Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the Minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 November 2024.

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 16 November 2023 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To receive communications from the Chair.

The Chair advised that Agenda Items 5, 7 and 8 would be taken prior to the Budget Scrutiny Item.

On behalf of the Committee, the Chair also thanked all Councillors and Officers who took part in the recent Budget Scrutiny exercise for their time, effort, and diligence.

The Committee to consider the Corporate Plan Performance Report for Q2 2023-24 to inform ongoing Performance Management Scrutiny.

The Committee considered a report from the Intelligence & Partnerships Manager which provided Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee with an update on the Council’s performance metrics for the current year set against the priorities set out in the Corporate Plan.

In response to questions from the Committee as to why some of the data had only just become available for the period covering Q2, the Intelligence & Partnerships Manager explained that some services for which data was collected had contractual arrangements, which could occasionally delay the release of the date.

In providing an overview of some of the key highlights, the Intelligence & Partnerships Manager advised that visits to leisure centres was below target during the Q2 period, and that this was due to maintenance-related closures at some of the sites leading to a restriction in the hours of operation.

In response to questions from the Committee regarding the performance of the Council’s Planning Service, the Intelligence & Partnerships Manager advised that this continued to be a key area of focus for the authority, with a focus on improving the timeframes for processing planning applications and maximising the possibilities of income generation by driving improvements in the Planning Service.

On the performance of Children’s Social Care, the Intelligence and Partnerships Manager explained that, due to demand-led pressures and market forces beyond the Council’s control, the cost of children’s placements continued to be volatile, however this was something the Council continued to closely monitor.

At the conclusion of the presentation, the Chair thanked the Intelligence & Partnerships Manager for a thorough report and advised the Committee that the performance data Q3 2023-24 would be brought to the 22 April 2024 meeting of the Committee.

Resolved

(1)  That the contents of the report be noted.

The Committee to receive a report detailing the findings of the Budget Scrutiny Task and Finish Group held on 23 January 2024.

Please note, that this report will be to follow.

The Deputy Democratic Services Manager submitted a report which provided an overview of the comments and recommendations of Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Draft Budget 2024-25 and the Medium Term Financial Plan.

In introducing the report, the Chair of Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee explained that, over a series of seven meetings, the Committee undertook in-depth scrutiny of the Draft Budget 2024-25 and considered three key areas of the budget to focus on, providing comment as part of the West Northamptonshire Council’s budget consultation process. The three areas of the budget selected for scrutiny input were; Adult Social Care, Homelessness and Temporary Accommodation, and Miscellaneous Budgets, which consisted of an overview of a number of smaller budgets from across the authority. The Committee also provided commentary on the ongoing financial pressures at Northamptonshire Children’s Trust, however, did not select this as one of its three focus areas in order to enable actions taken by the Council and the Trust to bring its finances under control to be embedded.

The Committee agreed that its budget scrutiny process had worked very well and had been both engaging, informative and had enabled the Committee to fulfil its budget scrutiny role. A highlight of this was inclusion of other non-Executives who were not members of Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee being involved in the budget scrutiny process this year, to provide a more rounded perspective from across different areas the Council.  

The budget scrutiny session held on 23 January 2024 also highlighted a number of potential issues for inclusion onto the Committee’s Work Programme for the 2024-25 municipal year, namely a review of External Audit costs to the authority, how reserves are utilised, a review of the budget for road repairs, a review of the operation of the Council Tax Hardship Fund, and a Trading Standards review to determine if further income could be generated that could then be used to reinvest and improve the service in the future.

At the conclusion of the discussion, the Chair thanked all Members and Officers who had taken part in the Budget Scrutiny process and highlighted that engagement from across the Council was vital to maximising opportunities for scrutiny input into the Draft Budget, and thus the successful delivery of the budget and the operation of the Council’s services for its residents.

Resolved

(1)  That the final recommendations of Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee to Cabinet (Annexe to the Minutes) on the Draft Budget 2024-25 and Medium Term Financial Plan be forwarded to the Executive Director – Finance to be appended to the report to Cabinet and then to Full Council.

Verbal Update from the Executive Director – Finance on the Council’s current Revenue Monitoring position.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and the Executive Director – Finance provided a verbal update which set out the Council’s current Revenue Monitoring position as at the end of Period 9 for the Financial Year 2023-24 and provided an assessment of the Council’s financial performance against its approved 2023-24 Budget.

In introducing the update, the Cabinet Member for Finance explained that the current forecast outturn position for 2023-25 as at the end of Period 9 was an overspend of £3.5m after the use of £8.2m of general budget contingencies, which were set aside in the budget for risks that may manifest themselves during the financial year.

Whilst the projected overspend equated to less than 1% of the net budget, the Cabinet Member for Finance advised that the Period 9 position showed an adverse movement of £0.8m on the Period 7 position reported to Cabinet in December 2023.

In response to questions from the Committee regarding the reasons for the adverse movement, the Executive Director – Finance advised that this was largely down to continued cost pressures and high demand within the Children’s Trust, however pressures remain within homelessness and temporary accommodation, adult social care, and the home to school transport service. 

Resolved

(1)  That the verbal update on the Council’s revenue monitoring position as at the end of Period 9 2023-24 be noted.

Verbal Update from the Executive Director – Finance on the current position regarding the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy. 

The Cabinet Member for Finance and the Executive Director – Finance provided a verbal update on the progress of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy.

In introducing the update, the Cabinet Member for Finance reiterated that, although the Budget for 2024-25 showed a balanced position, there was considerable uncertainty in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, caused by demand-led pressures both locally and nationally, economic uncertainty caused by national and global events, uncertainty surrounding inflation and interest rates, possible business rates reform, political uncertainty beyond the anticipated general election later in 2024 and any future government’s priorities for local government finance, and uncertainty on future funding from central government including future Council Tax threshold limits.

The Executive Director – Finance explained that the Council’s current medium term financial position projected a deficit of £90m over a four year period starting with a deficit of £53.6m in 2025-26, however this was subject to the uncertainties already mentioned and also assumed a business rates reset in 2025-26, which if moved beyond 2025-26, would drive a material improvement in the medium-term financial position.

Resolved

(1)  That the verbal update on the progress of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy be noted.

To review and note the Committee Work Programme.

Following on from the Budget Scrutiny discussion, Members of the Committee agreed that an overview of the Council’s External Audit costs, a Transformation progress update, Trading Standards, and the Council’s use of reserves be added to the Committee Work Programme for future consideration and scrutiny activity.

Resolved

(1)  That the Committee Work Programme be noted, subject to the addition of the following items to the Work Programme for 2024-25:

1.    A review of External Audit costs

2.    Transformation Progress Update

3.    A review of Trading Standards budgets

4.    Analysis of the use of reserves in budgeting

The Chair to advise whether they have agreed to any items of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

There were no items of urgent business.