Decisions and Recommendations

The Committee received an update on Standards matters from the Interim Monitoring Officer. The report covered:

·         Code of Conduct;

·         Register of Interests;

·         Complaints procedures;

·         Code of Conduct complaints 2017/18;

·         Group Leader meetings;

·         Member training;

·         Arrangements for appointing a statutory Monitoring Officer.

Members asked why the formal process for complaints in respect of Members and the Code of Conduct only related to complaints about something that occurred within the last six months. The Interim Monitoring Officer explained that, for the completeness and accuracy of the information concerned, it was not practical to investigate complaints more than six months ago. Despite this, the Interim Monitoring Officer still undertook to investigate and resolve those complaints which were more than six months old on an informal basis. The Interim Monitoring Officer highlighted the importance of the role of political Group Leaders in resolving complaints since the Localism Act 2011 which abolished the Standards Board regime.

Members sought to improve the transparency of those complaints which were not brought to the Standards Committee. With this in mind, the Committee expressed a desire to review the Code of Conduct and terms of reference of the Standards Committee. The Interim Monitoring Officer advised Members that the timing of such a review would be more prudent when a permanent appointment had been made to the position of Monitoring Officer.

The Committee discussed the Code of Conduct training arrangements in place for Members, the Member/officer protocol and the nature of the complaints typically received by the Interim Monitoring Officer.

RESOLVED that the report be noted.

RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs. R. Mill be elected Vice-Chairman of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2018/19.

RESOLVED that Councillor Mrs. R. S. Turner be elected Chairman of the Committee for the Municipal Year 2018/19.

Councillor Mrs. R. S. Turner took the Chair.

The Committee considered a report on the Council’s performance relative to its 5 Year Plan in the 2017-18 municipal year. Four advance questions had been received in relation to the report, and these were tabled at the meeting.

There were a number of questions and comments on the report and advance questions, relating to the following topics:

·         Universal Credit implementation. Members were advised that the Universal Credit scheme was scheduled to start implementation in the borough in the autumn, as part of a phased roll-out. It was noted that those individuals currently receiving housing benefit, administered by the Council, would be transferred to Universal Credit, administered by the Department of Work and Pension over the course of the implementation period. It was however noted that there would to be a significant number of exceptions to this, and that there would therefore continue to be work done by the Council to support those cases.

·         Council income sources. It was confirmed that the Council’s funding was primarily from its component of Council Tax income, supplemented by income from the local component of business rates, investment income, and service charges. It was noted that the Council no longer received any income from revenue support grants.

·         The Corporate Plan Delivery Fund (CPDF). It was identified that the CPDF provided funding for one-off projects to deliver its corporate plan, outside of the main revenue and capital programmes. The fund was identified to be spent in consultation with the Leader, with spending reported to Members. Members were advised that CPDF spending in 2018-19 would therefore be confirmed when proposals had been considered for approval. It was noted that the monies for the fund were provided either from budget underspends or from reserves.

·         Communications Costs. It was confirmed that costs relating to the communication and engagement strategy, Borough News, and residents’ survey were primarily staff costs, and an assessment of the direct cost of these components would therefore require work in consultation with the communications team to estimate proportions of time spent supporting these areas. It was requested that an approximate assessment of these costs be conducted, where practical.

·         Apprenticeships. A query was raised regarding the Council’s use of available apprenticeships funding. It was confirmed that the Council used available funding to support apprenticeship support where applicable, and also carried out other activities to support borough residents into employment.

·         Parks & Open Spaces – Bird Boxes. Cllr Essex declared a non-pecuniary interest as a director of the Furnistore charity, which worked with the Men in Sheds programme, and offered a point of clarification that work on bird boxes for the Earlswood Lakes site had been undertaken at the Redhill site.

RESOLVED that the 5 Year Plan Performance Report 2017-18 be noted.

RESOLVED that:

(i)            The provisional revenue and capital outturn position for 2017/18 be noted;

(ii)          The use of reserves proposed in paragraphs 10 and 11 of the report be endorsed and the Head of Finance be authorised to make the necessary arrangements;

(iii)         The Head of Finance be authorised to set up a new reserve entitled Government Funding Reduction Reserve; and 

(iv)         The Annual Treasury Management Report (Annex 1 of the report to the Executive) be noted.

The Committee considered the provisional revenue and capital outturn for the 2017-18 financial year.

The Committee discussed the report, and there were a number of questions and comments, relating to the following topics:

·         Capital Projects Spending. Members were advised that capital project spending was primarily monitored over the life the project, and that any requests for significant additional funding would be submitted to the Executive for consideration. It was identified that most reported underspends and overspends during the life of a project therefore resulted from differences in in year project timings, rather than changes to total costs. It was noted that the remaining work to be completed on the Warwick Quadrant project would be confirmed following the meeting.

