Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Inch.

Confirmation of the extraordinary meeting held on 15 September and the scheduled meeting held on 28 September.

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

Resolved:

That the minutes of the extraordinary meeting held on 15 September be agreed and signed as a correct record.

A recorded vote was taken.

(Vote: For - unanimous)

It was proposed by Councillor Gubb, seconded by Councillor Manley  and –

Resolved:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 28 September be agreed and signed as a correct record.

A recorded vote was taken.

(Vote: For - unanimous)

 The action list was noted. 

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 items brought forward.

There were no Part II items.

The Finance Manager (S151 Officer) updated members on the financial position as at the end of September 2020 and presented details on the 2020/21 Projected Financial Outturn.

At the end of Quarter 1, the Finance Manager (S151 Officer) had forecast a breakeven position.  The current position was projecting a surplus of £642k. 

The Finance Manager (S151 Officer) highlighted the income which was specifically related to Covid-19, stating that Torridge had a good year financially.   

·      To date, Central Government had funded 4 tranches of general Covid support grant, amounting to £1,187,000; other Covid “new burden” funding, amounting to £208,000 for the administration of business support grants for example; and compensation for lost fees and charges will be received, which will cover approximately 75% of fees and charge which have been lost. 

·      There had been an unprecedented increase in the number of planning applications

·      Recycling income had been underestimated by £72,000.  It was noted that, as the contract was between Devon County Council and the service provider and the details thereof were not available to Torridge District, budgeting for recycling income could only be done by estimate. 

Adversely, losses had been incurred in areas such as parking income, income from treasury deposits, leisure services and council tax and business rates.  Unexpected costs had been incurred in relation to Torrington pool roof repairs and reduced capacity at the hostels due Covid restrictions and delays in renovating the hostel site in the High Street.

A summary of business as usual variances was presented illustrating income versus expenditure.

Some of the factors which had led to the projected surplus included:

•      Staycation – bounce back of car parking income

•      Low incidence of Covid-19 – relatively insignificant agency backfill for frontline staff

•      Explosion of planning Income

•      Buoyant property market – strong recovery in land charge income

•      Stability of the Council’s commercial income

•      Very low increase in claims for local council tax support

The Finance Manager (S151 Officer) made members aware that there was a shortfall of £5million in the capital programme.  It was anticipated that the second Covid-19 lockdown will impact on the finances and posed many uncertainties.

It was noted that monthly returns on the impact of Covid-19 are submitted to the

MCHLG and it had been put on record that the grants will not be ringfenced and

clawed back.

The Chief Executive referred to the ”new burden” grants, adding that staff had worked conscientiously to get everything in place as required to support the new schemes within a short timeframe and that this had averted the need to bring in agency staff, thus keeping cost low.  He told members that, if they were to make the recommendation that the surplus of £642,000 be transferred to capital reserves, the money could be reallocated if required at a future date.

In response to a question about financial savings in respect of vacancies, the Chief Executive explained that some of the vacancies had been planned and were in relation to the restructure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

To receive a verbal update from the Finance Manager and Interim Section151 Officer.

The Finance Manager (S151 Officer) reported that the Senior Capital Accountant had been tasked with investigating ethical investment.  His findings were as follows:

Triodos

A Dutch bank, recently set up a UK subsidy.  Unrated by Fitch. 

Torridge District Council’s Treasury Management Policy restricted investments to Fitch 1 rated institutions.

Co-operative Bank

Currently rated ‘B’, which is below the level at which the Treasury Management Policy permits investment.

Green deposits – Barclays Bank, Standard Charter and Lloyds Bank

These are not too dissimilar to the interest rates on Lloyds 32-day notice or 95-day notice accounts.

Lloyds Sustainability 95-day Account

The policy allows investments in:

·         Energy efficient properties

·         Renewable energy for properties in the UK and abroad which would be offshore windfarms, onshore windfarms, solar energy and tidal energy.

·         Small or medium enterprises located in the 30% most economically disadvantaged areas in the UK.

·         Healthcare providers located in the 30% most economically disadvantaged areas in the UK.

If the Council were minded to invest in this type of account, an amendment would be required to the Treasury Management Policy.  It should be recognised that money may be placed in an account with a slightly lesser rate of return. 

More detailed information will be provided to the Income Generation Task & Finish Group with a view to bringing a formal report back to a future meeting of the Internal Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

To review the Forward Plan.

The Forward Plan was reviewed.

Mr Dengate asked whether it would be possible to highlight statutory and discretionary areas in the budget, perhaps using colour coding, to make it easier to differentiate between core expenditure and discretionary.  The Finance Manager (S151 Officer) explained why it was difficult to achieve this.  The Chief Executive suggested this might something for next year.

The Property & Major Projects Working Group will be looking at the capital programme at its next meeting.  This will be followed by a report to Community & Resources.  Internal Overview & Scrutiny will then have the opportunity to scrutinise any recommendations made by Community & Resources.  To be added to the Forward Plan for 15 December.

With regard to the Estuary Strategy, in the first instance, this will be considered by the Harbour Board.  If a strategy is developed this could be considered by Internal Overview & Scrutiny.

The Strategy, Performance & ICT Manager proposed a task & finish group be set up to work with officers in relation to a review of the QBR in line with the new Strategic Plan. To be discussed further at the December meeting.