Issue - meetings

Briefing and answers to questions – Councillor Joe Goldberg, Cabinet Member for Finance and Sustainability.

The Committee received the portfolio briefing and the responses to advance questions posed to Councillor Joe Goldberg, Cabinet Member for Finance and Sustainability.  The Committee asked supplementary questions, the answers of which are noted below.

Re. Q3.  The Cabinet Member explained that the primary commitment in terms of sustainability was to reduce the Council’s carbon usage rather than create power through wind/solar, which were also being considered as ways to generate future savings.

Re. Q4. The Committee requested a milestone report of the impact of the Council’s emergency expenditure restrictions imposed to tackle projected in-year overspend (action 62.1).

Re. Q7.  The Committee highlighted previous discussions on the possibility of using wasteland for allotment space and offenders on the Community Payback scheme to work on those spaces. The feasibility of this would be investigated and reported back to the Committee (action 62.2).

Q13.  The Committee would be provided with confirmation of how many rate payers would be eligible for the Business Rate Relief Scheme, officers believed it was approximately 3200 (action 62.3).

The Committee asked for the timeline for the SMART working programme and noted that the Council was part way through the SMART working programme.

Based on the current plan:  SMART working had been set up at Alexandra House in all except for one floor.River Park House had started working towards SMART and was due for completion in Dec 2010.  In Cumberland Road some teams were being moved out and the full completion would be over a longer period ending around Sept 2011.  Planning work for Station Road was starting now.

The Committee was informed that there had been a reduction in the use of consultants in the Council but where there were consultants these were used for a time specific or expert project.

The Committee noted that the potential for unused Council office space to be turned into residential use.

It was reported that the Council’s overtime expenditure (mainly for area such as care) was proportionate to other Council’s and that it was still beneficial to pay overtime rather than employ a new people to take on the additional hours.

RESOLVED that the briefing be noted.