Agenda item

(Would Members please bring their copy of the draft budget and medium term financial plan circulated on 6 January 2011)

(1)          The Committee considered budget proposals for the Environment, Highways and Waste Directorate, with reference to the KCC published budget consultation paper issued on 6 January 2011. Members were invited to comment on the key issues on the proposed budget changes for the services provided by the EHW Directorate.

(2)       The total of the proposed savings and income generation required in order to meet the indicative cash limit for 2011/12 was £11.9m.  The majority of the savings would come from efficiencies (£6.9m) and new income streams (£0.8m).

(3)               The biggest element of the new income would be from increasing the cost of the Freedom Pass from £50 to £100.  The cost to children in receipt of a free school meal would remain at £50 and it would become free to looked after children. 

(4)       The efficiencies would be a combination of management reductions, streamlining and reduced assessment, and improvements in procurement and contracting in highways and waste.  Because of the level of savings required, efficiencies and new income were not sufficient and some service reductions would also be required (£4.1m).

(5)       The largest of the reductions would correspond with the government reductions in ABG for highways and transportation, resulting in a reduction of £1.7m from road safety (mainly safety camera partnership) and sustainable transport initiatives.  The transport offer would be reduced slightly, with the removal of support to those socially necessary but uneconomic bus routes that provided the least added value (£0.6m) and also the removal of the 9:00 - 9:30 discretion on concessionary fares (£0.6m).  Third party recycling credits currently passed on to national bodies would be removed and the household waste recycling opening hours would be reviewed.  There would also be savings across the environment and planning services, the most significant of which would be reductions in the level of public rights of way maintenance and countryside access services.  It was proposed that no inflation was added to highways fees and charges for the new financial year.  This continued the freeze in highways fees and charges in 2010/11 and would be a small help to business at this difficult economic time.

(6)       The starting point for the capital programme was the existing published capital programme for 2010/13. The only significant change to the capital programme was the 28% reduction in government funding for the combined highways maintenance and integrated transport programmes.  Frontline road surface was protected as far as possible from the reduction and the split between maintenance and integrated transport programmes was set out in the detailed capital budget in appendix D of the budget book, and in appendix 3 of the report.

(7)     There followed a question and answer session which included the following issues:-

(a)          Mrs Tweed asked if it would be possible to stagger payments for the Freedom Pass, after the initial payment of £50.  Members supported the idea and Mr Hall undertook to look into this suggestion.

(b)          Mr Harrison referred to

(i)     the Coastal Protection service, and the payments to District Authorities towards the cost of coastal protection improvements.  Mr Hallett stated that the payments were ‘historic loans’ for infrastructure at the 5 Coastal District Councils several years ago;

(ii)     no provision having been made for an annual % increase on the freedom pass and asked if building that fact into costs could be investigated; and

(iii)  the Countryside Access service and which portfolio would it be responsible to following the proposed re-organisation.

(c)          Mrs Cole stated that having recently attended meetings of the Dartford Youth Advisory Group, students were struggling to meet the cost of a Freedom Pass, and asked if it would be possible to implement a direct debit system.  Mr Hall undertook to look into the suggestion. 

(8)     Resolved that the revenue and capital budget proposals, together with the responses made to Members questions be noted.