QUESTIONS BY COUNCILLORS IN ACCORDANCE WITH COUNCIL PROCEDURE RULES
The Chairman of the Council, the Chairmen of Committees and Sub-Committees and Portfolio Holders to answer any questions on any matters in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affect the District of which due notice has been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 12.
Minutes:
Councillor Cresswell to Councillor Jenkins, Leader of the Council
As part of the ongoing discussions about the creation of a single council, will the Councils be required to make a full disclosure of their financial positions to one another including any planned spending or borrowing which is not currently in the public domain, such as confidential land acquisitions?
Answer Yes, absolutely.
Supplementary Question
Does that apply to every Councillor?
Answer Yes, absolutely.
Councillor Hinton to Councillor Jenkins, Leader of the Council
When in 2011 Babergh and Mid Suffolk Councils agreed to join together their work forces to optimise potential savings from reduced staff numbers and costs there was an expectation of considerable savings for both councils, they would remain separate Constitutional bodies, and these savings would be divided between the councils, helping to support overall finances in the light of reducing Government grants and potential cost pressures.
Question - Part one.
What were the TOTAL costs of staff for Babergh (Full time, part time, contract employees, consultants, everyone) at the start of the process and what was the equivalent cost at Mid Suffolk?
(This TOTAL to include expenditure from all potential “pots” of money which seem to appear at regular intervals.)
Answer
The total cost for Babergh in 2011/12 was £8,514k made up of £8,440k people on the payroll and £74k off-payroll costs. The equivalent cost for Mid Suffolk was £9,071k, comprising £8,969k on payroll and £102k off-payroll costs.
Question - Part two.
What are the TOTAL staff costs now for both sections of the councils (we are still separate corporate bodies) and what proportion is allocated to Babergh as its TOTAL wages bill? (Again this figure should be a TOTAL figure of ALL staff costs including contract workers, consultants, interims, pregnancy stand ins, and all other nebulous categories utilised in recent years figures.)
These initial questions are asked to identify the ability of the Councils to actually achieve savings from proposed projects as no assessment of their validity has been conducted.
Answer
The total cost for Babergh in 2016/17 was £9,754k made up of £8,525k people on the payroll and £1,229k off-payroll costs. The equivalent cost for Mid Suffolk was £11,158k comprising £9,965k on payroll and £1,193k off-payroll costs.
There are several reasons why the payroll costs have changed over this period of time. I have received a summary analysis from our Section 151 Officer, which I will send to you after the meeting. The Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting on 18th December will be receiving an update on the latest position in relation to off-payroll costs.
Additional point in relation to statement above
I would also like to remind you that the Joint Scrutiny Committee kept the integration costs and savings position under review, with reports being received by them in January and October 2013, so your statement is untrue that the project was not assessed and integration did in fact deliver over £2m per annum of savings between the two councils.