Decisions

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Environmental Health and Housing (circulated previously) regarding the development of Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs) and other Council services to secure disabled adaptations and improvements in residential property.

The Head of Environmental Health and Housing highlighted the following:

·         The Government had increased the funding for DFGs this year via the Better Care Fund, and the Council had further benefited from a reallocation of uncommitted funds from other local authorities in Devon and would enable the Council to provide more services to secure disabled adaptations and improvements in residential property

·         There was a need to communicate widely the availability of funding.

·         A programme would be in place to train staff and partners to ensure that people who would benefit from adaptations have access to the funding.

·         The Council was working with 361 Energy regarding promotion of the scheme.

Councillor Walker addressed the Committee as a service user who had received a Disabled Facilities Grant.  She advised the Committee of the lengthy delays in the process as the DFG system was reliant upon Devon County Council Occupational Therapy.

In response the Head of Environmental Health advised that he would speak with Devon County Council regarding the time delay for Occupational Therapy assessments and would advise the Committee of the outcomes via email.

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Environmental Health and Housing Service (circulated previously) regarding a position statement on the Council’s provision of temporary accommodation for homeless households.

The Committee received a presentation by the Service Lead Housing Advice and Homelessness regarding the provision of temporary accommodation for homeless households.  She outlined the background and reasons for the programme; challenges for the Environmental Health and Housing and Estates teams; type of properties procured; location of properties; renovation work required; current stock of accommodation and the properties in the process of being procured; the financial, physical and emotional benefits achieved; future projects; project team; feedback received from clients.

The Head of Resources advised that an additional £30k savings had been achieved this year, which results in a total of £180k annual savings, compared to spending level of 2017/18 year.

The Chief Executive advised that other Local Authorities were looking at the Council’s approach to providing a good service to customers requiring temporary accommodation.

In response to questions, the Service Lead Housing Advice and Homelessness advised that in the last month Bed and Breakfast accommodation had only been used for four nights.  The average length of stay in temporary accommodation was between two to three months.  Officers worked with the clients to support their move to private accommodation.

RESOLVED:

The Committee considered a report by the Project, Procurement and Open Space Officer (circulated previously) regarding the allocation of Section 106 public open space funds towards three projects, one in Heanton Punchardon and two in South Molton.

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Resources (circulated previously) regarding the Performance and Financial Management for Quarter 2 of 2019/20.

The Accountancy Services Manager highlighted the following:

·         As at 30 September 2019, the latest forecast net budget was £12.605m, which produced a budget deficit of £0.087m.  The deficit for Quarter 1 was £0.028m.  Work would be undertaken towards reducing this throughout Quarter 3 and Quarter 4.  The measures detailed in paragraph 4.1.5 of the report were already factored in to the £0.087m deficit.  Details of all variances were shown in “Appendix A – Variations in the Revenue Budget”.

·         Operational Services have seen increasing pressure in Quarter 2 on various budgets due to increased levels of missed collections and higher levels of sickness absence.  Employee costs were currently forecast to exceed the budget by £0.229m, the main reasons contributing to this overspend were increased use of agency and overtime to cover the inefficiencies above.

·         The Head of Operational Services had outlined plans to address some of these issues by:

o   Introducing changes to the workshop to reduce vehicles off the road – The working hours of the vehicle workshop had been extended as part of a trial to increase vehicle availability and to reduce overtime both in the workshop and on the collection crews. The number of technicians had also been increased from 5 to 6 as part of the trial. Previously the workshop had been operating between 6am and 5pm with one technician in at 6am. The workshop was now operating between 6am and 6pm with two technicians in from 6am to 2pm, two from 8am to 4pm, and two from 10am to 6pm. Productivity would be closely monitored to establish the level of repairs/maintenance that were undertaken between 6am and 7am and 3pm & 6pm (the vehicles need to be available to the collection staff between 7am and 3pm). The intention was to complete more work outside of core hours and to minimise reduced vehicle availability from breakdowns and maintenance. This in turn would reduce/remove the need for collection crews to work beyond 3pm or on a Saturday to “catch up” due to the lack of vehicle availability.

