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DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Minutes: None received. |
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TO RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF PETITIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COUNCIL'S PETITION SCHEME Minutes: None received. |
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QUESTIONS BY THE PUBLIC To consider questions from and provide answer to members of the public on any matter in relation to which the Committee has powers or duties and of which due notice has been given in accordance with the Committee and Sub-Committee Procedure Rules.
Minutes: None received. |
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QUESTIONS BY COUNCILLORS To consider questions from and provide answer to Councillors on any matter in relation to which the Committee has powers or duties and of which due notice has been given in accordance with the Committee and Sub-Committee Procedure Rules.
Minutes: None received. |
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BOS/21/01 DRAFT GENERAL FUND (GF) 2022/23 AND FOUR-YEAR OUTLOOK PDF 1 MB Minutes: 22.1 Councillor Simon Barrett introduced the report to the committee outlining that the budget had been based on no increase in council tax, however an increase would take place if Cabinet decided it was necessary. In addition to this the emergency reserves held by Babergh would be reduced to 1million as it had not been used over the Covid-19 pandemic so the excess 200,000 would be used in the community. He also stated that the budget had shown a surplus of £403,000.
22.2 Councillor Melanie Barrett questioned whether the cost for leisure move to green tariff had been cost neutral. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that the council had made the utility payments and Abbeycroft had been reimbursing these costs. The management fee was a separate cost.
22.3 Councillor Jane Gould questioned whether the cost of CCTV had been a permanent contribution. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that it was a permanent and ongoing contribution that covered running costs.
22.4 Councillor Melanie Barrett questioned whether future vehicle costs had been included in the budget. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that the running costs of vehicles had been built into the budget as it was an in-house service.
22.5 Councillor Adrian Osborne questioned whether the possibility that central government could remove garden waste charges has been taken into consideration. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that this had been proposed for the next financial year so would be looked at for in the 23/24 budget.
22.6 Councillor McLaren questioned whether money for a new fleet of refuse vehicles had been factored in. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that the council had money set aside for replacing most of the fleet and had monitored what vehicles would be needed in the future. Councillor Simon Barrett added that the replacement of vehicles had been set on a cycle as shown in appendix b of the report.
22.7 Councillor Melanie Barrett questioned where the income for the Strategic Policy, Performance and Insight had come from. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that some of the income had come from Law and Governance, and this had been supplemented by resources from other areas which had been paid for by reserves.
22.8 Councillor Jane Gould questioned the reason for the reduction of ICT costs in the future. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that costs had been higher to allow for the replacement of software that would increase the cost for the 22/23 budget.
22.9 Councillor Melanie Barrett questioned whether the budget covered legal costs for planning enforcement and appeals. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that these costs had been built into the budget and had been based on previous years.
22.10 Councillor Melanie Barrett questioned the increase of £41k for the senior leadership team costs and whether this had been based on the previous pay review. The Assistant Director - Corporate Resources responded that it was an allowance for the team for ... view the full minutes text for item 22.
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BOS/21/02 DRAFT HOUSING REVENUE ACCOUNT (HRA) AND FOUR - YEAR OUTLOOK PDF 372 KB Minutes: 23.1 Councillor Simon Barrett introduced the report to the committee outlining that HRA account had been in a deficit due to additional spending in building services. This had been due to an increased cost of resources and labour resource had been competitive which lead to an increased use of subcontractors. It had also recommended that there be a rent increase of CPI+1.
23.2 Councillor Melanie Barrett questioned the cause of the overspend in building services. The Assistant Director – Housing responded that the overspend had occurred for a variety of reasons such as the increased cost of materials over the past year. In addition to this there had been additional training for staff in order to decrease the reliance on outside contractors. There had also been costs to replace vehicles and to change the fleet to HVO.
23.3 Councillor Adrian Osborne queried whether anti-social behaviour had any impact on the cost of any additional work. The Assistant Director – Housing responded that as it had been dealt with internally by the housing team.
23.4 Councillor Adrian Osborne queried other income in terms of recovering legal cost. The Assistant Director – Housing responded that if there had been damage to a property the council may take legal action to get reimbursed for this damage however the council would use insurance provision to fund this.
23.5 Councillor Adrian Osborne queried what renewable heat had been installed in line with the renewable heat incentive. The Assistant Director – Housing responded that the incentive had been installing air source heat pumps and had been seeking grants to install these where possible.
23.6 Councillor Adrian Osborne questioned the social housing resources that the council to lessen the costs of using hotels. The Assistant Director – Housing responded that there had been areas of the housing stock that were able to be used as temporary accommodation, and the council also had units for domestic abuse and are able to lease properties to the county council in order to help care leavers in order to lessen use of hotels as temporary accommodation.
23.7 Councillor Jane Gould questioned whether there were sufficient funds to insulate and retrofit existing properties. The Assistant Director – Housing responded that the council and the energy saving trust had a stock profile of all properties that had enabled the council to prioritize where work is needed. Councillor Jan Osborne added that the Council’s design guide would go to Cabinet in spring to set out the aspirations in terms of retrofitting existing properties.
23.8 Councillor Mary McLaren questioned how realistic a central system that kept record of money owed by individual residents. The Assistant Director – Corporate Resources responded that this was an ongoing major project however, there had been issues in terms of software. The Assistant Director – Housing added that tenancy officers work with the shared revenue partnership in order see all of what is owed by an individual. Councillor Jan Osborne added that the rent source system had also been in ... view the full minutes text for item 23.
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FORTHCOMING DECISIONS LIST To review the Council’s Forthcoming Decisions List and identify any items to be brought before the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.
Please note the most up to date version can be found via the Website:
Minutes: The Forthcoming Decisions List was noted. |
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BOS/21/03 BABERGH OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY WORK PLAN PDF 130 KB To agree the Work Plan.
Minutes: It was RESOLVED: -
That the Babergh Overview and Scrutiny Work Plan was noted. |