Agenda and minutes

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Noted.

None.

The Chair will consider the admission of any late items of urgent business. (Late items will be considered under the agenda item where they appear. New items will be dealt with at item 13 below).

None.

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To approve the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees held on 8 November 2016, 28 November 2016 (to follow) and 6 December 2016.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee meetings held on 8 November 2016, 28 November 2016 and 6 December 2016 be approved as a correct record.

To receive and note the minutes of the following Scrutiny Panels and to approve any recommendations contained within:

Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel – 17 November 2016

Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel – 13 December 2016

Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel – 4 October 2016 and 8 December 2016

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel – 3 October 2016

RESOLVED that the minutes of

Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel – 17 November 2016

Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel – 13 December 2016

Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel – 4 October 2016 and 8 December 2016

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel – 3 October 2016

be noted, and any recommendations contained therein be approved.

Oladapo Shonola, Head of Finance - Pensions & Treasury, introduced the report as set out.

The following arose during discussion of the report:

a.         The level of borrowing was around £250m, with around £200m for the Housing Revenue Account.  The average rate of borrowing was 4.9%, and for the current financial year this equated to £14.5m, which was in line with what had been agreed at the start of the financial year.

b.         The Lender’s Option Borrower’s Option (LOBO) loans were taken on at a time when rates were favourable, and auditors had concluded that the Council had not lost out as a result of taking a LOBO loan over a government loan, as the rate of borrowing would have been the same. 

c.         Internal borrowing was where cash reserves were used in place of external borrowing, and this was used when the interest on investment would be far lower than the interest paid on borrowing.  Another option was short-term borrowing, for a period of up to three months, where necessary. 

d.         Corporate Committee received regular updates on the status of borrowing and investments.

e.         The decision on which Counterparty to include on the approved list was based mainly on credit criteria, but also on other criteria, in conjunction with treasury advisors.  The length of investment was guided by the treasury management strategy, and combined, these helped to mitigate risk of investments.

f.          Members raised questions regarding the monitoring of any borrowing and risks as a result of any external development vehicles.  Councillor Arthur explained that in the event of any development vehicle, the Council would have a 50% share, and therefore measures would be put in place to monitor risks and investments.  Members requested further information on the impacts on current income streams and the projected income of the Haringey Development Vehicle.  Members also referred to the Housing Revenue Account, and questioned what the position would be if the HDV went ahead.  Councillor Ibrahim suggested that it would be appropriate for this information to be fed back to the Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel as part of their review of the HDV.

g.         The Committee requested that a meeting take place with the Chair of Corporate Committee, and it was noted that a meeting had been scheduled to take place in March to consider the Annual Audit Plan 2017/18 ahead of activities to develop the 2017/18 scrutiny work programme.

The Committee discussed a number of recommendations and it was 

RESOLVED that

i.          the report be noted;

ii.         a meeting take place between the Chair of Corporate Committee and Overview and Scrutiny Committee to discuss any issues;

iii.        Corporate Committee be requested to keep the Lender’s Option Borrower’s Option (LOBO) under review and take action where appropriate to reduce any risk to the Council;

iv.       Corporate Committee be requested to take responsibility for the oversight of the Council’s 50% share of any potential future development vehicle in terms of any financial investments; and

v.         Further information on the potential impact  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99.

To receive a presentation on the findings of the Budget Consultation.

Richard Grice, Assistant Director for Transformation and Resources, gave a presentation on the findings of the recent budget consultation.

The following arose during discussion:

a)        The consultation had run from 19 December until 22 January via a number of contact sessions.  There were responses from 150-160 people.

b)        The most unpopular themes were libraries and waste.  The most popular were those which proposed new models of operation, for example shared services.

c)         Suggestions from the public included ring-fencing the budget for libraries, and reducing senior officer / consultant salaries.

RESOLVED to note the update.

To note the minutes of the budget Scrutiny Panel meetings:

Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel – 13 December 2016

Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel – 20 December 2016

Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel – to follow

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel – to follow

Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 17 January 2017

RESOLVED that the minutes of

Children and Young People Scrutiny Panel – 13 December 2016

Adults and Health Scrutiny Panel – 20 December 2016

Environment and Community Safety Scrutiny Panel – 21 December 2016

Housing and Regeneration Scrutiny Panel – 14 December 2016

Overview and Scrutiny Committee – 17 January 2017

be noted.

This report sets out how budget proposals detailed in the draft 5 year Medium Term Financial Strategy (2017/18 – 2021/22) have been scrutinised, and the recommendations that have been reached by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee (OSC) and Scrutiny Review Panels.

Members of the Committee are asked to consider and agree recommendations contained within this report so that these can be considered by Cabinet on 14 February 2017, when they will also agree the final MTFS proposals.  

Councillor Arthur provided a short update on the Medium Term Financial Strategy since the Cabinet papers had been published.  The Committee noted the update and discussed the recommendations from the Scrutiny Panels and OSC as set out in the agenda pack.

RESOLVED that

i)          the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy (2017/18 – 2021/22) be noted;

ii)         the additional information as requested during the December round of Scrutiny Panel meetings be noted; and

iii)       the final budget recommendations as set out in the agenda pack be agreed, with the following amendments:

-       New Parking Operating Model (Environment & Community Safety Scrutiny Panel) – the recommendation was to not proceed with the proposal; and

-       Fees and charges review (Adults & Health Scrutiny Panel) – the recommendation was to not proceed with the proposal.

This report gives details of the proposed OSC work programme for the remainder of the municipal year.  

RESOLVED that the future work programme for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee be noted.

None.

To note the dates of future meetings:

9 February 2017 (special)

27 March 2017

Noted.