Venue: Council Chamber - County Hall. View directions
Contact: Wyn Richards, Scrutiny Manager and Head of Democratic Services Email: wyn.richards@powys.gov.uk
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Apologies To receive apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Committee Members County Councillors E M Jones, J Pugh, J. Wilkinson and L. Skilton.
Apologies were also received from Cabinet Members County Councillors P Davies, R Powell and R Harris who were on other Council business.
Apologies for absence were received from N. Brinn (Corporate Director – Economy and Environment) and E Palmer (Head of Transformation and Communications) |
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Declaration of Party Whips To receive disclosures of prohibited party whips which a Member has been given in relation to the meeting in accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure 2011.
(NB: Members are reminded that under Section 78 Members having been given a prohibited party whip cannot vote on a matter before the Committee.) Minutes: There were no disclosures of prohibited party whips in accordance with Section 78(3) of the Local Government Measure 2011. |
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Disclosures of Interest Any disclose of interests by Members relating to items to be considered at the meeting. Minutes: There were no disclosures of interest by Members in relation to items to be considered at the meeting. |
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Draft 2020-21 Budget To scrutinise the Draft 2020-21 Budget.
Attached, in relation to the Cabinet’s Budget proposals to Council are the following documents:
(i) A copy of the Cabinet report to provide the overall context for the budget setting process (Appendix 1) (ii) A copy of the Service's cost reduction proposals which are relevant to the scrutiny committee (Appendix 2) (iii) Individual Impact Assessments relating to the proposals under (ii) above (iv) A copy of the Fees and Charges Report which provides an overview to Service proposals for income generation. (Appendices 3A and 3B) (v) A copy of the Capital Programme for the next 10 years. (Appendices 4A and 4B) (vi) A copy of the Budget Simulator Public Consultation Exercise (Appendix 5)
Minutes: The Committee considered the following documents in relation to the Cabinet's Budget proposals to the Council for 2020-21:
· Cabinet report - Budget 2020-21 · Service Cost reductions proposals · Individual Impact Assessment · Fees and Charges Report · Capital Programme · Budget Simulator Public Consultation Exercise
The Head of Finance provided an overview of the budget proposal for 2020-21. All services had been asked to provide details of pay and inflation changes and changes to grants and service provision in preparing the revenue budget. Savings not made in 2019-20 were also identified. Services has identified inescapable budget pressures of around £18m. Whilst an improved budget settlement from Welsh Government had assisted the Council, the budget included £10.7m of cost reductions. The budget as proposed was supported by fees and charges and a proposed 5% Council Tax increase. The capital budget was supporting the delivery of Vision 2025 and the level of reserves was being maintained at the current level and not used to support the budget proposals.
The Committee discussed the budget proposals with each Head of Service.
Finance – Jane Thomas.
The Finance Service assists the Council in achieving its strategic objectives, meeting compliance, promoting good financial management, economy and efficiency. It also assists the way the Council works and in transformation, growing revenues, assisting residents with Council Tax reductions. In terms of cost reductions the Service was realigning its processes with smaller and leaner teams. It was also working to move the Council from a CIPFA 2 star organisation to becoming a 5 star organisation. There was some risk to the proposal but it was low risk. The proposal included some reduction in staff, generating areas of income, and making processes more efficient across the organisation.
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Additional documents:
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