Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence from Members.

Apologies were received from Cllr L Fear, Cllr R Maidment and Cllr P Miles.

To receive information on any changes in the membership of the Committee.

Note – When a member of a Committee is unable to attend a meeting of a Committee or Sub-Committee, the relevant Political Group Leader (or their nominated representative) may, by notice to the Monitoring Officer (or their nominated representative) prior to the meeting, appoint a substitute member from within the same Political Group. The contact details on the front of this agenda should be used for notifications. 

Notice had been received from the relevant Group Leaders (or nominated representatives) of the following changes in membership for this meeting:

• Cllr D Farr was substituting for Cllr L Fear
• Cllr M Le Poidevin was substituting for Cllr R Maidment
• Cllr L-J Evans was substituting for Cllr P Miles.

Councillors are required to comply with the requirements of the Localism Act 2011 and the Council's Code of Conduct regarding Disclosable Pecuniary Interests.

Councillors are also required to disclose any other interests where a Councillor is a member of an external body or organisation where that membership involves a position of control or significant influence, including bodies to which the Council has made the appointment in line with the Council's Code of Conduct.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest.

Other declarations were made for the purpose of transparency as follows:

• Agenda item on Budget scrutiny of Adult Social Care: Cllr L-J Evans declared that she was a member of the Tricuro Executive Shareholders Group
• Agenda item on Bournemouth International Centre – Short Term Investment Plan: Cllr S Bartlett declared that he was a director of BH Live (Enterprises) Ltd

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Meeting held on 7 October and the two Meetings on 11 November 2019.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting held on 7 October 2019 and the two meetings held on 11 November 2019 be confirmed and signed as a correct record.

To receive any public questions, statements or petitions submitted in accordance with the Constitution. Further information on the requirements for submitting these is available to view at the following link:-

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/documents/s2305/Public%20Items%20-%20Meeting%20Procedure%20Rules.pdf 

The deadline for the submission of public questions is Wednesday 11 December 2019.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is 12.00 noon, Tuesday 17 December 2019.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 12.00 noon, Tuesday 17 December 2019.

There were no public questions, statements or petitions submitted to this meeting.

To consider the Medium Term Financial Plan Cabinet report scheduled for Cabinet on 20 December 2019 and budgetary issues as follows:

·         Budget Scrutiny – Children’s Services

·         Budget Scrutiny – Adults Social Care

·         Budget Scrutiny – Medium Term Financial Plan

·         Bournemouth International Centre (BIC) – Short Term Investment Plan

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet members invited to attend for this item:

Councillor David Brown, Portfolio Holder for Finance

Councillor Sandra Moore, Portfolio Holder for Children and Families

Councillor Lesley Deadman, Portfolio Holder for Adults and Health

The Cabinet report will be published on 12 December 2019 and available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=4171&Ver=4

The Board considered a report, a copy of which had been circulated and which appears as Appendix 'E' to the Cabinet minutes of 20 December in the Minute Book.

The Chairman welcomed everyone to the meeting. He referred to the recent Centre for Public Scrutiny (CfPS) development workshop, which had provided guidance to councillors on the approach to effective challenge and scrutiny of the MTFP and annual budget setting. Although there was limited time left for scrutiny this year, there would be opportunities for scrutiny to engage earlier in the process in future years. The purpose of this item was to provide the Board with an overview of the latest budget position across the Council, to be followed by more detailed scrutiny of two key areas of pressure which the Board had asked to look at: Children’s Services and Adult Social Care. The Chairman asked Portfolio Holders to be prepared to expand if required on the summary information contained in their updates.

Budget Scrutiny – Medium Term Financial PlanUpdate

The Portfolio Holder for Finance outlined the key areas of focus in the report and its recommendations. He explained that good progress was being made in developing a robust and lawful budget for 2020/21. He highlighted the four main areas for consideration in the update position, as set out in paragraph 6 of the report. He reported that the current administration had inherited an unsustainable budget. The Shadow Authority had not addressed the deficit on the High Needs Block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) funding. The inclusion of the projected funding gap of £9.8million in the budget was not financially sustainable, and the Council was now faced with making difficult decisions in order to set a balanced budget for 2020/21.

