Council and councillors

To receive Report No. 91/2017 from the Scrutiny Commission.

(Report circulated under separate cover)

Report No. 91/2017 was received from the Scrutiny Commission.

Mr Della Rocca provided members with a view of key issues officers had taken from the previous meetings where Resources Scrutiny Panel had considered the project. 

During discussion the following points were noted:

a)    Officers to look further at the Financial Crisis Fund in regard to its management.  It is currently monitored within the Revenue’s and Benefits function of the Council.  It may be that an external provision could be more suited to providing more holistic support to those in financial difficulty.  There may also be other funding, either internally or externally, that could be made available and this would be looked into. 

b)    Mr Walters had provided feedback from a schools visit regarding financial skills education; this would be shared with relevant officers within the education department. 

c)    The authority had looked at ways in which debt recovery could be done more empathetically.  Staff had received training in this area and the standard letters issues were being revised.  Mr Della Rocca advised that there was now a full time officer covering this area.

d)    Officers were looking at ways to articulate the general financial support offered across all departments within the council, for example; Council Tax Discretionary Support, Crisis Loans and warm home initiative.  This was proving more challenging than anticipated and the feedback from the project had been helpful in this area.

e)    Miss Waller asked that a clear definition around poverty in Rutland be incorporated into the White Paper.  The report mentioned Community Agents within the consultation, members asked how many of these were still active, Mr Lammie confirmed that he knew of one in his ward area.  Mr Hemsley advised that he would feed back on the numbers once confirmed.

f)     That some parishes and communities within the county had trusts that could provide funds to those in need, for example education funding or a property letting trust.  Members suggested that an information gathering exercise be carried out specifically to identify such funds.  It was noted that this could well take a significant amount of time as historic funds may be missed if they had not been used in recent times.

g)    That the timeframe for completion of the project had been affected by the announcement of a Parliamentary Election in June.  Scrutiny Commission would confirm to panel members in due course.

h)   That thought be given to the use of excessive terminology before publication of the White Paper.  It was also requested that National data be excluded as the Green Paper stated Rutland was different but did not focus wholly on the county.

AGREED

That the Panel NOTED the content of the report and that the following be considered for inclusion in the White Paper:

a)    Formation of a body to collate information from across the county in regard to potential funding available from sources such as trust funds or other such funds as noted in f) above.

b)    That a standard paragraph be included in all Council reports to indicate any foreseen financial impact on either individuals or industry as a result of the recommended outcome.

c)    That a clear definition of poverty in Rutland be incorporated into the White Paper.