Agenda and minutes

Attendance by NNDR Representatives:-

To note the appointment, at the Cabinet meeting held on 20 May 2003 under the provisions of Committee Procedure Rule 7.2 of the Council’s Constitution, of Councillor Choudhury as Chair of this Panel for the Municipal Year 2003/04.

RESOLVED:  To note the appointment of Councillor Choudhury as Chair of the Panel for the Municipal Year 2003/04.

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members and/or any apologies for absence received from NNDR Representatives.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no Reserve Members in attendance at this meeting.

RESOLVED:  To note the following apology:

NNDR Representative:  Apology was noted on behalf of Mr S Parsons, ‘Harrow Music’.

To receive declarations of interest (if any) from Council Members of the Panel.

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no declarations of interest on behalf of Council Members present.

To consider whether any of the items listed on the agenda should be considered with the press and public excluded on the grounds that it is thought likely, in view of the nature of the business to be transacted, that there would be disclosure of confidential information in breach of an obligation of confidence or of exempt information as defined in the Local Government (Access to Information) Act 1985.

RESOLVED:  That all items be considered with the press and public present.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2003, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 3 February 2003, having been circulated, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

The Council’s Constitution provides for Panel meetings to receive Petitions, Deputations, and Public Questions (Committee Procedure Rules 15, 16 and 18).

(It is not anticipated that these will arise at this Consultative meeting).

RESOLVED:  To note that there were no petitions, deputations or public questions (Committee Procedure Rules 15, 16 and 18) submitted to this Panel meeting.

Report of the Executive Director (Business Connections)

The officer report to the Cabinet meeting on 16 December 2003 is enclosed, together with Recommendation 1 and Minute 384 arising therefrom.

Additionally, the Budget Consultation edition of the Harrow People is attached for information.

N.B. This Consultative Panel meeting is invited to consider the documentation at item 7 above and in discussion to receive any comments/representations from the NNDR Representatives for referral to the Cabinet meeting on 17 February 2004.

At the invitation of the Chair, the Council’s Executive Director (Business Connections) provided the Panel meeting with an overview of the Authority’s draft budget proposals for 2004/05.  In the course of the presentation, the following elements were covered:

·            the basic principles/considerations underlying the approach to setting the 2004/05 budget and that there had been no real change to the provisional financial settlement received from Central Government and therefore no major refinements were necessary;

·            an overview of the 2 stage consultation process, the different methods used to consult  and that the consultation would end on 6 February 2004;

·            an overview and make-up of the options for growth and savings encapsulated in the leaflet ‘Your Money Your Choice’, and the implications of these options on the level of Council Tax set;

·            the charges made by Central Government in the funding of services such as housing benefit and the flood levy payments and the resultant benefits to Harrow;

·            the Council Tax increase of around 3.9% (excluding the options) within the Medium Term Budget Strategy;

·            the savings proposed and how these would be achieved.

The Executive Director (Business Connections) informed the Panel that Cabinet, at its meeting on 17 February 2004, would be provided with feedback from all the consultations carried out prior to making a recommendation to full Council meeting, which would approve the final Budget and set the Council Tax for 2004/05 on 26 February 2004.

The Executive Director (Business Connections) also briefed the Panel on the work being carried out by the Council with small business enterprises in Harrow.

He explained the work done by ‘Harrow in Business’ in supporting business to improve their viability and competitiveness and the support provided by the Council.  The Executive Director (Business Connections) informed the Panel that the work done by ‘Harrow In Business’ was communicated through various channels and that any suggestions to improve further the line of communications would be welcomed.  The Panel was informed that the Council had also streamlined its procurement strategy in order to allow local businesses to tender and that more work was being done in this area.

The Panel was also informed of the basis for the National Non-Domestic Rates and that the rates poundage was set nationally by the Government.  It was explained that the Non?Domestic Rate, the means by which local businesses contribute to the cost of providing local authority services, was collected by Local Authorities and paid to the Government, which then redistributed the monies to Authorities depending on the number of residents each authority has.  The Government had indicated that the rate in the pound for 2004?05 was likely to be 45.6p.

In addition, the Government was consulting on introducing

·             ‘Local Authority Business Growth’ whereby local authorities would keep a small proportion of the business rate collected if there was an increase in the business rates in their area, the incentive being to increase growth and sustainability of businesses locally.

The Panel was also informed about the Council’s new powers to create  ...  view the full minutes text for item 18.

Further to the presentation from the Executive Director (Business Connections) and discussion arising, the following contributions, issues and comments were raised by NNDR Representatives:

Options for Savings

An NNDR Representative was critical of the amount of money being wasted by the Council and stated that provision of Home Care and Meals on Wheels services ought to be the responsibility (a core function) of local government and that these were not realistic options on which residents should have been be asked to vote upon.  The Representative was of the view that the option to increase charges and/or reduce these services would affect the disposable income of the recipients, which in turn would have a detrimental impact on local businesses.

Refurbishment Works – Civic Centre

An NNDR Representative was also critical of the expenditure on refurbishment works to the Civic Centre, particularly the improvements which were underway for Chief Officers.  The Representative was informed that the cost of the refurbishment works was funded from the Capital budget through a combination of capital receipts and borrowing and not the Revenue budget and therefore did not have a direct impact on the Council Tax rate.   The refurbishment was not solely for the purpose of Chief Officers and other staff would be relocated from other buildings which were costly and that the relocation would provide a net saving in the long term.  This was the first part of a major refurbishment of the Civic Centre which would enable space to be used more effectively and promote better working between individual Units.

The NNDR Representatives were informed that, in addition, the works would improve staff morale and assist the Council’s recruitment and retention policy.  It was noted that all political parties had been involved in this process and that the costs of the overall works to the Civic Centre this year would be in the region of £400k, although that attributable to the new offices was significantly less than this figure.

Council’s Management Structure/Council Workforce/Agency Staff/Consultancy Work

Some enquiries were made by an NNDR Representative regarding the cost of the new Management Structure and the total number of staff employed by the Council and whether any increases in the numbers could be justified.

The Representative was informed that the Council had restructured its top management structure in order to meet new challenges and to provide a customer focused service.  The Representative was assured that the overall cost of the new structure would be no more expensive than the old structure.

It was agreed that information on the total number of Council employees would be provided in writing.  The Representative was informed that staffing in Internal Audit had been increased in order to ensure that the Council managed its risks better and to meet issues raised by the Comprehensive Performance Assessment (CPA) carried out by the Audit Commission.

Following further questions, the NNDR Representatives were advised that it was estimated that the NHP restructuring would lead to a saving of £370k per year over 3 years and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.