Agenda and minutes

1.1  Apologies for absence from Councillor Rick Muir.

2.1  In the absence of the Chair and Vice Chair of the Commission a new Chair was elected to preside over the meeting.

2.2  Cllr Will Brett nominated Cllr Nick Sharman.

2.3  Cllr Laura Bunt seconded the nomination. 

2.4  Cllr Sharman was elected as Chair of the meeting.

2.5  There is a change to the order of the discussion items.  Item 6 was taken before item 5.

3.1  None.

4.1  The minutes of the meeting held on 10^th November 2014 were agreed.

5.1  The Chair welcomed Councillor Geoff Taylor, Cabinet Member for Finance from London Borough of Hackney (LBH) to Cabinet Question Time (CQT).

5.1.1  The Chair explained CQT sessions were previously held by the Overview and Scrutiny Board.  Following the demise of the Board and implementation of the new governance structure, Cabinet Members are appearing at the individual Scrutiny Commissions for their portfolio area. 

5.1.2  In advance of the meeting the Commission submitted questions to the Cabinet Member for Finance.  The Cabinet Member for Finance opened the session with the following comments in response:

·  The budget announced in the Autumn Statement on 3^rd December 2014 anticipates the Government will achieve a surplus and clear the deficit by 2020. 

·  The Cabinet Member for Finance said that re-election of the current government would mean a continuation of the budget cuts experienced by local government and tax rises to attain the budget surplus.  This will result in difficult decisions needing to be made in the near future. 

·  The Council will need to become very efficient and reduce resources.  He explained efficiency could be achieved a number of ways for example by making changes to a service provision. 

·  To date the Council has made the majority of its savings through rationalising back office functions.

·  Further reductions in funding from Central Government will require local government to think innovatively about ways to generate future income and control expenditure.  The Cabinet Member explained influencing behaviour helps to control expenditure, for example encouraging residents to use online services as their first port of call would be more cost efficient for the Council.  Focusing on prevention for service provision - for example working with families earlier than at crisis point will help to prevent taking children into care.

·  The Council is investing in Hackney to make maximum use of the organisations assets and land values in the borough. 

·  The Council currently has 15 million pounds in reserves to help with future expenditure and reduce the impact of income reduction.

5.2  Discussion, Comments and Queries

a)  Members referred to previous discussions about local government finances and the graphs that demonstrated the impact of reduced Government grant.  Members enquired about the Council’s plans in response and an indication of the services that would be impacted.  The Cabinet Member for Finance told the Commission that he hopes the council it will not need to make decisions about service reductions.  He advised by driving up efficiency within the organisation he anticipates this would reduce the need for significant reductions to frontline services.  The Corporate Director of Finance and Resources added the council is awaiting confirmation of the local government settlement, this would provide confirmation of their savings target.

b)  Members referred to the council’s risk planning and enquired how it would respond if there was a sudden change in funding.  The Cabinet Member for Finance explained if all the funding from central government stopped the council would not be able to replace that source of income.  He pointed out that no local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

6.1  The Chair welcomed Gifty Edila, Corporate Director Legal, HR and Regulatory Services for London Borough of Hackney (LBH).

6.1.1  The Corporate Director Legal, HR and Regulatory Services was invited to the meeting to present information about the role and responsibilities of the Corporate Committee implemented in the new governance structure.

6.1.2  Members of the Corporate Committee were invited to participate in the discussion.

6.1.3  The Corporate Director Legal, HR and Regulatory Services outlined the key points from the reports in the agenda and the presentation on pages 57 – 64 of the agenda. 

6.1.4  The Corporate Director Legal, HR and Regulatory Services highlighted the final Governance Review report was produced in May 2013 and approved by Full Council on 11 September 2013.

6.1.5  The Terms of Reference for the old Regulatory Committee and Terms of Reference for the new Corporate Committee were presented for comparison of the old work programme to the new work programme.

