| Time: | 7.30pm | Place: | Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Gernon Road, Letchworth Garden City |
| PRESENT: | Councillor M.E. Weeks (Chairman), Councillor John Bishop, Councillor Nicola Harris (substitute), Councillor Simon Harwood, Councillor Lorna Kercher, Councillor Jim McNally and Councillor Deepak Sangha. |
| IN ATTENDANCE: | Norma Atlay - Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance Andy Cavanagh - Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management Howard Crompton - Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT Vic Godfrey - Information Communication Technology Manager Jeanette Thompson - Acting Senior Lawyer Dean Fury - Corporate Support Accountant Jodie Penfold - Group Accountant Ian Gourlay - Committee and Member Services Manager Helen Maneuf - Head of Assurance (Shared Internal Audit Services) Nick Jennings - Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager (Shared Internal Audit Services) Iain Murray - Engagement Lead (Grant Thornton) Richard Lawson - Engagement Manager (Grant Thornton) |
| ALSO PRESENT: | Councillor Julian Cunningham; at commencement of meeting 1 member of the public. |
| Meeting attachments |
Agenda Front Pages Audio Recording of Meeting |
| Item | Description/Resolution | Status | Action | |
| PART I | ||||
| 19 |
APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE An apology for absence had been received from Councillor John Booth (Vice-Chairman). Councillor Nicola Harris was substituting for Councillor Booth. |
Noted | ||
| 20 |
MINUTES Minutes RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the Meeting of the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee held on 15 June 2015 be confirmed as a true record of the proceedings and be signed by the Chairman. |
Agreed | ||
| 21 |
NOTIFICATION OF OTHER BUSINESS There was no other item of business tabled. |
Noted | ||
| 22 |
CHAIRMAN'S ANNOUNCEMENTS (1) The Chairman announced that Members of the public and the press may use their devices to film/photograph, or do a sound recording of the meeting, but he asked them to not use flash and to disable any beeps or other sound notifications that emitted from their devices. In addition, the Chairman had arranged for the sound at this particular meeting to be recorded; (2) The Chairman thanked the Performance and Risk Manager, the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance, the SIAS Audit Manager and the trainer from CIPFA (Elizabeth Humphries) for all their help and support in running the very successful Audit Committee training sessions held in early September 2015; and (3) The Chairman advised that, in line with the Code of Conduct, any Declarations of Interest should be declared immediately prior to the item in question. |
Noted | ||
| 23 |
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION There was no public participation. |
Noted | ||
| 24 |
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (IT) STRATEGY 2015-2020 Header Page IT Strategy 2015-2020 Appendix 1 - IT Structure Appendix 2 - IT Customer Survey - July 2015 Appendix 3 - IT Risks The Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT presented the Information Technology (IT) Strategy 2015-2020. The Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT advised that recent achievements included an increasing reliance on IT to deliver savings. A recent emphasis had also been on settling in the new IT staff structure, improving the Help Desk service and prioritising workloads. Significant examples included in-house disaster recovery; implementation of Spiceworks (Help Desk); Application Development - Cemeteries, Asset database, Staff Information Directory and Room Bookings; Upgrade to Windows 7 and Exchange 2010; and E-mail encryption. The Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT stated that, at present, the new staffing structure was established; there had been significant improvements in the Help Desk Service (according to feedback); PSN accreditation was taking place; significant corporate projects, such as Hitchin Town Hall, Office Accommodation, and others, were being progressed; the implementation of a server refresh programme; and the use of Good Technology (89 users, including 23 Members). In terms of the future, the Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT explained that the IT Team was working closely with Service Departments; was developing more applications to meet service needs and promote mobile working; was moving towards channel shift and self-help, developing on-line solutions; was in the process of overhauling Information Management; and was promoting the adoption of the IT Strategy. The Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT advised that the estimated capital spend for 2015-2020 was included in the IT Strategy document. Revenue spend was more unpredictable, but he emphasised that projects should be fully costed for both capital and revenue, with appropriate provision being made. A shrinking workforce required a greater number of technical solutions. The current annual spend on Support and Maintenance was £457,000, recharged to service areas as part of year end