Agenda and minutes
PDF 109 KBVenue: Committee Room 5, Harrow Civic Centre, Station Road, Harrow, HA1 2XY. View directions
Contact: Vishal Seegoolam, Senior Democratic Services Officer Tel: 020 8424 1883 E-mail: vishal.seegoolam@harrow.gov.uk
Note: Moved from 19 January 2016
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Attendance by Reserve Members To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.
Reserve Members may attend meetings:-
(i) to take the place of an ordinary Member for whom they are a reserve; (ii) where the ordinary Member will be absent for the whole of the meeting; and (iii) the meeting notes at the start of the meeting at the item ‘Reserves’ that the Reserve Member is or will be attending as a reserve; (iv) if a Reserve Member whose intention to attend has been noted arrives after the commencement of the meeting, then that Reserve Member can only act as a Member from the start of the next item of business on the agenda after his/her arrival. Minutes: RESOLVED: To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Members:-
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Declarations of Interest To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from:
(a) all Members of the Committee; (b) all other Members present. Minutes: RESOLVED: To note that there were no declarations of interests made by Members. |
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RESOLVED ITEMS |
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Question and Answer Session with the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive on the Budget 2016/17 Minutes: The Chair welcomed the Leader of the Council and the Chief Executive to the meeting.
The Leader of the Council gave an introduction and explained that for the first time the Council had set a 3 year budget. This had been a difficult process as the Council had to find savings of approximately £31 million over the next 12 months and identify a further £52 million of savings for the further years. It was expected that by the end of the three years the Council would have made a 59% reduction in the amount it spent on its controllable budget.
There were also other considerable challenges facing the Council which were adding further pressure on its resources. This included a rise in homelessness and changes to children’s social care which had incurred further expense for the Council.
The Leader reported that despite the financial pressures, there were a number of positive things to highlight. Firstly the Council were working differently by embracing shared services and working more collaboratively both locally and regionally. As part of the Commercialisation Strategy adopted by the Council, it was expected that this would generate £15 million for it. The income generated by the Council would go towards building a better Harrow.
The Chief Executive also addressed the Committee and reported that in addition to the reductions in RSG facing the Council it was also important to note that Harrow had an ageing population with residents living longer but with more complex needs – more children coming into care and a significant increase in Homelessness all adding to our costs. The Local Government financial settlement had been tough especially in the first year 2016/17 and it was believed that outer London boroughs such as Harrow had seen a bigger impact than inner London Boroughs. The 135 proposals contained within the budget had been developed through a robust commissioning panel process. The regeneration and commercialisation agendas would be key priorities and opportunities for the Council moving forward.
Members asked a series of questions to the Leader and Chief Executive and received responses as follows:
There is concern that wages which are related to regeneration projects are being capitalised. Officers have confirmed that this issue has not been included on the Council’s risk register and there are concerns that if regeneration projects go ahead these wages will have to be paid out of the Council’s general account.
The Leader responded that there were regulations that were required to be adhered to on whether the wages could be capitalised or not. Ultimately this would be determined by accounting professionals. The specific figures relating to these relevant wages would be circulated to members of the Committee separately.
The Chief Executive commented that it was not unusual to capitalise wages against Regeneration Projects and the relevant regulations would be adhered to. This was an area that the Council’s external auditor inspected on a yearly basis and they would need to be satisfied on this aspect. If regeneration projects did not come ... view the full minutes text for item 132. |