6.1.6  It was noted the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources would provide a separate presentation to the Corporate Committee in January 2015.  This would cover the role of the committee relating to risk management and audit.

6.1.7  It was explained the current executive arrangements for Councils was introduced by the Local Government Act 2000.  From the models outlined in the Act Hackney has adopted the Mayor and Cabinet governance model. 

6.1.8  Section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972 is the power used to establish Corporate Committee. It was noted that without additional committees like corporate, a large number of matters would need approval by a Full Council meeting.

6.1.9  The Corporate Committee deals with a range of functions.  Corporate Committee has responsibility for some functions that the executive cannot deal with such as HR policy.

6.1.10  The Corporate Committee has the responsibility of developing, reviewing, monitoring and maintaining a strategic overview of the Council’s regulatory functions.

6.2  Discussion, Comments and Queries

Members discussed the role of Corporate Committee and made the following comments related to the operation of the committee and its role.

a)  Members were unclear about the recommendations being made to them in relation to reports presented to the Committee.  Each department and service area provided their reports in different formats and styles and this caused confusion.  Members highlighted some reports provide a review of the year, while others provide information about future projections for the service area. 

b)  Reports providing a strategic overview did not give enough detail to enable Members to make an informed decision.  Members wanted clarity on whether reports required noting or approval.  Members advised they wanted more information to feel comfortable in approving a report or policy.  Members were of the view that many of the reports requesting approval did not provide sufficient detail to enable them to give approval. 

c)  Members queried whether the role given to them is adding value to the organisation. 

d)  Members highlighted different skills sets were required for the variety of work the committee covers.  Members suggested they  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.

7.1  The Corporate Director of Finance and Resources updated the Commission on the Autumn Statement announcement on 3^rd December 2014.

7.2  A detailed briefing was sent to Members.  Key highlights noted were:

·  The Chancellor of the Exchequer stated the 2015/16 spending plans previously announced remained as stated.  In light of this the Council’s budget plans for 2015/16 did not need to be altered

·  The Government expects the budget deficit to be replaced with a surplus of £23bn in 2019/20

·  The programme of austerity is expected to continue in the next Parliament with forecasts indicating Britain is only half way through a 10 year programme

·  The Government has indicated (if re-elected) it will continue with the current policy and pace of budget cuts.  It is assumed the burden of cuts will overwhelmingly fall on public services.  It is anticipated there may be greater cuts in the next spending review compared to those announced thus far – the cut in grant could be higher than that assumed in the Council’s current planning

·  Implications from the Autumn Statement for local government are:

a)  The plans to provide further assistance to businesses in respect of business rates and a review of business rates to report by 2016

b)  Public sector pay restraints look set to continue until 2017/18

c)  Total welfare spending is set to be £1bn a year lower than forecast at the budget and changes to unemployment benefits for migrants

d)  Plans to give local authorities and CCGs indicative multi-year budgets after the next spending review

e)  The Government will be taking action to ensure the full cost of providing pensions for public service workers will be met by employers

f)  Plans to invest £141 million to support the London Legacy Development Corporation and Mayor of London to build a new higher education and cultural facility in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

·  The Chancellor of the Exchequer will be spending £10bn less this year than outlined in his original spending plans and some of the under spend will go to the NHS.

7.3  Members commented all political parties plan to continue with the austerity plans in some form.  Members raised this as a key concern for local government and discussed how the Council could plan and prepare for the worst if the potential squeeze on public sector funding continued.  The Cabinet Member for Finance acknowledged the potential funding squeeze is a concern for local government.  LBH is looking beyond medium term financial planning to consider all possibilities for reduction and implications like charges for services, the threshold of service provision and the impact this might have on the borough’s future.

8.1  The work programme for the Commission on pages 65 - 70 of the agenda was noted for information. 

8.2  Members asked for a project plan for the Commission’s review work at the next steering group meeting.

8.3  Members suggested conducting a mapping of the policy landscape and policy levers.

9.1  None.