closure. The Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT commented that an overspend of £122,000 had been offset by the use of £70,000 from the IT Reserve. The IT Reserve was virtually exhausted and would cease to exist in the near future. The overspend had occurred chiefly due to the fact that proper provision had not been made by the Service areas for revenue costs and termination periods. This process needed tightening up, and no future projects would be signed off until the revenue budget had been transferred to the IT Support and Maintenance account. The Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT concluded by referring to the IT Strategy, which had been circulated with the agenda papers. The Strategy covered the period 2015-2020, and included the projected capital spend on refreshing equipment and the "sweating" of current assets. The Committee commended the proposed Strategy and congratulated the Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT and his Team on the production of an excellent document. In response to Members' questions, the Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT, assisted by the Information Communication Technology Manager, commented as follows: - In terms of Government Procurement Frameworks, the Council currently used the PSA09 Agreement, but was moving towards the use of PSA15, once approved by the Cabinet Office; - Investigations were ongoing about the increased use of "cloud" technology, although certain sensitive information would need to continue to be held on a secure network; - Although the Strategy encouraged the use of personal devices, it was confirmed that no information or data would physically be downloaded onto or held by these devices; - Work was ongoing on Information Management, including steps to reduce the amount of duplication of information held by different Service Departments; - It was clarified that "channel shift" was a project attempting to encourage members of the public to contact the Council electronically (via the use of e-forms etc.); - The overall reduction in devices was in support of encouraging staff to work at home - of 330 staff, approximately 75% currently had home working capabilities; - The server refresh programme included plans to potentially migrate away from Citrix and introduce a more suitable and modern replacement; - The IT Team was currently about 25% of the way through testing applications for their compatibility with Windows 10. The whole process was time consuming, as each of the Council's 300+ core applications had to be tested before a new operating system could be rolled out; and - The network down time was infrequent, and the network was operating at about 98.25% efficiency. RESOLVED: That the presentation by the Head of Revenue, Benefits and IT on the Information Technology Strategy 2015-2020 be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To keep the Committee informed of current and future developments in the Council's Information Technology Team. |
Noted | ||
| 25 |
PROGRESS REPORT ON THE HERTFORDSHIRE SHARED ANTI-FRAUD SERVICE Report The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager (SAFS) presented a progress report on the new Hertfordshire Shared Anti-Fraud Service. The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager began by thanking the NHDC Head of Revenues, Benefits and IT for his assistance and support during and after the transition to the new shared service. The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager advised that North Hertfordshire District Council was one of the major sponsors for the Shared Anti-Fraud Service (SAFS) Project which was established to look at the risks and investigate fraud once the Housing Benefit Fraud function was removed from Local Authorities to the Single Fraud Investigation Service (SFIS) under the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP). The SAFS Business Plan recommended that a Shared Anti-Fraud Team across Hertfordshire Councils would deliver a resilient anti-fraud function for all partners. The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager stated that, in April 2015, North Hertfordshire Council, along with Hertsmere Council, East Herts Council, Stevenage Borough Council, Broxbourne Council and Hertfordshire County Council, signed an agreement to pilot a Shared Anti-Fraud Service based at the County Council's offices in Stevenage, working as part of Hertfordshire County Council's (HCC) Assurance Service. The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager explained that the SAFS team was composed of nine Full Time Equivalent staff, and would also receive support from the HCC Head of Assurance (SIAS Partnership lead), a Business Support Manager and a Data Analyst. It was the intention that each SAFS Partner received the dedicated support and response from the Team in a transparent way. At present, the most effective way to do this was by allocating one SAFS Team Officer to each Partner. The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager commented that one of the key elements of a successful service was for SAFS to ensure that fraud could be reported by both staff and the public. All