Agenda

To receive any apologies for absence from Councillors.

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.

Councillors are requested to declare any interests on items included in this agenda. Please refer to the workflow on the preceding page for guidance.

Declarations received will be reported at the meeting.

To confirm and sign as a correct record the minutes of the meetings held on 20 September (Corporate and Community Overview and Scrutiny Committee) and the meetings held on 9 October at 4.00pm and 6.00pm.

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/ieListMeetings.aspx?CommitteeID=151&Info=1&bcr=1

The deadline for the submission of public questions is midday 3 clear working days before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a statement is midday the working day before the meeting.

The deadline for the submission of a petition is 10 working days before the meeting.

This report is a progress update on responding to the ‘Best Value Notice’ that was issued to the Council by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities (DLUHC), in August 2023. This was in response to the completion of an external assurance review carried out by DLUHC. The findings were in line with those of the Chief Executive’s internal assurance review. The recommendations have been welcomed in dealing with historical issues and setting a new tone for the Council.

An action plan attached in appendix 1 provides a detailed update, as of October 2023, on how the Council has responded to each recommendation from the two assurance reviews.

This report presents the positive progress that has been made towards delivering a sustainable and balanced budget for 2024/25 and developing the latest medium-term financial plan (MTFP) position of the council.

It is important that the context to the development of the 2024/25 budget is fully appreciated. This can be summarised as.

·      The February 2023 approved general fund budget for 2023/24 was balanced on the assumption of a £30m drawdown in reserves and the delivery of £34m in savings, efficiencies, and additional resources including £9m in respect of transformation which were un-itemised.

·      A funding gap of £44m for 2024/25 as set out in the July MTFP Update report to Cabinet and a 3-year funding gap to 2026/27 of £67m.

·      An environment of ongoing uncertainty and volatility associated with the cost-of-living crisis.

Although significant progress has clearly been made it is clear that there is still much work to be done and that the savings, which will be considered as part of a November and December public engagement process, will have an inevitable impact on the level of services provided to our community.

The Overview and Scrutiny (O&S) Board is asked to consider and identify work priorities for publication in a Forward Plan.