Agenda and minutes

RESOLVED that, subject to it being recorded that Mr Baldock had voted against the Committee moving into exempt session to consider minute  no.63 at the meeting on 5December 2014the minutes of the meetings of the Committee on 5and 12 December 2014 are a correct record and that they be signed by the Chairman.

1.            Mr Simmonds introduced the draft budget, commenting that producing a balanced budget this year had been a significant challenge.  In light of the challenge, it had been necessary to make changes to the budget since the consultation was launched in October 2014.  Some recent changes had only just taken place, details of which had been provided to the Committee in advance to ensure that Scrutiny could have access to the most up to date information.

2.            Mr Simmonds commented that since 2010 KCC have saved over £350m but expect to have to save another £206m over the next two years.  Saving over half a billion pounds was a significant challenge  and that it was likely that savings would continue further into the future and the financial environment for local authorities is expected to be difficult.

3.            Mr Simmonds paid tribute to Mr Shipton’s work with the Kent Districts on council tax collection and the various discounts available.  Mr Simmonds noted that the increase to the Council Tax collection, above what had been expected, had been positive news that meant more money was available to help KCC balance its budget.

4.            Mr Simmonds explained that despite claims from the Government that local authorities had been given an increased in spending power of 0.4%, councils had actually experienced a 13.7% cut in funding from Government.

5.            Mr Shipton gave a detailed presentation to the Committee on the draft 2015/16 Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) including development process, the consultation and the revisions being put in place. 

6.            Mr Simmonds, Mr Shipton and Mrs Head responded to questions from Members which included the following:

·         Clarifying the use of reserves, it was explained that £10.7m from the general reserves had been used to make up for lost funding, made up of £8.2m from the Economic Downturn fund and £2.5m taken from directorates.  This left a -£4million net outcome as money was replaced in the reserves from other savings.

·         The reduced cost to KCC in the Carbon Reduction budget line was explained in that it represented a sum based on KCC’s carbon emissions and a drop indicated that KCC has successfully reduced its carbon footprint and did not represent a drop in commitment to carbon reduction.

·         Option development for the Budget Consultation tool had considered service selection but they had been limited to keep the process manageable and to encourage broader uptake.  The high usage of the tool during the consultation supported this choice.

·         It was explained that the the Public Health grant had remained ring-fenced but that it would be used to commission KCC services which allowed other budgets to be enhanced.

·         Former KCC employees were only re-employed as agency staff in areas with significant staffing challenges and this was consistently reviewed to ensure maximum efficiency.

·         In terms of the Her Majesty’s Customs & Review update on Member expenses and how the cost would be met, KCC was still developing a response that would available before Full Council in February.

·         In terms  ...  view the full minutes text for item 71.

That under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following business on grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

EXEMPT ITEM

(During the consideration of this item the meeting is likely NOT to be open to the press and public.)

RESOLVED that under Section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 the press and public be excluded from the meeting for the following business on grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph 3 of part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act.

RESOLVED that the Committee agree the exempt minute (Decision 14/00133 – Approval of Equity Investment from the Tiger Fund) from the meeting held on the 12^th December 2014 is a correct record and that it be signed by the Chairman.