To consider and decide on the recommendations set out in the attached report.
Minutes:
Councillor Dawlings (Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance) introduced the report.
Discussion included the following comments:
· Overall assessment that the Authority was very well run, with congratulations given to Lee Colyer (Director of Finance, Policy and Development) and his team.
· The Council had received an unqualified Audit Letter for the tenth year running – an unprecedented achievement.
· The Budget preparation was underway. It was considered at the Finance and Governance Cabinet Advisory Board held on 12 November 2019.
· Government had not provided much guidance, the spending round had not been held this year.
· Council Tax was expected to increase by 2% (or £5 deminimis). Representations had been made to increase the deminimis to £12 which the Council deemed reasonable, especially as Police Authorities had raised theirs to £24.
· There would be no continuation of the 100% Kent Business Rates Pilot which the Council benefited from last year, but it remained part of the 75% Business Rates Pool.
· Other significant budgetary issues included:
o The end of the Calverley Square Reserve;
o The income from the garden waste charge was significantly higher than expected due to the higher take up rate; and
o The likely withdrawal by Government of the New Homes Bonus.
· Following the decision not to proceed with the Calverley Square project, two issues needed to be addressed:
o Identification of essential maintenance work on Council properties, especially those that had been expected to be vacated; and
o The impact on Council staff, partly due to Calverley Square and partly due to the difficulties in filling staff vacancies.
· The organisation of four elections had put particular pressure on staff – local elections at the beginning of May followed by European elections, the by-election in Culverden and finally the General Election.
· As a result of the problems incurred with waste collections since the start of the new service, consideration was being given to some form of compensation to residents with the likelihood that this would be in the form of an extension of time (i.e. additional month(s)).
· Councillor Barrington-King had been speaking to Urbaser regarding issues in Pembury, the new waste contractor and would be issuing a statement on 19 November 2019. There was evidence to suggest that the problems in Tunbridge Wells were similar to those experienced by North Hertfordshire when they introduced their new service using the same contractor.
· The new waste contract was in its early stages. But to assist a more informed debate, it was suggested that a report be put together by officers on the implementation of the new service, to include what went wrong, and with supporting evidence from the contractor. This would then be put through the normal governance processes, through the relevant Advisory Board and Cabinet. This would allow Scrutiny the opportunity to consider the report.
· In taking the report forward, there was a request that Urbaser be asked to contribute to the additional cost incurred by customer services due to the problems that had so far been encountered. The Council were currently bearing the entire cost, creating an additional burden on staff (including the level of resources not being sufficient to manage the change).
· Government increased the interest rate for the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) by 1 per cent. This was an unexpected increase that was due to the large amount of funding going out. The timing was unfortunate in relation to the Calverley Square project, but this was not the only source of borrowing for the scheme. The Council would not have borrowed money it couldn’t afford.
· Local authorities were encouraged to share in the proceeds of growth of Business Rates for new businesses where a percentage of Business Rates could be retained by the Council. Discussions had taken place regarding a review of the structure of Business Rates by Central Government.
· There was agreement that there should be more focus on governance, risk management, engagement and improved project management, particularly on large projects and that it should be continuous throughout the entirety of the scheme.
RESOLVED –
1. That the update be noted; and
2. That a report on the implementation of the new waste contract be requested to inform a debate.
Supporting documents: