Agenda and minutes

Apologies were received from Councillor Gubb with Councillor Pennington substituting.

Confirmation of the minutes held on 14^th December 2021.

Minute 144 - Following a query from Councillor Pennington it was confirmed that the Peer Review would take place in 2024 not 2023.

The Chief Executive clarified the meaning of the last paragraph within minute 144.  

It was proposed by Councillor Newton, seconded by Councillor Langford and –

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 14^th December be agreed.

(Vote: For 7, Abstentions 4)

The action list was discussed and updated.

A 15-minute period for public contributions.  (The deadline for registering to speak is by 2pm Friday 4^th February 2022. To register please email dem.services@torridge.gov.uk).

There were no public contributions.

Members with interests should refer to the agenda item and describe the nature of their interest when the item is considered.

Members were reminded that declarations of interest should be made as and when the specific agenda item to which they related was under discussion.

There were no urgent matters brought forward.

There were no Part II items.

To receive the report of the Finance Manager (S151 Manager)

The Finance Manager (Section 151 Officer) introduced the report, the purpose of which was for Members to consider, formulate and recommend the Budget 2022/23 to Full Council. The Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) indicates the possible extent of the budget and funding shortfall that the Council will face in the future. It is an aid in identifying the extent of service changes that the Council will need to make to achieve a balanced budget in each financial year up to 2026/27. 

A detailed and informative slide presentation was given by the Finance Manager (S151 Officer) highlighting the salient points in the report.

The Finance Manager (S151 Officer) advised that a final settlement email had been received however he had not had the chance to view it in detail.

Councillor James joined the meeting at 10.24am. 

Members were asked for any questions and the following discussions took place.

·         In response to a query, the Finance Manager (S151 Officer) advised of the Central Government scheme to reduce Council Tax bills by £150 in response to the increase in energy bills. TDC would be compensated for the income forgone and the costs associated with administrating the scheme; however, exact details were yet to be confirmed;

·         the Finance Manager (S151 Officer) explained the meaning behind reducing the levels of service for mandatory services and examples were given by both him and the Head of Communities & Place. The Chief Executive advised that, if a working group were to be established following recommendations from Community & Resources Committee to Full Council, then cost reduction could be looked at along with impact on the services. The aim of the working group would be to look at income generation as well as bringing the budgets back into balance;

·         Councillor Hodson expressed her concern to the group on the settlement figure and advised that this had been queried with Sir Geoffrey Cox MP who had agreed to raise with Mr. Michael Gove MP, however a response had not yet been received;

·         the Finance Manager (S151 Officer) advised he had enquired how the figure has been reached but had not had a response and did not expect any change in the settlement figure. He briefly explained two contributory factors, (reduced New Homes Bonus funding and changes to the Council Tax Base)to the decision but advised the methodology to the decision was very complex. Any changes to the figure would only occur if there were any errors within the calculations. The Chief Executive added that he did not think anymore could be done from Full Council and that it was very rare for any retrospective adjustments to be made to the settlement figures. He would chase Sir Geoffrey Cox MP’s office;

·         it was confirmed that the 100% retained from renewables was not new and had been this way since 2013/14;

·         Councillor Pennington declared a personal interest as cabling from Morocco to Webbery would be running through his land. The Finance Manager (S151 Officer) advised energy from this would form part of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 155.

To receive the report of the Senior Capital Accountant & Deputy S151 Officer.

The Senior Capital Accountant & Deputy S151 Officer introduced the report, the purpose of which was for members to consider, formulate and recommend updates to the Capital Programme 2022/23 for Full Council. The Capital Programme includes authorised projects which require updating due to inflationary pressures, along with new PIDs (Project Initiation Documents) which require authorisation from members before inclusion. 

A detailed and informative slide presentation was given by the Senior Capital Accountant & Deputy S151 Officer highlighting the salient points in the report.

A discussion followed with the following answers to questions/queries raised:

·         leasing vehicles had been looked into in the past however long term this does not work out to be cost effective;

·         further details of the leisure programme costings were given;

·         the disability facilities grants are for homeowners and no external funding was available for the disabled access to Caddsdown;

·         the actual PID documents were not attached to the report and were shared at the Capital PID workshop held on 7^th December 2021;

·         the Head of Communities & Place explained the need for disabled parking bays at Caddsdown and the need for safe access to the building from the bottom car park;

·         the Chief Executive provided an explanation on the scoring system for the PIDs following the process and method adopted by the Internal Overview & Scrutiny Committee;

·         following queries regarding electric vehicles the Head of Legal & Governance (Monitoring Officer) advised work on these had been carried out by Managers and Officers and currently they are not fit for purpose at any size;

·         the Chief Executive responded to a query stating that keeping a blank spot for Members to bring forward ideas for PIDs would be difficult to decide which would take precedence;

·         the Finance Officer (S151 Officer) explained the reasoning behind Officers putting forward the majority of Capital PIDs;

·         the Chief Executive explained that specific work needs to be carried out to cost PIDs prior to them being presented and explained why this was required. Further details were also given on how the Play Strategy sits in the Strategic Plan which affected the Victoria Park PID;

It was proposed by Councillor Newton, seconded by Councillor Harding and –

Resolved:

That the recommendations in the report be taken en bloc.

(Vote – For 8, Against 3)

It was proposed by Councillor Newton, seconded by Councillor Harding and –

Resolved:

That Members recommend to Full Council

a)     The Capital Programme is updated for building cost inflation

b)     The Vehicle Programme is updated for inflation

c)      The Vehicle Programme is Balanced long term, by increasing the contributions from revenue.

d)     Recommend PIDs that meet the minimum recommended project score of 65, for inclusion in the Capital Programme:

o   C202  Core Server

o   C201  Grounds Maintenance

o   C200  Caddsdown Disabled Access Pathways

o   C199 Revs & Bens Digitisation

o   C204 Sandymere Road

With the PIDs that fall below this score being referred back to officers for further work/refinement, and possible future consideration.

(Vote – For 8, Against 3)

To review the Forward Plan.

The forward plan was discussed.

The Strategy, Performance & ICT Manager gave a verbal update on when the legislation for the new procurement rules would be issued and once issued how to progress.

Following a brief discussion, it was decided that the Strategy, Performance & ICT Manager would liaise with the Chair outside of the meeting to decide when Social Values would be entered onto the forward plan.