SAFS members had been asked to update their fraud reporting procedures, both internally and externally. Work had progressed very well with North Hertfordshire District Council to develop reporting lines and relationships with services including Benefits, Revenues and Housing Needs. The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager advised that, at the SAFS Project Team meeting on 1 April 2015 it was agreed that a shared Anti-Fraud Strategy would be developed for all partners to review and adopt. This Strategy would indicate the high level of intention of the SAFS Partners and would lay the foundation for further policies to be designed and adopted across the County. A draft Strategy for this purpose had been presented to the SAFS Board on 18 June 2015 and was awaiting approval from all partners. The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager stated that, to raise the profile of SAFS, a media campaign was presented to the SAFS Board on 18 June 2015 for review and comment, and was now being consulted on with respective executive Members. If agreed, this campaign would be rolled out from October 2015 across the whole county. The Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager concluded by advising that, in line with the partnership agreement, reports to the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee would be presented on a twice-yearly basis; firstly with a report on the previous year's activity, and secondly with a Service Plan for the following year. He also outlined the performance data that would be included in each report. In response to Members' questions, the Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager advised that good working relationships and information sharing had been established with the Police, the UK Border Agency and the Home Office, but that so far the DWP had been resistant to the sharing of information. He hoped that a pilot scheme to be set up in North Hertfordshire, in conjunction with the DWP, would assist in removing this resistance. In respect of the performance data to be included in each report, the Shared Anti-Fraud Service Manager agreed to ensure that the figures for the "Number of Reported Frauds" and "Fraud Types" would include those for the Partnership as a whole, as well as those for North Hertfordshire. RESOLVED: That the progress made in delivering the new Shared Anti-Fraud Service, and the contribution made by NHDC Officers to support this, be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure that the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee is kept informed of progress on the new Shared Anti-Fraud Service. |
Noted | ||
| 26 |
MANAGING ORGANISATIONAL CONFLICTS IN COUNCIL ROLES AND DUTIES - DRAFT GUIDANCE Report Appendix A - Proposed Guidance: Managing Organisational Conflicts The Acting Senior Lawyer presented a report in respect of managing organisational conflicts in Council roles and duties. The Acting Senior Lawyer advised that the National Audit Office (NAO) had produced a report on "Conflicts of interest" in the public sector in January 2015. It set out what a conflict was, what risks were attached to conflicts, and how and when they occurred in public life. The report covered the wider issues of direct, indirect, financial, non-financial, personal - as well as organisational conflicts. It nevertheless identified over-arching good practice recommendations - which, in the NAO's terminology, should be in place for prevention, detection and response. It was noted that, as a minimum, the NAO recommendation was that there should be a "system to identify and manage conflicts of interest rather than to eliminate them.. Rules should be clear and robust but not overly prescriptive or complex". As there was currently no formal approach as to how the Council managed the issue of organisational conflict, some (hopefully) straightforward Guidance had been provided to address the NAO's recommendations. The Acting Senior Lawyer stated that over the last few years a conflict situation had been identified in certain large scale projects - such as Churchgate and the District Wide Museum and this had been specifically managed with separation of officer / Member roles. The Council did not, however, currently have formal general guidance. The aim of the Guidance set out in Appendix A to the report was therefore to assist in identifying conflicts in the Council's organisational roles and duties, offered tools to manage them when they arose - as well as instigating methods to monitor the issue. It set out a simple approach to identify, discuss, deal with and document the process. The emphasis was an initial manager controlled / Member identification stage. The Monitoring Officer / Risk Manager may be involved if required. Issues could then be discussed and proportionate management tools used if a conflict had arisen. The aim was not to be prescriptive, as this was Guidance and, if there was an issue, it did not advocate using all the management tools in Section 4 to deal with this situation. The Acting Senior Lawyer explained that, in presenting the Guidance in this way, there was recognition of the changes in local