·         Allocation of Reserves. Members were advised that reserves were created to reflect identified demands. The proposed Government Funding Reduction reserve was confirmed to reflect the external risk associated with uncertainty of NNDR (Nation Non-Domestic Rates – colloquially Business Rates) levels from 2020. It was confirmed that the Business Rates Pilot scheme was for one year, and was not currently projected to extend beyond that point.

·         Treasury Performance. It was identified that the Council did not have the capacity to undertake the investment fund management currently conducted by an external fund manager (Tradition) in-house. It was noted that information on when the external fund manager was last reviewed would be confirmed following the meeting. It was noted that the Council had been able to obtain a positive short term investment variance in 2017/18 resulting from additional actions to secure a return on cash balances.  It was noted that information on income from trading companies would be confirmed following the meeting.

·         Parking. A query was raised regarding the reduced income from parking services. Members were advised that the situation was being monitored to determine the causes. It was confirmed that pilot work was being undertaken on a pay-on-exit scheme at the Bancroft Road site, with consideration being required to ensure there was not an adverse effect on traffic. It was noted that the timescale for future implementation of related schemes would be confirmed.

·         Legal Services. Members were advised that the contextual changes to legal services costs had been reflected in the 2018-19 budget, and that the overspend was not expected to repeat to the same degree. It was noted that the overspend had been impacted by the reduction in land charges income, following changes in legislation to allow competing providers. Recruiting for a number of legal team positions was noted to be ongoing. Members were advised that legal activities were undertaken in-house where appropriate, but that external legal advice continued to be required in specialist fields. The Leader advised that the Council would be working to ensure that it had sufficient resourcing, including in legal services, to deliver its objectives.

·         Fund Recovery from Icelandic Banks. It was confirmed that all money in Icelandic banks affected by the 2008 financial crisis had now been recovered.

·         Recycling Income. Members were advised that income from sale of recyclates had decreased significantly, and the income for 2018-19 was therefore expected to considerably less than in 2017-18. It was identified that the Council’s approach to collecting separated categories of recyclates continued to deliver improved income relative to co-mingled collection.

·         CIL Administration Costs. It was confirmed that CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) administration costs were expected to recover to projected levels.

·         Investment Strategy. Members were advised that the Council’s new investment strategy and associated governance arrangements were still under development, and would be submitted for full Council approval before implementation. It was identified that the strategy would include consideration of the best use of cash reserves. It was noted that the Council had an approved £80 million borrowing limit, but did not currently have any borrowing activity. It was identified that the approach to borrowing would be considered as part of the development of the investment strategy.

RESOLVED that the Provisional Revenue and Capital Outturn 2017-18 be noted.

RESOLVED that:

The Head of Property, in consultation with the Head of Finance and the Executive Members for Property and Regeneration and Finance, be authorised to:

a)    Acquire, for investment purposes, the Freehold and Long Leasehold properties referred to in the report to the Executive.

b)    Agree any variations to the heads of terms and to the acquisition price further to external valuation advice and due diligence investigations.

RESOLVED that:

(i)            The Head of People and Communities be authorised, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing and Benefits, to progress and submit a Planning Application for the development of housing at the Lee Street site, in accordance with the budget set out in Part 2 of the report;

(ii)          The Head of People and Communities be authorised, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing and Benefits, to include the costs of the project within the Capital Programme as detailed in Part 2 of the report;

(iii)         The Head of People and Communities be authorised, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing and Benefits, to prepare the necessary documentation and to obtain competitive construction tenders; and

(iv)         The Head of People and Communities be authorised, in consultation with the Executive Member for Housing and Benefits, to finalise, agree and sign construction contracts for the development of the Lee Street site.

RESOLVED that the performance outlined in the report be noted.

To consider the Annual Governance Statement for 2017/18.

RESOLVED that the Annual Governance Statement, set out in Annex 1 of the report, be endorsed.

RESOLVED that the positive progress against the Council’s Five Year Plan (2015-2020) priorities, set out in the report of the Head of Corporate Policy, Performance and Legal, be noted.

RESOLVED that:

(i)            The Head of Places and Planning be authorised, in consultation with the Leader of the Council and Executive Member for Planning Policy to:

·         Agree and submit correspondence, supporting documents, statements of common ground, technical evidence and topic papers as necessary to support the Development Management Plan through examination;

·         Provide formal responses to questions from the appointed Planning Inspector throughout the duration of the examination and agree actions necessary to ensure the soundness and legal compliance of the Development Management Plan; and

·         Recommend additional (minor) modifications to the Inspector as required throughout the duration of the examination;

to support the submitted Development Management Plan during the examination process under Regulation 22 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012.

(ii)          The revised Local Development Scheme (Annex 1 of the report to the Executive) be adopted and take immediate effect.