Agenda and minutes
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Contact: Andrew Randell Email: a.randell@somersetwestandtaunton.gov.uk
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Apologies
To receive any apologies for absence. Minutes: Apologies were received from Councillors Hunt, Lees and Thwaites
Councillor Ellis substituted for Councillor Lees Councillor Lloyd substituted for Councillor Hunt |
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Minutes of the previous meeting of the Scrutiny Committee
To approve the minutes of the previous meeting of the Committee held on 9 October 2019. Minutes: (Minutes of the meeting of the Scrutiny Committee held on 9 October circulated with the agenda)
Resolved that the minutes of the Scrutiny Committee held on 9 October be confirmed as a correct record. |
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Declarations of Interest
To receive and note any declarations of disclosable pecuniary or prejudicial or personal interests in respect of any matters included on the agenda for consideration at this meeting.
(The personal interests of Councillors and Clerks of Somerset County Council, Town or Parish Councils and other Local Authorities will automatically be recorded in the minutes.) Minutes: Members present at the meeting declared the following personal interests in their capacity as a Councillor or Clerk of a County, Town or Parish Council or any other Local Authority:-
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Public Participation
The Chair to advise the Committee of any items on which members of the public have requested to speak and advise those members of the public present of the details of the Council’s public participation scheme.
For those members of the public who have submitted any questions or statements, please note, a three minute time limit applies to each speaker and you will be asked to speak before Councillors debate the issue. Minutes: The following members of the public made statements:-
Karuna on behalf of Extinction Rebellion:-
The Council were commended in declaring a Climate Change Emergency and the work undertaken to date. Further emphasis was encouraged to align all services to the Climate Change Strategy to deliver the zero carbon target before 2030. The Council were requested to positively engage with members of the public and outside organisations to co-write the policy design. Work to focus on carbon reduction was requested to be at the forefront of the Councils priorities to avert a climate, financial and ecological disaster.
Karuna was thanked for his input with widespread agreement of the issues and acknowledgement of the importance of Extinction Rebellion work in keeping the awareness of the climate change emergency, to gain support to make the changes needed and to engage further both locally and centrally.
Phil Cookson:-
The Committee were requested to formally request that Councillor Mike Rigby, The Chief Executive and the Director responsible for Planning Policy ensure that allocations of land and buildings across the District (in the Local Plan 2040 review) include the outcomes of Town and Parish Councils and other settlement-based groups, concluded discussions with land and building owners regarding changes of use for low carbon developments; and thereafter include such land and buildings in the site allocation and Development plans for each settlement, therefore the formal request was made to ensure inclusion of changes of land use for the local carbon future in the Site Allocations and Development Plan maps.
The committee thanked both members of the public for their statements and informed them that the Strategy Specialist for Climate Change would be in contact to arrange a meeting to discuss their areas of concern. |
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Financial Strategy and Budget Approach. Report of the Section 151 Officer (attached).
Minutes: The Financial Strategy for Somerset West and Taunton Council (SWT) was approved by the Executive in September 2019. Prior to the Strategy being approved an informal briefing, open to all Members, was provided by the S151 Officer on 9 September. The Strategy outlined the Council’s proposed approach to managing its financial position over the medium term (three to five years). It also set out estimates and assumptions regarding service costs and income, the funding available and the planned approach to ‘balancing the books’ over the same period. The Council (and its predecessors) had delivered significant savings in recent years, responding to financial challenges in the sector locally and nationally. There was a high degree of uncertainty regarding future funding and the prudent approach to financial planning reflected this. There continued to be financial pressures in future, as well as ambitious plans for delivering improved local services, therefore challenging savings targets were included in the Strategy. Having significantly reduced costs in the past, the focus moving forward was weighted towards income generation – providing essential additional resources to meet the ambitions for the Council and district. The report provided the Scrutiny Committee with a re-cap on the Financial Strategy, an update on any significant changes to the Medium Term Financial Plan, and an outline of the next steps in the budget process. The Shadow Executive for Somerset West and Taunton set the previous Financial Strategy in September 2018. This reflected the consolidated position resulting from the previous approaches agreed by the two predecessor Councils (Taunton Deane and West Somerset), and was largely influenced by the savings being delivered through the joint transformation programme and the creation of the single, new council. This was followed with the Shadow Council approving the new Council’s 2019/20 Budget in February 2019. Following the creation of the new Council, and the elections in May 2019, the new administration and leadership team developed a new Corporate Strategy which was approved by Full Council on 8 October 2019. The Corporate Strategy set the ambitions and directions for the medium term, incorporating priorities outcomes and objectives for 2020 to 2024. The Financial Strategy would evolve alongside this and reflect the plans in more detail as the financial planning process progressed. The Financial Strategy agreed in September set the direction in terms of understanding the current financial estimates, allowing for future ambitions, and ensuring the Council had a clear strategy in place to remain financially resilient for the foreseeable future in the face of ongoing funding uncertainty. Financial Planning was particularly difficult at this point, with a high degree of risk and uncertainty in particular regarding the Council’s funding forecasts. A summary of the key factors affecting this included: · National context – Brexit uncertainty and potential for instability in the national economy. The Chancellor had announced his intention to present a Budget to Parliament on 6 November, however this has been cancelled amid ongoing political uncertainty. · Financial stress in the local government sector – with particular emphasis on the NHS, ... view the full minutes text for item 43. |
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Scrutiny Committee Forward Plan
To receive items and review the Forward Plan. Minutes: (Copy of the Scrutiny Committee Forward Plan, circulated with the agenda).
Councillors were reminded that if they had an item they wanted to add to the agenda, that they should send their requests to the Governance Team.
· Further information was requested in relation to South Somerset District Council’s investment in battery storage at Bishops Hull. · An item relating to the Local Plan was requested to be added to the forward plan. · Consideration of the Commercial Investment Strategy was requested after the election.
Resolved that the Scrutiny Committee Forward Plan be noted. |