Agenda and draft minutes

Agenda and draft minutes

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Speaking at a Council or Committee meeting

Venue: Remote: Zoom meeting

Contact: Tom Hudson, Scrutiny Officer 

Note: This meeting was held by Zoom and streamed to the Council's YouTube channel 

Items
No. Item

7.

Apologies

Substitutes are not allowed.

Minutes:

None

8.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

None

9.

Work plan

The Scrutiny Committee will agree its work plan, including that for the Finance and Performance Panel, on 06 July 2020. No work plan is therefore available. The Panel is asked to note this.

 

Minutes:

It was NOTED that the Scrutiny Committee had agreed the items on the work plan the previous day and that the specific dates for those items had not been determined.   

10.

Notes of previous meeting pdf icon PDF 367 KB

For the Panel to approve the record of the meeting held on 16 June 2020

 

Minutes:

The Panel AGREED the record of the meeting held on 16 June 2020 as a correct record.

                   

11.

Reports for Approval pdf icon PDF 235 KB

The Panel is asked to approve the draft report to Cabinet concerning the report it considered on Monitoring Social Value at its 25 February 2020 meeting.

 

NB This report will follow as a supplement to the agenda pack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Panel is asked to approve the draft report to Cabinet concerning the report it considered on Monitoring Social Value at its 25 February 2020 meeting.

 

Minutes:

The Panel considered a draft report to Cabinet in response to the report heard by the Panel on Monitoring Social Value at its 25 February 2020 meeting.

The Panel welcomed the news of an update report in September. It was asked that the update report include more information on the challenges faced by SMEs in engaging with the social value agenda.

The Panel AGREED to submit the draft report to Cabinet subject to the following amendment:

-       That reference be made in the second recommendation to SMEs, specifically that the meeting would engage them to find out the challenges for them in engaging with social value in procurement questions.

12.

Performance Monitoring pdf icon PDF 6 KB

Liz Godin, Business Support Services Manager, will be present to introduce the 2019/20 Performance Monitoring Report.

The Panel is recommended to consider the Performance Moniotirng Report and make any recommendations accordingly.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Helen Bishop, Head of Business Improvement, spoke to the report. The Panel were informed that due to the impacts of Covid-19 the Council had not had the opportunity to set its KPIs for the forthcoming year. With the significant challenges and forthcoming changes, meaningful KPIs would be expected to be set once the budged had been agreed, meaning that the KPIs from which the Panel could choose would not be ready until April, the end of the civic year. The Panel did have some existing KPIs, which were rolled over from the previous year, but a number of these were heavily impacted by Covid-19 and therefore not particularly useful as measures. It was suggested that those measures which were not undermined by the coronavirus would continue to be reported on. In addition, the Panel would be given reports of the Council’s progress against its annual business plan. 

 

The Panel AGREED to the suggested proposals.

In discussion of the report, Panel members asked for a simplified version of the performance monitoring, more akin to the Appendix F in the Integrated Performance Report. Panel members also discussed the number of leisure centre users and the proportion of Council spend on local businesses. It was suggested that broader measures of leisure may be useful, to include all the amenity of the Council’s parks and open spaces.

13.

Integrated Performance Report 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 214 KB

On 15 July Cabinet will consider the Integrated Performance Report 2019/20 Q4.

Nigel Kennedy, Head of Financial Services and Anna Winship, Management Accountancy Manager, will be presenting the report.

The Panel is recommended to consider the report and agree any recommendations it wishes to make to Cabinet regarding it.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Anna Winship, Management Accountancy Manager, introduced the Integrated Performance Report to the Panel, providing financial and service level performance, and risk management information to 31 March 2020.

 

The overall financial figures were reported as follows:

-     A surplus on the General Fund of £2.770 million (12% of the Net Budget Requirement of £23.205 million) with a recommended carry forward of unspent budgets of £0.077 million. It was highlighted that a further recommendation is made to transfer the remaining balance of £2.693 million of the surplus to earmarked reserves, of which £1.658 million to the Capital Financing reserve and £1.035 million to the NDR Retention reserve. 

-     A favourable variance in the Housing Revenue Account of £4.809 million, after allowing for carry forward of unspent budgets of £0.722 million against the original budgeted deficit of £1.205 million, the recommendation being that the Council transfer the  balance into the HRA projects reserve to fund future capital commitments 

-     The outturn spend for the Capital budget was reported to be £42.776 million, a favourable variance of £7.255 million against the latest budget forecast in February 2020. 

Regarding performance, 58% (7) of the Corporate Performance targets were

delivered as planned, 8% (1) was below target but within acceptable tolerance

limits and 34% (4) were short of target. The measures identified to the Panel as being under below target were:

-     Number of jobs created or safeguarded in the city as a result of the City Council’s investment and leadership

-     Amount of employment floor space permitted for development

-     The number of people taking part in our youth ambition programme

-     Number of people from our target groups using our leisure facilities

 

Concerning corporate risk management, one red corporate risk in relation to

Housing was identified.

 

General Fund Earmarked Reserves and Working Balance

The General Fund Earmarked Reserves as at the 31 March 2020 would stand at £36.451 million. The biggest components of these were 24% relating to funding of the Capital Programme, and 26% relating to Business Rates Retention reserve and 11% relates to External Grants reserve pending their use on projects.

General Fund Variations

At the year end the General Fund service areas spend showed an adverse variance of £0.895 million.  The most significant of these variances  were explained as follows:

 

-     Housing Services – year end favourable variance of £0.118 million, due to a number of variances across the service.  Property services ended with an outturn of £0.336m favourable variance due to the capitalisation of some repairs costs associated with the Town Hall and other Council building. 

-     Regeneration and Economy – year end favourable variance of £0.258 million, due to higher levels of commercial property income than originally budgeted for and the ability to recharge additional project and development manager time to their associated capital schemes than originally expected;   

-     Oxford Direct Services client – The Council had budgeted for the delivery of a dividend from Oxford Direct Services of £1.552 million. The impact of COVID19 from March 2020 has  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.

14.

Future Meeting Dates

Meetings are scheduled as follows:

 

7 December 2018

31 January 2019

14 March 2019

 

All meetings start at 6.00pm.

Minutes:

The Panel NOTED the dates of future meetings.

15.

Matters Exempt from Publication

If the Panel  wishes to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for the Panel to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. 

 

The Panel may maintain the exemption if and so long as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Minutes:

The Panel passed a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 4(2)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. 

16.

Confidential Discussion - Covid-19 Financial Impacts pdf icon PDF 802 KB

At its previous meeting the Panel agreed to defer discussion of commercially sensitive issues relating to the financial impacts of Covid-19. Nigel Kennedy will be available to answer questions. The Panel is recommended to raise any issues deferred until this opportunity, and to make any recommendation accordingly.

NB There are no additional papers for this item, but the previously-considered (public) Cabinet report on the subject is attached for reference.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Panel held a discussion with Nigel Kennedy, Head of Financial Services over the commercially sensitive issues relating to Covid-19’s financial impact.