government and how this had/ would impact on working practice. The trend had been (and continued to be) increasing rationalisation of the workforce - with flatter organisational structures, shared services and different models/ vehicles for delivering Council services and increasing commercialisation. This could and had led to Officers and Members dealing with multiple, sometimes conflicting, roles where responsibility and accountability were not always clear-cut. The variety of arrangements in local government meant there was no current "one size fits all" model Guidance or Code to follow for such organisational conflict situations. The Guidance appended to the report was therefore not based on any particular model - but on an amalgamation of good practice approaches in both private and government practice, as adapted to NHDC. At this stage it was not clear if this was a wider issue and mechanisms would be introduced to consider this at the outset of a project and annually via the Assurance Statement provided by Heads of Service. In response to Members' questions, the Acting Senior Lawyer stressed that the Guidance was a management tool to be used as and when required. The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance confirmed that the Guidance was effectively a formalising of the custom and practice already operated by NHDC in situations where a clear demarcation had to be drawn between conflicting organisational roles. The Acting Senior Lawyer stated that the document was a starting point, but that in time it could develop into a Policy document, should Members consider that to be appropriate. She confirmed that it related to operational issues, as there were other Member and Employee codes which dealt with personal conflicts and behavioural issues. The Committee was broadly supportive of the document, but requested the Acting Senior Lawyer to include some additional wording to emphasise the fact that the various management tools in the document were not mandatory in all cases, but rather that only those considered appropriate should be used on a case by case basis. In addition, the Committee felt that "Crossing the divide" bullet point in Section 4 of the document should be expanded to clarify the meaning of that particular bullet point. RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: That, subject to inclusion of some additional wording to strengthen the document, the draft Guidance on Managing Conflicts in Council Roles and Duties, as attached at Appendix A to the report, be approved. REASON FOR DECISION: To promote and ensure good governance within the Council. |
Agreed | ||
| 27 |
AUDIT FINDINGS REPORT FOR NHDC 2014/15 Header Page Audit Findings Report for NHDC 2014/15 The Engagement Lead (Grant Thornton) presented the Audit Findings report for NHDC for 2014/15. The Engagement Lead (Grant Thornton) advised that he had issued an unqualified opinion on both the Council's Financial Statements and Value for Money measures. The Financial Statements were of a very high standard, and the audit procedures relating to welfare benefits testing and related parties testing had been completed. The Engagement Lead (Grant Thornton) stated that the audit findings against risks had raised no significant issues, and that the accounting policies had revealed no concerns. The two internal control issues identified in the report had been reviewed and signed off. The value for money indicators were all at green status. The fees for the audit appeared to be on target, and the only figure to be confirmed related to the final grant certification on behalf of the Audit Commission. In response to a question, the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance confirmed that, in accordance with the Council's recently approved Medium Term Financial Strategy, the level of general reserves (i.e. not earmarked) would not amount to more than 40% of the overall net Revenue Budget. The Committee thanked Grant Thornton for the favourable key messages set out on Page 5 of the report, and agreed that congratulations be conveyed to all staff at NHDC who had been involved in assisting in the compilation of the document. RESOLVED: (1) That the Audit findings report for NHDC 2014/15 be noted; and (2) That Grant Thornton be thanked for the favourable key messages set out on Page 5 of the report, and that congratulations be conveyed to all staff at NHDC who had been involved in assisting in the compilation of the document. REASON FOR DECISION: To confirm that the findings of the external auditor were reviewed and noted and that the recommendations were acted upon. |
Noted | ||
| 28 |
SHARED INTERNAL AUDIT SERVICES - ANNUAL REPORT 2014/15 Header Page SIAS Annual Report 2014/15 The Head of Assurance (SIAS) presented a report in respect of the Shared Internal Audit Services (SIAS) Annual Report 2014/15. The Head of Assurance (SIAS) drew attention to the results achieved; Quality Assurance and Improvement standards; developing the Team (including flexible working); harnessing the power of partnership working; and overall performance statistics. In noting the report, the Committee thanked the SIAS Head of Assurance and her Team for the diligent audit work carried out during 2014/15. RESOLVED: That the Shared Internal Audit Services (SIAS) Annual Report for 2014/15 be noted, and the SIAS Head of Assurance and her Team be thanked for the diligent audit work carried out during 2014/15. REASON FOR DECISION: To provide an opportunity to comment on the SIAS Annual Report for 2014/15. |