The Portfolio Holder and the Section 151 Officer responded to questions on the report:

• Regarding the robustness of projections for the tax base growth for Council Tax, the Section 151 Officer explained that this was considered as part of the budget process. He explained how the projected increase of 0.86% from the growth in residential property numbers over those previously assumed had been calculated.
• The Portfolio Holder was asked if there was a rolling programme to address the net funding gap in future years, particularly in view of growing pressures on the adult social care budget. He stated that he was confident that funding pressures would be addressed, primarily through the significant efficiencies arising from organisational transformation. He was asked whether the timescales for organisational transformation aligned with key budget milestones and explained that the delivery plan in Spring 2020 would give more indication of timings.
• A Board member asked how the growth in residential property numbers cross referenced with planning policy and housing requirements. The Section 151 Officer reported that this was not a straightforward calculation. It took account of council tax discounts, not just property numbers. The Portfolio Holder explained that the figures were difficult to anticipate as much depended on planning permissions and developers carrying these  ...  view the full minutes text for item 82.

To consider the following Regeneration related Cabinet report scheduled for Cabinet on 20 December 2019:

·         Bournemouth International Centre Short Term Investment Plan

·         Winter Gardens – Including Exempt Information

The O&S Board is asked to scrutinise the reports and make recommendations to Cabinet as appropriate.

Cabinet members invited to attend for this item:

Councillor Mark Howell – Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Culture

The Cabinet report will be published on 12 December 2019 and available to view at the following link:

https://democracy.bcpcouncil.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=285&MId=4171&Ver=4

Bournemouth International Centre Short Term Investment Plan

The Portfolio Holder for Regeneration and Culture presented the report to the Board, a copy of which had been circulated and which appears as Appendix 'F' to the Cabinet minutes of 20 December in the Minute Book. The Portfolio Holder referred to the recommendations in the report and welcomed any questions or comments from members of the Board.

• The Portfolio Holder was asked for further detail on the two options for the Purbeck Hall vertical extension. The Head of Leisure, as lead officer for the BIC development, explained that details of the remodelling programme including the level of investment required had been developed in consultation with a specialist consultant following the initial Cabinet report in July 2019. The identification and prioritisation of projects had been tested with BH Live and specialist officers.
• The Portfolio Holder responded to questions on the borrowing arrangements and the level of interest rate. The Head of Leisure confirmed that the income from BH Live supported the overall budget enabling the Council to borrow and invest in its assets.
• A Board member questioned the use of borrowing to fund maintenance, the cost of which should be covered by the operation. The Portfolio Holder stressed that the focus of the report was on investment.
• It was clarified that the lifespan of the works on the Purbeck Hall vertical extension was 25 years. This lifespan, and the costs and works timetable listed in Table 3 of the report related to Option 2, the more expensive and preferred option.
• The Portfolio Holder was asked whether the short-term investment would enable the BIC to host the larger political party conferences. He spoke about the difficulties in competing with other venues such as Manchester in attracting these bookings.
• A Board member commented on the huge amount of investment proposed compared to the figures given for other venues in paragraph 6 of the report. The Portfolio Holder explained that the figure for the BIC reflected the significant scale of the works and previous underinvestment.
• The Portfolio Holder confirmed that reference to climate emergency would be included in future reports.
• The Portfolio Holder was asked what impact the two options for the Purbeck vertical extension had on the key objectives for the remodelling. He explained that Option 2 was the preferred option because it provided more space, and this offered more scope for different configurations and the flexibility to run things concurrently.
• Board members commented on the ambition of Option 2 and that it would result in much needed improvements to the café area. The Portfolio Holder confirmed that the proposal would significantly increase the number of covers.
• The Portfolio explained that the order of projects listed in Table 3 gave priority to those projects which would have the highest impact while being mindful not to affect events which had already been booked in.

The Portfolio Holder was asked why the consultation on the proposals had not been listed in the report. He explained that details  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.