Agenda item

LIST OF BACKGROUND PAPERS AS REQUIRED BY LAW

(Papers relied on the write the report and which do not contain exempt information)

Contact Officer, telephone number and email: Lucy Hume, 01263 516246, Lucy.Hume@north-norfolk.gov.uk

Note: The meeting returned to public session following discussion of the previous exempt report.

Cllr E Seward – Portfolio Holder for Finance and Assets introduced the report and informed Members that it covered the period from April to September 2021, and current projections suggested there would be a year-end underspend of approximately £78k. He added that car parking income was up on previous years as expected,  alongside development control income. It was reported that the amount of funds being held by the Council had negated any requirement for borrowing to cover the costs of projects such as the Reef. Cllr E Seward referred to the recommendations and stated that agreeing funding for the S106 monitoring software was important to ensure awareness of available funds for use on local projects, such as the new skatepark in North Walsham.

Question and Discussion

       i.          Cllr S Penfold noted that the NNDC Sustainable Communities Fund had also contributed funding for the new skatepark in North Walsham.

      ii.          Cllr C Cushing referred to section 7.2 on forecasted deficits and the use reserves to fill any budget gaps, and asked why this was not raised as a concern when the People Services Restructure had been discussed. Cllr E Seward replied that the advice given was that the restructure would not have an adverse effect on the Council’s overall reserves position. The CTA stated that it would be helpful to make a distinction between earmarked and contingency reserves, and noted that the contingency reserves were not impacted by the decision. She added that any spending from the Housing Reserves or funds spent on the People Services Restructure were from earmarked reserves. The Chairman sought clarification that the statement on reserves being under pressure was accurate, given the information discussed. The CTA replied that it remained an accurate statement, as there had been a reduction in reserves whilst the Council sought to improve its services.

     iii.          Cllr V Holliday referred to tree planting, and asked where the funding for this project could be found in the report. Cllr E Seward stated that £300k had been allocated to a climate change budget, and it was expected that this would cover the costs of the project. The CTA added that it would not be shown separately as it was funded by the Delivery Plan Reserve.

    iv.          Cllr A Brown referred to the S106 software and noted that historically this information had been passed between the Planning and Finance Teams, and asked whether the software would benefit one or both teams, and whether it was still a priority to appoint a part-time officer to oversee S106 monitoring. The CE replied that there was an outstanding audit recommendation on how the Council recorded and monitored S106 agreements, which was currently done by the Finance Team using spreadsheets, which was not an ideal solution. He added that the introduction of the S106 monitoring software would be a corporate resource that could be used across departments for the benefit of officers and Councillors. It was noted that it was yet be determined whether additional resource would be provided for of a part-time S106 monitoring post.

      v.          Cllr N Pearce referred to funding for the People Services Restructure and Tree Planting Project and suggested that this should be outlined more clearly within the report. The CE replied that these projects had been identified as spending allocations from earmarked reserves in both cases and would not impact the revenue budget. Cllr E Seward added that the Council had started the year with in excess of £20m of reserves, and whilst this was expected to be £18.7m by the end of the year, it would not have any adverse impact on the Council’s financial position. It was noted that the Council were advised to hold approximately £6-7m in contingency reserves, and the Council remained well above this figure, meaning there was no cause for concern in relation to reserves.

    vi.          Cllr S Penfold noted that there was a dedicated tree planting line with the Delivery Plan section of the report. He then referred to a comment in the report that made reference to the BSF and asked that this be amended to represent the NNSCF.

   vii.          Cllr L Withington referred to income received from the Council’s EVCPs and suggested the Council was getting a reasonable return on its investments, then asked whether further investment could be expected and whether the returns would continue to grow. Cllr N Lloyd stated that officers had been monitoring the usage of the 34 EVCPs now active across the District, and noted that there had been a report prepared in December 2019 that outlined how the EVCPs would pay for themselves over time, with charging activity slowly increasing. The DFR reported that there was a further action in the Corporate and Delivery Plans that would review the initial rollout of EVCPs to consider whether there was a business case for further installation in the future.

  viii.          The Chairman referred to the S106 monitoring and stated that many Parish Councils were unaware of S106 agreements which highlighted the need for greater transparency.

    ix.          The recommendations were proposed by Cllr H Blathwayt and seconded by Cllr A Brown.

RESOLVED

1.     To note the contents of the report and the current budget monitoring position.

2.     To support Cabinet’s decision that £40,000 is released from the Invest to Save reserve to fund the purchase and implementation of Planning s106 software.

3.     To support Cabinet’s decision that £150,000 is released from the Capital Receipts Reserve to fund the new Financial Management System purchase and implementation.