Noted | ||
| 29 |
SHARED INTERNAL AUDIT SERVICES - UPDATE ON PROGRESS AGAINST THE 2015/16 AUDIT PLAN Header Page Progress against 2015/16 Audit Plan The Head of Assurance (SIAS) presented a report providing an update of progress against the 2015-2016 Audit Plan. The Head of Assurance (SIAS) advised that the four final reports issued since 22 May 2015 had all received a substantial level of assurance. The High Priority recommendations regarding Data Protection and Freedom of Information set out in Appendix B to the report had been implemented and would now be removed from the list. In respect of a query regarding the two recommendations associated with the Section 106 Agreement audit, the Head of Assurance (SIAS) explained that the first related to ensuring that any developer contributions for Hertfordshire County Council (HCC) related activities should be promptly transferred to HCC. The second was to ensure that a satisfactory reconciliation of Section 106 monies should appear on the monitoring spreadsheet and the Council's Integra and Acolaid IT systems. RESOLVED: (1) That the Internal Audit Progress Report for the period to 28 August 2015 be noted; (2) That the amendments to the Audit Plan, as at 28 August 2015, be approved; and (3) That the implemented high level recommendations be removed from the Plan. REASON FOR DECISION: To allow the Committee to review, comment and challenge the current status of the Internal Audit Plan. |
Agreed | ||
| 30 |
RISK MANAGEMENT UPDATE Report Appendix A - Top Risks The Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management presented a report which provided an update on Risk Management. In respect of the increased homelessness and use of Bed and Breakfast, the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management advised that the number of households accepted by the Council as homeless and the number living in temporary accommodation had continued to rise in the first quarter of 2015/16. In addition, the number of households who had potential homelessness prevented had declined. The reasons for becoming homeless were not only associated to changes in the welfare and benefits system, but also in response to relationship breakdown (including with parents or guardians), domestic violence or unmanaged debt. The Housing Team had seen the resignation of four officers recently which had not helped mitigate this rising risk. Recruitment had commenced to fill the vacant posts. In the meantime, the "Housing Options Team Resilience" had become a sub-risk to this Top Risk. The Housing Team was exploring a number of options to increase the amount of alternative temporary accommodation to avoid the use of Bed and Breakfast, which incurred a significant and irrecoverable additional cost on the authority. In the meantime, the risk had been moved to become a Cabinet Top Risk and the likelihood of the risk had increased from a 2 to a 3. In relation to managing the Council's finances, the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management stated that, as well as a reduction in the revenue support grant, there was the potential for further Government funding reductions in the Autumn Statement, such as changes to the New Homes Bonus and the Business Rates Retention scheme. Furthermore, additional duties may once again be transferred for delivery by the Council without sufficient funding. The requirements for further savings, efficiencies and service transformation would therefore continue for several years. The current uncertainty had led to the likelihood of the risk being increased from a 2 to a 3. The risk rating would not be reduced until a balanced budget had been set for 2016/17.a With regard to the Waste and Street Cleansing Contract renewal, the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management explained that this risk had a number of sub-risks that recorded what the Council needed to consider, such as the complex and evolving statutory environment for waste and recycling and changes in the disposal infrastructure and opportunities for collaborative working. In respect of the Waste and Recycling Service for Flats, this sub-risk had a reduced likelihood assessment of a 1 (overall risk matrix score of a 3). Although the Department of Communities and Local Government funding would cease in 2018 for a weekly food waste collection from flats, this could be considered as part of the new contract or the Council could consider offering alternate weekly food waste collections. The income that the Council received from the sale of waste paper and commingled recycling had dropped over the past 12 months. This had been due to an apparent downturn in the demand for these products and contamination of some of the loads that had been sent for recycling. This new sub-risk reflected this and had a risk