A presentation will be given at the meeting.
Minutes:
The Committee received a presentation from the Deputy Leader of the Council, the Executive Director of Resources and the Assistant Director of Resources setting out details of revised financial savings requirements for 2014/2015 along with details of how the proposed savings will be met. The presentation provided a breakdown of internal savings that would contribute towards the additional £2.2m savings target for 2014/2015.
With regard to 2015/2016, the Executive Director outlined the scale of the challenge facing the Council that would mean £16m being cut from the budget. In planning for this it was explained that the aim would be to minimise the effect on residents and employees but stressed that all options would need to be explored, including:
• Service Changes – closures and/or a reduced range of services
• Exploration of alternative ways of delivering services
• Increased waiting times and/or reduced quality of service
• Severelimits to what the Council can afford to do
• Reviewing how the Council is structured.
Questions and comments were invited from the Committee and the following issues were raised:
· In response to a question from Councillor Daly, concerning funding for the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, Councillor Tariq explained that consultation on a proposed 10% funding cut from the Third Sector Commissioning Fund was currently underway. In addition, it was also explained that consultations were underway with organisations with regard to a similar 10% proposed cut from the Small Grants Fund. During discussion of this issue it was requested that the issue of how grants are allocated be considered at a future meeting.
· With regard to the issue of the use of volunteers, the Executive Director highlighted the current self management schemes in place and reported on the new arrangements within the Ranger Service. The importance of supporting volunteers to ensure continuation was stressed and reference was made to the current development of a Volunteering Strategy.
· In response to a question from Councillor O’Hanlon, the Deputy Leader acknowledged the importance of employee engagement and highlighted the importance of recognising the hard work of Council employees who have been required to take on extra work as a result of the budget cuts.
· Councillor Fitzwalter commented on the need for strategies to look at the issues of income generation and closer work with other authorities. The Deputy Leader explained that work was on going in these areas. With regard to the issue of shared services, the Executive Director explained that all options were being considered but previous considerations had offered no benefit to Bury as a result of the Authority’s low unit costs.
· Councillor O’Hanlon expressed concerns that judgements on value for money and the efficiency of departments was made by the Executive Directors of those departments and suggested that such judgements were not necessarily objective. The Deputy Leader highlighted the rigorous and robust financial monitoring process undertaken through the Star Chambers whereby Executive Directors are held directly to account by Cabinet Members.
· In considering the potential for alternative service delivery models and more outsourced provision in the future, Members acknowledged the importance of effective contract management and holding providers to account through the scrutiny process.
It was agreed:
1. That the Deputy Leader of the Council, the Executive Director of Resources and the Assistant Director of Resources be thanked for their presentation.
2. That the Council’s Medium term Financial Strategy be submitted to the next meeting of this Committee.