Agenda item

To consider and comment on the initial 2014/15 budget proposals relevant to the Scrutiny Board’s portfolio.

The report of the Head of Scrutiny and Member Development presented the initial 2014/15 budget proposals of the Environment and Housing directorate and the Citizens and Communities directorate.  The Board was invited to raise any specific questions with regard to budget proposals that fall within its portfolio area. 

The Chair reminded the Board that the Director of Environment and Housing and the directorate’s Head of Finance had also attended a working group meeting on 11^th December 2013 to discuss the budget proposals with Board Members.  A summary note of this working group meeting had previously been circulated to all Board Members for information.

In consideration of the budget proposals, the Board was asked to agree any comments to be forwarded to the Scrutiny Board (Resources and Council Services) in the first instance, which would then inform a composite statement from Scrutiny to the Executive Board.

The following were in attendance for this item:

-  Neil Evans, Director of Environment and Housing

-  James Rogers, Assistant Chief Executive (Citizens and Communities)

-  Councillor Peter Gruen, Executive Board Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning and Support Services

-  Councillor Mark Dobson, Executive Board Member for Environment

-  Richard Ellis, Head of Finance, Environment and Housing

-  Chris Oxtoby, Head of Finance for Central and Corporate Services and Public Health

The key areas of discussion were as follows:

·  Clarification of the budget proposals that relate to the Scrutiny Board’s portfolio

·  Clarification was sought of the local impact following the recent announcement that working age tenants in social housing who have occupied the same home continuously since 1996 could be due a refund worth on average at least £640 due to an oversight by the Department for Work and Pensions when drafting the new legislation.  It was noted that further analysis was still being undertaken.

·  The development of Community Committees to replace existing Area Committees – it was noted that the Scrutiny Board would be considering this in more detail at its February meeting.

·  The need for quality assurance linked to the delegation of Youth Service funding to Area Committees.

·  Pay pressures within the refuse collection services – linked to this it was noted that costs associated with covering staff training and appraisals is now being factored into the budget.  The directorate is also building in further work around HR Support to the service, with particular focus on addressing staff absence

·  The benefits of food waste collections and the ongoing work to explore options for making the expansion of these collections more economically achievable.

·  Clarification that there are no predicted savings associated with golf courses during 2014/15 and that discussions surrounding the future of golf courses are still ongoing.

·  Linked to the Board’s current review of the role and deployment of Police and Community Safety Officers (PCSOs) in Leeds, it was agreed that a final working group meeting would be held on 22^nd January 2014.

The Board also agreed to submit comments to the Scrutiny Board (Resources and Council Services) to reflect the following points:

·  Reference was made to the proposed targets for procurement savings, particularly within the Citizens and Communities directorate.  However, it was noted that such targets have been set corporately.  The Board therefore requested that further analysis is undertaken by the Resources and Council Services Scrutiny Board of the corporate work undertaken by Procurement in determining savings targets for directorates in 2014/15 to demonstrate that all possible saving opportunities have been explored.

·  In line with the proposal to reduce the general well-being budget by £200k in 2014/15, the Board noted that the allocation process linked to this reduction is still to be determined.  Whilst acknowledging that further consultation will be undertaken with Elected Members to determine whether or not to change the existing approach towards allocating the well-being funding to Area Committees, the Scrutiny Board emphasised the importance of undertaking immediate consultation with Area Chairs as such reductions may influence the commitment of an Area Committee towards any long term funded projects.

RESOLVED –

(a)That the Principal Scrutiny Adviser, in liaison with the Chair, provides formal comments to the Scrutiny Board (Resources and Council Services) to reflect the above key points raised by the Board.

(b) That a final working group meeting would be held on 22^nd January 2014 linked to the Board’s current review of the role and deployment of PCSOs.