matrix score of an 8. In respect of the new contract relating to the collection of parking fees from the machines in the Council's car parks, the Head of Finance, Performance and Asset Management advised there were Performance Indicators in the new contract requiring the banking of monies collected every few days. He undertook to investigate whether or not the new contractor had provided the Council with a financial deposit at the commencement of the contract. [Note - it was subsequently confirmed that this had not been requested, noting that such a requirement was likely to increase the contract cost. An information note was sent to all Committee Members and Substitutes]. RECOMMENDED TO CABINET: That the following amendments to the Top Risks be approved: (1) changes to the "Homelessness and use of Bed and Breakfast" risk to move it from an SMT to Cabinet Top Risk and an increase in its likelihood assessment; (2) the increased assessment of the likelihood of the "Managing the Council's Finances" Top Risk; and (3) changes to the Waste and Street Cleansing Renewal risk that include a reduction in the likelihood of the "Waste and Recycling Materials for Flats" risk and a new sub-risk of the "Sale of Materials". REASON FOR DECISION: To comply with the requirements of the Risk and Opportunities Management Strategy. |
Agreed | ||
| 31 |
ANNUAL GOVERNANCE STATEMENT FOR 2014/15 Report Appendix A - Annual Governance Statement 2014/15 The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance presented a report in respect of the proposed final Annual Governance Statement (AGS) 2014/15. The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance explained that some minor changes to the AGS had been made since the Committee had considered the draft version at its June 2015 meeting, and that Grant Thornton had not identified any significant governance issues. The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance referred to the actions arising from the AGS 2014/15 for implementation in 2015/16, as set out in Paragraph 9.1 of the report. The Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance advised that the Leader of the Council and Chief Executive had signed the final AGS, subject to the approval of the Committee. RESOLVED: (1) That the final Annual Governance Statement for 2014/15, as set out at Appendix A to the report, be approved for inclusion within the Statement of Accounts 2014/15; and (2) That the progress made to date against the Action Plan be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To provide the Committee with an assurance that the Council is improving its governance arrangements. |
Agreed | ||
| 32 |
STATEMENT OF ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2014/15 Report Appendix A - Statement of Accounts 2014/15 Appendix A - Addendum Appendix B - External Auditor's Letter of Representation The Group Accountant (JP) presented a report and addendum on the Statement of Accounts for 2014/15. The Group Accountant (JP) advised that there was a statutory requirement that the Annual Statement of Accounts was prepared and certified by 30 June each year and then published after an audit examination by 30 September. The accounts were signed by the Strategic Director of Finance, Policy and Governance before the deadline of the 30 June 2015. Regulation 10 of the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2003 stated that the accounts should be signed and dated by the Member presiding at the meeting which formally approved the accounts. The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee was delegated to sign off the statutory annual Statement of Accounts. The Group Accountant (JP) reported that there were no major concerns with the Statement, but that Grant Thornton had highlighted a number of presentational issues, one of which related to the inclusion of a table in respect of Property and Plant Equipment, which had been circulated to Members as an addendum to the Statement. In response to Members' questions, the Group Accountant (JP) confirmed that the assets for sale section accounted for the capital receipt received in respect of the sale of land at Lloyd Way, Kimpton. The unusable reserves figure had reduced significantly from 2013/14 to 2014/15 primarily as a result of an increased liability in respect of contributions to the pension fund. RESOLVED: That the 2014/15 Annual Statement of Accounts, as set out in Appendix A to the report and the addendum tabled at the meeting, be approved and signed by the Chairman of the Committee. REASON FOR DECISION: To ensure that the Council meets the requirements of Audit and Account Regulations 2011 that requires the approval and publication of the Statement of Accounts no later than 30 September 2015. |
Agreed | ||
| 33 |
