Issue - meetings

To consider the recommendations of the attached report of the Interim Head of Financial Planning, regarding the re-profiling of the Council’s Capital Programme.

The Corporate Director, Neighbourhood and Planning, introduced the item and outlined the scope of the report and general aims of the proposals contained therein.

The Committee then received a presentation from the Interim Head of Financial Planning, setting out the contents of the report and making recommendations as per the report.

Key points raised were as follows:

·        Capital programme has historically seen an underspend

·        Deferrals of capital schemes could save £700,000 in revenue costs

·        Proposed DDA Works, Highways Depot & office strategy and Libraries, Heritage & Arts schemes to be transferred to Workplace Transformation

·        Reports on Highways and Education to follow, with a view to enabling further savings by re-profiling

·        Deferral of Workplace Transformation, ICT Systems and Disabled Facilities Grant schemes, worth around £16m

·        Proposed to fix the capital programme, if approved, with no new capital schemes outside the exceptions provided for in the report

·        If approved, strategy would enable greater flexibility and opportunity to enable savings periodically in the capital programme

The Committee received a question from, Cllr Tony Trotman, Chair of the Section 106 Scrutiny Task Group, in relation to the prospect of including the costs of current Leisure and Waste transformation schemes within the capital programme. It was confirmed that this would be the case as soon as the schemes were approved by Cabinet and costs agreed through the budget-setting process.

The Committee received a question from, Cllr Jeff Osborn, Chair of the Organisation and Resources Select Committee, in relation to the transparency of the Workplace Transformation Programme as an umbrella heading for several projects. It was explained that this is inherent of the programme-based approach to achieving value for money, by focusing on outcomes rather than inputs and enabling flexibility and negotiation in the tendering process. As such, the remit of the Workplace Transformation Programme is likely to develop further in the coming weeks and, as this is refreshed, the overall outcomes required from the programme will be restated, as will its broad funding streams.

Following discussion regarding the points raised and recommendations made in the officer’s report, it was,

Resolved:

To approve the recommendations of the Interim Head of Financial Planning, as follows:

For the review proposals [as set out in the report] to be accepted and the capital programme amended as follows:

i.                    Re-profiling of the schemes reviewed, as outlined in the report.

ii.                  Virements of schemes to WTP, as outlined in the report.

iii.                Virements and reduction of budget for ICT schemes, as outlined in the report.

For the capital programme 2011/12 to 2012/13, after the review, to remain unchanged and for no further new bids to be accepted to the capital programme except for the following:

i.                    New proposals brought forward for leisure and waste and approved as part of the council’s budget setting process.

ii.                  Further reports on Highways and Education to be brought to the Committee to outline future spending proposals with a view to amending the approved programme.

iii.                Any new schemes which clearly demonstrate revenue savings and have been  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6