A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Council and councillors

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland, LE15 6HP

Contact: Governance  Email: governance@rutland.gov.uk

Media

Items
No. Item

1.

WELCOME AND APOLOGIES RECEIVED

Minutes:

The Chair welcomed eveyone to the meeting.  Apologies were noted from Councillor Leah Toseland and Peter French.

2.

RECORD OF MEETING pdf icon PDF 144 KB

To confirm the records of the meetings of the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 8th and 13th December 2022.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meetings held on the 8th and 13th December were approved as an accurate record.

3.

ACTIONS ARISING

To review and update the actions arising from the meeting on the 8th December 2022.  There were no actions from the meeting held on the 13th December 2022.

 

No.

Ref.

Action

Person

1.     

9

Councillor Harvey to send a full breakdown of the public health housing budget (totalling £104,800) to Councillor Ainsley.

Councillor S Harvey

2.     

9

The Clerk to arrange for an update on the Visions Children’s Centre to be presented at a future meeting of the scrutiny committee as per Councillor Begy’s request.

Jane Narey

3.     

9

Performance data regarding the smoking cessation service to be sent to members.

Councillor S Harvey

4.     

9

A full financial breakdown of the funding, expenditure, income, net contribution and outcomes regarding the Active Rutland Hub to be sent to members.

Councillor K Payne

5.     

13

The Monitoring Officer and the Clerk to seek approval from the Chief Executive for the proposal that the scrutiny committee meeting on the 26th January 2023 should begin at the earlier time of 6pm. 

Jane Narey

 

Minutes:

There were no actions from the meeting held on the 13th December 2022.  The actions from the meeting held on the 8th December 2022 were noted as follows:

 

Action 1

Councillor Harvey to send a full breakdown of the public health housing budget (totalling £104,800) to Councillor Ainsley.

Councillor Waller confirmed that the action had been completed and  requested that an update be given at the next meeting on the 9th February 2023.

 

Action 2

The Clerk to arrange for an update on the Visions Children’s Centre to be presented at a future meeting of the scrutiny committee as per Councillor Begy’s request.

The Clerk reported that she had contacted Councillor Begy for clarification as to which areas of the children’s centre he would like the committee to scrutinise but had not received a response. Councillor Begy confirmed that he would contact the Clerk after the meeting.

 

Action 3

Performance data regarding the smoking cessation service to be sent to members.

Councillor Waller confirmed that the action had been completed and  requested that an update be given at the next meeting on the 9th February 2023.

 

Action 4

A full financial breakdown of the funding, expenditure, income, net contribution and outcomes regarding the Active Rutland Hub to be sent to members.

Councillor Payne confirmed that the action had been completed.

 

Action 5

The Monitoring Officer and the Clerk to seek approval from the Chief Executive for the proposal that the scrutiny committee meeting on the 26th January 2023 should begin at the earlier time of 6pm.

Councillor Waller informed attendees that, as Chair, she had declined the request for the meeting to start at 6 p.m. as there were members of the committee who worked full-time so would have been unable to attend a meeting at that time.

4.

DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST

In accordance with the Regulations, Members are invited to declare any personal or prejudicial interests they may have and the nature of those interests in respect of items on this Agenda and/or indicate if Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 applies to them.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

5.

PETITIONS, DEPUTATIONS AND QUESTIONS

To receive any petitions, deputations and questions received from Members of the Public in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rules 25 and 159.

 

The total time allowed for this item shall be 30 minutes.  Petitions, declarations and questions shall be dealt with in the order in which they are received.  Questions may also be submitted at short notice by giving a written copy to the Committee Administrator 15 minutes before the start of the meeting.

 

The total time allowed for questions at short notice is 15 minutes out of the total time of 30 minutes.  Any petitions, deputations and questions that have been submitted with prior formal notice will take precedence over questions submitted at short notice.  Any questions that are not considered within the time limit shall receive a written response after the meeting and be the subject of a report to the next meeting.

Minutes:

There were no petitions, deputations or questions.

6.

QUESTIONS WITH NOTICE FROM MEMBERS

To consider any questions with notice from Members received in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule No 161 and 162.

Minutes:

There were no questions with notice member members.

7.

NOTICES OF MOTION FROM MEMBERS

To consider any Notices of Motion from Members submitted in accordance with the provisions of Procedure Rule No 163.

Minutes:

There were no notices of motion from members.

8.

CONSIDERATION OF ANY MATTER REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE IN RELATION TO THE CALL-IN OF A DECISION

To consider any matter referred to the Committee for a decision in relation to call in of a decision in accordance with Procedure Rule 149.

Minutes:

There were no call-ins.

9.

TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY AND CAPITAL INVESTMENT STRATEGY pdf icon PDF 127 KB

To receive Report No.21/2023 from Councillor Karen Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation.

 

The draft Treasury Management and Capital Investment Strategies were considered by Cabinet on 12 January and recommended for approval by Council on 27 February. The Committee is invited to provide comments and views on the strategies prior to their consideration by Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No.21/2023 was received from Councillor Karen Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation. 