FIRST QUARTER REVENUE MONITORING 2015/16 Report Appendix A - General Fund Summary The Group Accountant (JP) presented a report on the First Quarter Revenue Budget Monitoring for 2015/16. The Group Accountant (JP) referred to an error in Paragraph 7.2 of the report. The figure of £277,000 in the second line should read £217,000. The Group Accountant (JP) summarised the significant changes to the General Fund set out in Table 1 of the report, relating to Bank Charges; Investment interest; Planning income; and Housing Benefits Overpayments income. There was a total of £464,000 of budgets carried forward from 2014/15 to 2015/16, of which (at the end of the First Quarter) £139,000 had been spent. Two carry forward budgets, namely the Strategic Priorities Fund and extending the boundary of the Chilterns Area of Natural Beauty, were at amber status. The Group Accountant (JP) commented that £185,000 of efficiencies were projected to be achieved and that the Key Corporate "Financial Health" Indicators were all at green status. Three known financial risks had been realised in the First Quarter of 2015/16, resulting in additional unbudgeted expenditure of £381,000. The projected amount in earmarked reserves at 31 March 2016 would be £4.29million. In terms of the Collection Fund, the Group Accountant (JP) advised that Business Rates were forecast to be £700,000 in deficit in 2015/16, whilst Council Tax would be £90,000 in surplus. RESOLVED: That the First Quarter Revenue Budget monitoring report 2015/16 be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To provide an opportunity for the Committee to comment as appropriate on the First Quarter Revenue Monitoring report 2015/16. |
Noted | ||
| 34 |
FIRST QUARTER CAPITAL MONITORING 2015/16 Report Appendix A - Capital Programme Summary 2015/16 onwards Appendix B - Capital Programme Detail 2015/16 onwards The Corporate Support Accountant presented a report on the First Quarter Capital Programme Monitoring for 2015/16. The Corporate Support Accountant advised that the projected expenditure for 2015/16 was now £12.356million. The report contained details of re-profiled schemes, which showed a reduction in scheme expenditure of £175,000, and changes in 2015/16 schemes of a total reduction of £55,000. The Corporate Support Accountant stated that the balance of useable capital receipts available at the start of the year to fund capital expenditure for 2015/16 and onwards was £851,000. The balance of "set aside receipts" available before external borrowing was required was £20.2million. The 2015/16 Capital Programme of £12.356million required a total of £9.6million from the Council's capital resources. As a result, it would be necessary to draw down approximately £5.5million from the Council's set aside receipts to fund the current programme. Use of the set aside receipts will increase the Council's Capital Financing Requirement and will impact on the Treasury activity of the Council. In June 2015, the Council received £4.823million from the disposal of land which increased the useable capital receipts total to £5.7million. Work was underway to identify further sites for disposal that would contribute towards funding the future Capital Programme. RESOLVED: That the First Quarter Capital Programme monitoring report 2015/16 be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To provide an opportunity for the Committee to comment as appropriate on the First Quarter Capital Monitoring report 2015/16. |
Noted | ||
| 35 |
TREASURY MANAGEMENT FIRST QUARTER 2015/16 Report Appendix A - Treasury Management Update: June 2015 The Corporate Support Accountant presented a report on the First Quarter Treasury Management Monitoring for 2015/16. The Corporate Support Accountant referred to the changes to the 2015/16 Treasury Strategy, as set out in Paragraph 7.1 of the report. The Corporate Support Accountant advised that the Council had generated £0.101M of interest during the first three months of 2015/16. The average interest rate agreed on new deals during the first quarter by Tradition was 1.0% and in- house was 0.6%. The average interest rate on all outstanding investments at 30 June 2015 was 1.17%. The Corporate Support Accountant explained that, at 30 June 2015, the Council had 33% of its investments with banks, 65% with building societies, and 2% with another local authority. At the end of the first quarter the Council had 21% (£9.75M) invested for longer than 364 days. One new deal of £4M was placed during the quarter for longer than one year. As approved in the Strategy, maturing Sterling deals had been reinvested by Tradition. £4.5M of Sterling deals that matured in October 2015 would be retained in-house to fund Capital expenditure. The Corporate Support Accountant explained that the amount of investment interest expected to be generated during the year was £0.415M. This was an increase on the original budget of £0.05M. The increase was mainly due to in- house investments being placed for longer periods. This was possible as the level of balances increased in June 2015 when asset disposal income was received. RESOLVED: That the First Quarter Treasury Management monitoring report 2015/16 be noted. REASON FOR DECISION: To provide an opportunity for the Committee to comment as appropriate on the First Quarter Treasury Management monitoring report 2015/16. |
Noted | ||
| 36 |
FUTURE MEETINGS - POSSIBLE AGENDA ITEMS The Chairman requested that should any Members have any suggestions for agenda items at future meetings would they please advise himself, officers or the Committee Clerk. |
Noted | ||