Meeting documents

SSDC District Executive
Thursday, 1st August, 2019 9.30 am

Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Brympton Way, Yeovil. View directions

Contact: Angela Cox, Democratic Services Specialist - 01935 462148  Email: angela.cox@southsomerset.gov.uk

Items
No. Item

24.

Minutes of Previous Meeting

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the District Executive meeting held on Thursday 4th July 2019.

Minutes:

The minutes of the District Executive meeting held on 4th July 2019, copies of which had been circulated, were taken as read and, having been approved as a correct record, were signed by the Chairman.

25.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Adam Dance and Val Keitch and Clare Pestell, Director.

26.

Declarations of Interest

In accordance with the Council's current Code of Conduct (as amended 26 February 2015), which includes all the provisions relating to Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI), personal and prejudicial interests, Members are asked to declare any DPI and also any personal interests (and whether or not such personal interests are also "prejudicial") in relation to any matter on the Agenda for this meeting.

Members are reminded that they need to declare the fact that they are also a member of a County, Town or Parish Council as a Personal Interest. Where you are also a member of Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council within South Somerset you must declare a prejudicial interest in any business on the agenda where there is a financial benefit or gain or advantage to Somerset County Council and/or a Town or Parish Council which would be at the cost or to the financial disadvantage of South Somerset District Council. 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest made by Members.

27.

Public Question Time

Minutes:

There were no members of the public present.

28.

Chairman's Announcements

Minutes:

There were no announcements from the Chairman.

29.

Corporate Performance Report 2019-20: 1st Quarter pdf icon PDF 71 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

 

RESOLVED:

That District Executive noted and commented on theCorporate Performance Report 2019-20: 1st Quarter and the new report format.

Reason:

To note the current position of the Council’s agreed key performance indicators covering the period from April to June 2019 (Q1).

 

Minutes:

The Lead Specialist (People, Performance & Change) advised that the targets had been set for all the Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) and these had been agreed with the relevant Portfolio Holders.  Some of the measures were new, reflecting the priorities in the new Council Plan.  She outlined an error and some clarifications within the report which would be corrected before publication on the website. 

 

The Portfolio Holder for Economic Development said he would be reviewing the economy targets with the Director shortly.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Protecting Core Services advised that measures were in place to monitor the direction of travel for the revenues and benefits service and the development management service and resources had been allocated to those areas.  He also requested that a further column be added to the information to show the direction of travel from the previous quarter report.

 

In response to a question, the Lead Specialist (Finance) and the Director for Service Delivery advised:-

 

·         Work to establish net income targets for service areas for 2019/20 with comparative baselines for 2018/19 was underway and would be available by the end of the month.

·         Housing/homeless applications were assessed to identify which should be accelerated due to pressing circumstances.  The response time to conduct an interview was currently 27 days which was longer than desired.

 

At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman thanked the Lead Specialist (People, Performance & Change) for her presentation.  Members were content to note the Corporate Performance Report 2019-20: 1st Quarter.

 

RESOLVED:

That District Executive noted and commented on theCorporate Performance Report 2019-20: 1st Quarter and the new report format.

Reason:

To note the current position of the Council’s agreed key performance indicators covering the period from April to June 2019 (Q1).

 

30.

2019/20 Capital Budget Monitoring Report for the Period Ending 30th June 2019 pdf icon PDF 115 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

 

RESOLVED:

That District Executive agreed to:-

 

a.

note the content of the report; 

 

b.

approve the revised Capital Programme spend profile as detailed in paragraph 7, Table 1.

 

c.

approve the projects listed on Appendix B remain in the capital programme.

Reason:

To note early in-year projection in 2019/20 of the forecast spending ("outturn") against the Council’s approved Capital Programme Budget, and to explain projected variations against individual projects and the Programme as a whole.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman, as Portfolio Holder for Finance, Legal and Democratic Services, advised that the Audit Committee had received the external auditor’s formal Audit opinion of the 2018/19 Statement of Accounts and he was pleased to report a very favourable unqualified opinion had been given.

 

It was noted that officers had attended the Scrutiny Committee meeting and had provided answers to their questions at that meeting. The Scrutiny Committee would be reviewing the Council’s Commercial Strategy as part of the District Executive reports in September 2019.

 

The Chief Executive advised that all of the Council’s acquisitions and disposals would be placed on the Members Portal in due course.

 

During discussion, Members felt caution should be exercised on the release of financial information relating to acquisitions and disposals in case commercially sensitive information could be gathered from the figures.  The Council’s interests must be protected.

 

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to confirm the recommendations of the report.

 

RESOLVED:

That District Executive agreed to:-

 

a.

note the content of the report; 

 

b.

approve the revised Capital Programme spend profile as detailed in paragraph 7, Table 1.

 

c.

approve the projects listed on Appendix B remain in the capital programme.

Reason:

To note early in-year projection in 2019/20 of the forecast spending ("outturn") against the Council’s approved Capital Programme Budget, and to explain projected variations against individual projects and the Programme as a whole.

 

31.

