfall of £197k. It was confirmed that the Council did not have to call on the budget this year. The Director of Place said she would provide a written response to Members giving more details.

·         Revenue, Benefits & Fraud service – Members asked why this service was expected to make a net loss on traded services in 2020/21. This is a service that the Council provided to many of the districts and boroughs in Surrey. The Interim Head of Finance explained that there was a small deficit overall which was due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic when resources were diverted from external work. The Interim Head of Paid Services confirmed that the service currently had 21 clients which included a mix of local authorities, housing associations and private clients. The team’s fraud work in particular saves the Council significant amounts of money, for example, checks were carried out on everyone applying to go on the housing register or who were homeless. Over three months, the team has been awarded four new client contracts, with a number of older contracts currently being renegotiated.

·         Underspend this year – Members noted that there was a forecast substantial net budget underspend this year (£1.713m) mainly because the Council had not made as many capital investments or borrowing as expected, and the headroom contingency budget was expected to be underspent. This was a positive position and more than offset the unfunded Covid-costs, which were forecast at £0.613m. Also, it was noted that the uncollected council tax collection rate was down by 1.37 per cent or £1.7m which was considered good in these times.

RESOLVED – that:

(i)            the Key Performance Indicator performance for Q2 2020/21 and the observations of the Committee be noted for the Executive;

(ii)          the Revenue and Capital Budget position at Q2 2020/21 and the observations of the Committee be noted for the Executive;

(iii)         the recommendation of the Executive to Council of the allocation of an additional payment of £0.054m in the capital programme for the Horley Pay-on-Exit  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51