 

The draft Treasury Management and Capital Investment Strategies were considered by Cabinet on 12 January 2023 and were recommended for approval by Council on 27 February 2023. The Committee was invited to provide comments and views on the strategies prior to their consideration by Council. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       Councillor Begy requested clarification regarding the statement detailed on page 25 of the agenda pack (item 2.3.1 e) which stated that the Council ‘continues to include a priority around ethical investments.’  The Strategic Director of Resources explained that if an organisation was being considered for investment by the Council and it had the appropriate credit ratings but there were concerns regarding the organisation’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors, then an investment might not occur.  He informed attendees that a full explanation of the ESG factors was detailed on page 47 of the agenda pack (item 4.4.5) and that the Council endeavoured not to invest with any organisation that was unethical.

·       There were no further questions from the Scrutiny Committee and there were no questions from the non-committee members.

·       There were no recommendations from the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

·       There were no other comments.

10.

DRAFT REVENUE AND CAPITAL BUDGET 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 777 KB

To receive Report No.22/2023 from Councillor Karen Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation.

 

The draft Revenue and Capital Budget for 2023/24 was approved by Cabinet for a three-week public consultation on Thursday, 12 January. The Committee is invited to provide comments and views regarding the draft budget before the final budget is considered by Cabinet on 14 February and recommended for approval by Council on 27 February. 

Minutes:

Report No.22/2023 was received from Councillor Karen Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation.

 

The draft Revenue and Capital Budget for 2023/24 had been approved by Cabinet for a three-week public consultation on Thursday, 12 January 2023. The Committee was invited to provide comments and views regarding the draft budget before the final budget was considered by Cabinet on 14 February 2023 and recommended for approval by Council on 27 February 2023.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       It was noted that Rutland County Council was in a better financial situation than some other local authorities due to its strong financial management but difficult decisions would have to be made to ensure that the Council remained financially viable. 

·       An extra £6.1 million would be needed by the Council in 2023/2024 to deliver the same services it had delivered in 2022/2023.

·       An example of the cost rises that the Council now faced included the cost of an adult care bed which had risen from £535 per week to £800 - £900 per week.

·       Government funding would not cover the extra costs the Council now faced and local authorities were expected to raise the Council Tax, making savings and use financial reserves.

·       Savings of £1.8 million had already been implemented and further savings of £4 million had been identified over the four year period.

·       It was noted that, if the Council Tax rate was not raised, Rutland County Council would lose £1.5 million in the year 2023/24 and every year thereafter which would threaten the Council’s financial independence.

·       Members were informed that the Council’s £20k Local Council Tax Support scheme would continue to support those Rutland residents who demonstrated financial hardship and that there would be an extra £33k available for additional Council Tax support payments for those in greatest need.

·       It was noted that the reduction of PAN (Published Admission Number) at Casterton College Rutland would not result in a cost pressure.

·       The Portfolio Holder Portfolio Holder for Communities, Environment and Climate Change informed the Committee that he was very confident with the numbers stated in the budget relating to the Catmose Leisure Centre.

·       The monies regarding the Homes for Ukraine scheme had been incorporated into the budget for 2023/24.  It was not known if the scheme would continue after this date but it was confirmed that these Rutland residents had been incorporated into the future budgetary figures.

·       The Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Planning, Highways and Transport confirmed that she would send Councillor Begy the details regarding the post removed within the Development Control team.

ACTION: Councillor Powell

·       It was confirmed that the recruitment to the post of Climate Change Officer had been postponed but that climate change remained a priority for the Council.

·       Members were informed that the waste procurement process was still underway and discussions were ongoing with different bidders.

·       The budget for the People Directorate would be uplifted to include the increased demand pressures.  This would enable the reduction in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 10.

11.

FEES AND CHARGES 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 145 KB

To receive Report No.23/2023 from Councillor Karen Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation.

 

The Fees and Charges for 2023/24 are due to be considered by Cabinet at their meeting on 14 February, for recommending to Council for approval. The Committee is invited to provide comments and views on the report prior to its consideration by Cabinet.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Report No.23/2023 was received from Councillor Karen Payne, Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance and Performance, Change and Transformation.

 

The Fees and Charges for 2023/24 would be considered by Cabinet at their meeting on 14 February 2023, for recommending to Council for approval. The Committee was invited to provide comments and views on the report prior to its consideration by Cabinet. During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       It was noted that the Council was asked to act with speed and efficiency when processing fees and charges. 

·       There were no other comments.

12.

REVIEW OF THE FORWARD PLAN AND ANNUAL WORK PLAN pdf icon PDF 108 KB

To consider the current Forward Plan and identify any relevant items for inclusion in the Strategic Overview and Scrutiny Committee Annual Work Plan or to request further information.

The Forward Plan is available on the website at:

https://rutlandcounty.moderngov.co.uk/mgListPlans.aspx?RPId=133&RD=0

 

Minutes:

The Forward Plan was reviewed and the annual work plan was updated accordingly.  During the discussion, the following points were noted:

 

·       Councillor Harvey to include an update on the public health housing budget and the smoking cessation service in her briefing to the committee on the 9th February 2023.

·       Councillor Wilby to update the committee regarding the Visions Children’s Centre at the meeting on the 9th March 2023.

13.

ANY URGENT BUSINESS

To receive any items of urgent business, which have been previously notified to the person presiding.

 

Minutes:

There was no urgent business.

14.

DATE OF NEXT MEETING

Thursday, 9th February 2023 at 7 pm in the Council Chamber, Catmose, Oakham, Rutland LE15 6HP

Minutes:

9th February 2023 at 7.00 p.m.