2019/20 Revenue Budget Monitoring Report for the Period Ending 30th June 2019 pdf icon PDF 132 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

 

RESOLVED:

That District Executive agreed to:-

 

a.

note the current 2019/20 financial position of the Council;

 

b.

note the reasons for variations to the previously approved Directorate Budgets as detailed in paragraph 8, Table 1;

 

c.

note the virements made under delegated authority as detailed in Appendix B; and

 

d.

note the transfers made to and from reserves outlined in paragraph 27, Table 4 and the position of the Area Reserves as detailed in Appendix C and the Corporate Reserves as detailed in Appendix D.

Reason:

To note the current projection of the forecast spending and income ("outturn") against the Council’s approved Revenue Budget for the financial year, and to explain projected variations against budget.

 

Minutes:

The Chairman, as Portfolio Holder for Finance, Legal and Democratic Services, advised that there was a small net forecast overspend of £46,865 (0.3%) for 2019/20 which was within tolerance for the time of year.  He explained the car parking variance in table 1 and the additional income generated by treasury interest and income.

 

It was noted that a written response would be provided to the Scrutiny Committee comments relating to Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) payments.

 

The Portfolio Holder for Health & Well-Being said he had met with the Manager of the Westland Leisure Complex and Octagon Theatre and was pleased to report that ticket sales were increasing, in some part due to the acts booked by the Manager. 

 

It was proposed that the thanks of the Committee be conveyed to the Manager of the Westland Leisure Complex and Octagon Theatre for his work in promoting the venues and increasing their ticket sales.

 

In response to questions from Members, the Section 151 Officer clarified:-

 

·         A provision was always made in balances against the risk of non-collection of Council Tax however, officers worked hard to reduce it and some debts could take several years to clear by payment plans.

·         The service budgets were prepared by the finance team in collaboration with knowledge and expertise from the officers in the service.

·         Council Tax was collected by SSDC on behalf of all the precepting authorities, including the County Council, Fire and Police authorities and Town and Parish Councils so although the outstanding debt looked high, the proportion to SSDC was relatively low.  Such debts were not written off lightly and only as a last resort.

 

The Director for Service Delivery advised that there was some difficulty in recruiting Building Control officers and hiring agency staff was costly.  However, a Peer Review report was due that week which would help to decide whether SSDC decided to work with the Somerset Building Control Partnership in the future. 

 

The Portfolio Holder for Finance, Legal and Democratic Services, advised that the outcome of the Fairer Funding Review of Local Government was still not known or how it would affect the Business Rates settlement or New Homes Bonus for the Council.

 

At the conclusion of the debate, Members were content to confirm the recommendations of the report.

 

RESOLVED:

That District Executive agreed to:-

 

a.

note the current 2019/20 financial position of the Council;

 

b.

note the reasons for variations to the previously approved Directorate Budgets as detailed in paragraph 8, Table 1;

 

c.

note the virements made under delegated authority as detailed in Appendix B; and

 

d.

note the transfers made to and from reserves outlined in paragraph 27, Table 4 and the position of the Area Reserves as detailed in Appendix C and the Corporate Reserves as detailed in Appendix D.

Reason:

To note the current projection of the forecast spending and income ("outturn") against the Council’s approved Revenue Budget for the financial year, and to explain projected variations against budget.

 

32.

District Executive Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 73 KB

Additional documents:

Decision:

The following additions and amendments to the Forward Plan were noted:

 

RESOLVED:

That the District Executive:-

 

1.

approved the updated Executive Forward Plan for publication as attached at Appendix A, with the following amendments:

·      Provision of Hostel Accommodation and Associated Support for People who are Homeless in South Somerset – removed from Plan

·      The Future Management of the Council's Leisure Facilities - September 2019

·      Somerset Waste Partnership Annual Report and Draft Business Plan 2020 – 2024 – January 2020

 

2.

noted the contents of the Consultation Database as shown at Appendix B.

Reason:

The Forward Plan is a statutory document.

 

Minutes:

The following additions and amendments to the Forward Plan were noted:

 

  • Provision of Hostel Accommodation and Associated Support for People who are Homeless in South Somerset – removed from Plan
  • The Future Management of the Council's Leisure Facilities - September 2019

·         Somerset Waste Partnership Annual Report and Draft Business Plan 2020 – 2024 – January 2020

 

RESOLVED:

That the District Executive:-

 

1.

approved the updated Executive Forward Plan for publication as attached at Appendix A, with the following amendments:

·      Provision of Hostel Accommodation and Associated Support for People who are Homeless in South Somerset – removed from Plan

·      The Future Management of the Council's Leisure Facilities - September 2019

·      Somerset Waste Partnership Annual Report and Draft Business Plan 2020 – 2024 – January 2020

 

2.

noted the contents of the Consultation Database as shown at Appendix B.

Reason:

The Forward Plan is a statutory document.

 

33.

Date of Next Meeting pdf icon PDF 41 KB

Minutes:

Members noted that the next scheduled meeting of the District Executive would take place on Thursday 5th September 2019 in the Council Chamber, Council Offices, Brympton Way, Yeovil commencing at 9.30 a.m.