Agenda, decisions 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.

There were no declarations of interest.

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

There were no items of urgent business

There were no items of urgent business

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 6October 2015.

The minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 6 October 2015 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive communications from the Chairman.

There were no Chairman’s announcements.

Report of Head of Finance and Procurement

Purpose of Report

This report summarises the Council’s Revenue and Capital position as at the end of the half of the financial year 2015-16 and projections for the full 2015-16 period.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

1.1  To note the projected revenue and capital position at September 2015.

Resolved

(1)          That the projected revenue and capital position as at September 2015 be noted.

The Head of Finance and Procurement submitted a report which summarised the Council’s Revenue and Capital position as at the end of the first half of the financial year 2015-16 and projections for the full 2015-16 period.

In response to Members’ comments, the Head of Finance and Procurement confirmed the agency staff were used sparingly and only where essential.  The majority of vacant posts covered by agency staff were short term and the cost was covered by departmental budgets.  With the current review of all services that was underway, it was anticipated that the interim use of agency staff would continue but the service reviews would address the need for the use in the longer term.

In response to the Committee’s request for further information on vacant commercial units, an analysis of reasons why Bicester commercial units were more successfully let than Banbury commercial units and the work of the Town Centre Co-ordinators.  The director of resources agreed to circulate this information outside of the meeting as soon as it was available

In response to Members’ questions regarding recycling revenue, the Head of Finance and Procurement explained that the current contract had 18 months to run and a new contract would be procured when it came to an end.

In considering the Capital Spend and Year End Projections, the Committee raised concerns about the amount of Capital Slippage and requested more information as to when the projects were originally budgeted for and why they were not going to be completed in 2015/16.  Members requested that this information be brought to the next meeting and compared alongside new Capital Bids.

The Committee requested clarification as to when Audio Visual equipment replacement had been added to the Capital Bids programme, why temporary repairs were being made to car parks when car park refurbishments had been budgeted for and clarification of the Capital Slippage of the Microsoft Licensing Agreement.

The Director of Resources agreed to collate this information and circulate to the Committee as soon as possible.

Resolved

(1)          That the projected revenue and capital position as at September 2015 be noted.

Report of Head of Finance and Procurement

Purpose of Report

This report summarises the Council’s Procurement Strategy progress for q2 of the financial year 2014-15.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

1.1      That the Committee note the progress made during q2 2014-15 in implementing the Council’s Procurement Strategy.

Resolved

(1)          That the progress made during Quarter 2 2015/16 in implementing the Council’s Procurement Strategy by noted.

The Head of Finance and Procurement submitted a report which summarised the Council’s Procurement Strategy progress for q2 of the financial year 2015-16.

In considering the report, some of the Committee members raised concerns about the savings achieved and questioned if the original budgets had been realistic.  The Committee requested that future reports contain details of possible savings on current shared procurement opportunities.

The Director of Resources explained that procurement opportunities varied considerably so targets were not easy to assess or measure.

Resolved

(1)          That the progress made during Quarter 2 2015/16 in implementing the Council’s Procurement Strategy by noted.

Report of Director of Resources

Purpose of report

To provide members of Budget Planning Committee with an update on the business rates position as at the end of Quarter 2 of the 2015-2016 financial year.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

1.1  To note this report

Resolved

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

The Director of Resources submitted a report which provided an update on the business rates position as at the end of Quarter 2 of the 2015-2016 financial year.

In response to comments from the Committee, the Director of Resources advised that if a significant employer went out of business, Cherwell District Council would not go below the base line to be in the pool and were not exposed because of the number and size of businesses the district covered.

Resolved

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

Report of Head of Finance and Procurement

Purpose of report

To provide members of the Budget Planning Committee with an update on the Council’s Medium Term Revenue Plan.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

1.1  To note the contents of this report.

Resolved

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

The Head of Finance and Procurement presented a report which provided members of the Budget Planning Committee with an update on the Council’s Medium Term Revenue Plan.

In response to questions from the Committee, the Director of Resources confirmed that details of the New Homes Bonus allocation would be circulated to the Committee outside of the meeting.

Resolved

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

To review the Committee Work Plan.

Resolved

(1)          That subject to the addition of Review of Reserves to December, the work plan be noted

The Committee considered the Work Plan for 2015/16.

The Head of Finance and Procurement explained that work was still underway on the Review of Reserves as it was a major piece of work and would therefore be submitted to the Committee’s December meeting.

Resolved

(1)          That subject to the addition of Review of Reserves to December, the work plan be noted