Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Mwim Chellah, Senior Democratic and Electoral Services Officer  Tel: 07761 405966 E-mail:  mwimanji.chellah@harrow.gov.uk

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Items
No. Item

17.

Attendance by Reserve Members

To note the attendance at this meeting of any duly appointed Reserve Members.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note the attendance at this meeting of the following duly appointed Reserve Member:

 

Ordinary Member

 

Reserve Member

 

Councillor Samir Sumaria

Councillor Govind Bharadia

 

18.

Declarations of Interest

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary or non pecuniary interests, arising from business to be transacted at this meeting, from all Members present.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note that there were none.

19.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 106 KB

That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2022 be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  That the minutes of the meeting held on 13 December 2022, be taken as read and signed as a correct record.

20.

Public Questions

To receive any public questions received.

 

Questions will be asked in the order in which they were received.  There will be a time limit of 15 minutes for the asking and answering of public questions.

 

[The deadline for receipt of public questions is 3.00 pm, 23 March 2023.  Questions should be sent to publicquestions@harrow.gov.uk  

No person may submit more than one question].

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note that no public questions were received.

21.

Petitions

To receive petitions (if any) submitted by members of the public/Councillors.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note that no petitions were received.

22.

References from Council and Other Committees/Panels

To receive any references from Council and/or other Committees or Panels.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

RESOLVED:  To note that there were none.

Resolved Items

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23.

Final Revenue Budget 2023/24 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2023/24 to 2025/26 pdf icon PDF 307 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Members received the Final Revenue Budget 2023/24 and Final Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24 to 2025/26 Report that were presented to Cabinet on 16 February 2023.

 

The Director of Finance and Assurance (S151 Officer) informed Members that the report set out the final revenue budget for 2023/24 and final Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2023/24 to 2025/26. In December 2022, Cabinet approved the draft versions of the revenue budget and MTFS for general consultation. Cabinet had been asked to note the adjustments.

 

After all adjustments, the MTFS showed a balanced budget position for 2023/24 and 2024/25, and an estimated budget gap of £6.321m to £13.143m for 2025/26.  This was due largely to the uncertainty of the Social Care Grant.  As the budget was approved annually, the latter two years of the MTFS, especially year 3, would be subject to review and adjustment before being finally approved.

 

The final MTFS was based on the Local Government Indicative Financial Settlement received on 19 December 2022.  The final settlement was received on 7 February 2023.  Any impact on the budget and MTFS would be managed through the Contingency for Unforeseen Items.  The Council held a contingency for unforeseen items (£1.248m) which was intended to support uncertainties.  The Council would still be required to review the budget on a yearly basis.

 

In the discussion that ensued, Members made comments and asked the following questions:

 

§     Given the estimated budget gap, was there a “Plan B” to deliver services if the gap was not bridged?

 

§     What pressure was the Place Directorate under to achieve its target of issuing 50 000 traffic and parking violations, such as penalty charge notices (PCNs) or fixed penalty notice (FPNs), and would current staffing levels of enforcement officers be adequate?

 

§     Was there statistical data on PCNs and FPNs to demonstrate the trend over the years, and to determine whether residents’ mind-sets had changed in relation to following traffic regulations?

 

§     Was there pressure on enforcement officers to issue more fines, and were they required to meet “targets”?

 

§     What effect would the budget gap have on Adult Services, and what would be “Plan B” if funding was inadequate?

 

§     The budget saving on waste collection showed possible changes to day and routes collection, would this affect service delivery?

 

In response, the Director of Finance and Assurance (S151 Officer) advised as follows:

 

§     Citing page 21 of the Report, which showed the legal requirement of achieving a balanced budget, it was acknowledged that meeting some of the savings would be challenging.  However, not all savings would start on 1 April 2023, as some would begin mid-year (June 2023).

 

§     Some savings had a risk element to them.  However, with better enforcement and use of technology, it was envisaged that the target of set by the Place Directorate for more PCNs and FPNs would be met.

 

§     Furthermore, PCNs were not just for raising monies but also to help change the mindset of the drivers, as there were many  ...  view the full minutes text for item 23.