Agenda and minutes

To provide an opportunity for Members and Officers to declare any personal and/or prejudicial interests and for members to declare the existence of a party whip in relation to any item on the agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

RESOLVED – That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2010 be approved as a correct record.

A total period of 15 minutes is allocated for members of the public to make a statement(s) on any matter that falls within the remit of the Committee.

Individual members of the public may speak for up to 5 minutes, but the Chairman will decide how the period of time allocated for public speaking will be apportioned, where there are a number of speakers.

Note: In order for officers to undertake any background research, it would be helpful if members of the public contacted the Scrutiny officer listed at the foot of the agenda, at least one working day before the meeting to provide brief details of the matter to be covered. 

There were no statements from members of the public.

To consider a report of the Borough Treasurer.

Please note that due to the very tight schedule that the Cabinet and Officers have been working to in order to put together the final budget proposals for 2010/2011, it has not been possible to complete the report within the normal timescales, and therefore the report will be circulated to all Members on the 4 February 2010. 

The Committee considered a report of the Borough Treasurer containing the formal consultation by Cabinet of the Budget for 2010/2011.

The report set out in detail the spending plans and income targets for the Council for the financial year starting on 1 April 2010.

The Chairman reminded members that the Committee had set up a Budget Consultation Group in December 2009 to oversee the consultation process for 2010/2011 budget. The group had met two times during January 2010, during which details of the officer/portfolio budget challenge sessions held in the run up to the consultation process had been discussed. In addition, dates for the budget cycle of Scrutiny meetings had been agreed. The group had been given an opportunity to question some key officers within the Council to seek clarity on critical aspects of the budget, and as a result, there were no outstanding matters that required action by the Committee.

The group had concluded that it needed to reconvene in April to make early preparations for the 2011/2012 budget consultation process to ensure that a clear timetable existed for all internal stakeholders to ensure that Overview and Scrutiny members played an active part in the budget formulation and consultation processes during 2010/2011.

In view of the limited time between the series of budget Scrutiny meetings to be held over the 11 and 12 February and the Cabinet meeting on 16 February, the Chairman sought authority to allow him to formally respond to the consultation after conferring with the Scrutiny Chairs group at its meeting prior to Cabinet on the 16 February with a composite response encompassing the comments of all five Committees.

RESOLVED – That the budget consultation 2010/2011 be noted, and the Chairman be authorised to formally respond to the consultation following conferment with the Scrutiny Chairs group, and present, to Cabinet on the 16 February 2010, a composite response encompassing the comments of all five Committees

To consider a report of the Head of Policy and Performance.

The Committee considered a report of the Head of Policy and Performance containing an overview of the 2009-2010 quarter 3 performance, which summarised performance against all National Indicators and key corporate performance measures.

Overall, the Council gathered information for 212 measures (National Indicators, or part indicators and corporate local indicators) of those:

• 102 (48%) were green
• 68 (32%) were amber
• 42 (20%) were red

Fourth Quarter performance data would be produced after 31 March 2010 for consideration and review by Overview and Scrutiny committees. An annual report summarising the Council’s achievements would be brought to the Committee before publication in June 2010.

The Head of Policy and Performance informed the Committee that in March 2010, the Cabinet would be considering a Single Equality Scheme and action plan which would be offered to the Committee for comment.

The Chairman informed Members that due to the proximity of the March meetings of Cabinet and this Committee, it may be necessary to deal with the formal consultation at a mid point meeting.

In view of the increasing importance of the performance monitoring information being presented to Committees, Members requested that a dedicated training session be arranged on Performance monitoring.

RESOLVED – (a)     That the report be received

(b)    That arrangements be made for the Committee to be consulted on the Single Equality Scheme, prior to the Cabinet Meeting on 16 March 2010, if necessary, at a mid point meeting.

(c)     That the Senior Scrutiny Officer be requested to make arrangements for a training session for all Members on performance monitoring.

The Chairman to update the Committee on the addition of a new item in the work programme.

The Chairman reported upon the recent decision of the Voluntary Sector Task group to recommend that it was disbanded to allow a Corporate Officer Working group to undertake a detailed study of current arrangements to fund Voluntary and Community Organisations across all Council departments. Additional information would be included on the agenda for the next meeting.

In addition, the Chairman highlighted a matter that would be included in the work programme review report at the next meeting, to review the Governance arrangements in Cheshire East in respect of Highways and Transportation issues. The Committee on 15 March 2010, would be asked to prioritise this item.

RESOLVED – That the report be received and noted.