o   Challenging the resource allocation across all Works and Recycling manual sections had identified that the street cleansing team could be reduced by 2 (over the winter months) and they will now be redeployed to assist with cover on the refuse and recycling services which in turn will see a positive reduction in the number of agency staff used for cover. In addition, an analysis of winter tonnages had been undertaken for the green collection service. Resource requirements have been challenged across the 10 day collection cycle and crew sizes have been reduced accordingly (in consultation with the staff).  This created a pool of staff that would now be redeployed to cover holiday and sickness across black and recycling services which would produce a positive reduction in agency support. Weekly usage of agency and overtime would now be tracked against the revised projections.

o   The average number of days lost to sickness in Works and Recycling was currently 16.3 days per person compared to 11.1 days per person in 2018/19. The budget included an average of 10 days per person so the increased level of 16.3 was placing an adverse pressure on the budget which was being addressed by Officers of Works and Recycling working closely together with Human Resources to reduce current levels by reviewing each individual case, referring staff to Occupational Health for up to date medical advice on staff capability. All sickness absence reviews would be updated, staff targets would be set and monitored and the Capability Policy would be used to reduce absence levels.

·         The sale of recyclable materials was an uncontrollable variable where there had been a recent decline in the income, in particular cardboard and paper, current projections show an income deficit of £0.090m.

·         The Shared Savings Scheme income was the Council’s 50% contribution from Devon County Council savings from the reduction in residual waste collected. The £0.028m additional income was the estimate based on current activity and estimated savings per tonne.

·         There had been a reduction in the forecast planning fee income of £0.190m due to a reduction in the larger applications received, this was in line with other authorities experiencing the same pressure. A further decline in large applications could worsen this projection.

·         At 30^th September 2019, it had been assumed that £0.200m increase to the business rates growth already factored into the budget, the growth was now estimated at £1.702m, this estimate is based on the update received from the Devon-wide Pool.

·         “Appendix B – Movement in reserves and Balances” detailed the movements to and from earmarked reserves in 2019/20.

·         Full details of the Strategic Contingency Reserve movements and commitments were detailed in “Appendix C – Strategic Contingency Reserve”.

·         The 2019/20 to 2021/22 Capital Programme was detailed in “Appendix D – Capital Programme”.

·         A capital funding bid for a further £0.030m was submitted to the Project Appraisal Group (PAG) in relation to Refurbishment of Lower Lyndale Public Toilets, Lynmouth. The project was to be funded from the repairs fund. This project had been scored medium to high and had been put forward by the Project Appraisal Group.

·         Variations to the 2019/20 Capital Programme as detailed in paragraph 4.4.4 of the report.

·         The revised Capital Programme for 2019/20 taking into account the budget variations was £9.012m.

·         Actual spend on the 2019/20 Capital Programme, as at 30 September 2019 was £2.408m. A number of the larger schemes were due to start shortly.

·         The overall Capital Programme for 2019/20 to 2021/22 was £30.471m.

·         The Programme of £30.471m was funded by Capital Receipts / Borrowing (£14.056m), External Grants and Contributions (£14.010m) and Reserves (£2.405m).

·         Release of Funds from the 2019/20 Capital Programme as detailed in paragraph 4.4.12 of the report.

·         Treasury Management, Debt Management and General Debtors as detailed in paragraphs 4.5 – 4.7 of the report.

·         Performance indicators as detailed in Appendix E.

In response to questions, the Head of Operational Services highlighted the following:

·         The service changes to Black and Green waste collection rounds due to the opening of the Transfer Station and in-vessel composter had resulted in an increase in the number of missed collections and employees having to work outside of normal working hours.

·         Changes had been made to the operational hours of the vehicle workshop to reduce vehicles off the road which had been implemented four weeks ago.

·          The sickness levels of employees was higher than expected and higher than the previous two years.  Work was being undertaken with Human Resources.

·         The two fires that had occurred in the processing hall had resulted in an additional cost of £32k due to the impact on collections and collection crews being required to work outside normal working hours, transportation of plastics by haulage, replacement of the flooring, external contractor being used to process recyclable materials and replacement of the bucket on the telehandler.

·         Following the implementation of the changes to date, the number of missed collections reported had started to reduce, this may be coincidence, however more data and monitoring will be undertaken to identify the impact of the changes.  The information gained from the system review of the service was starting to be used on a daily basis to challenge costs and improve performance.  The review also identified that alternative provision of vehicles such as contract hire should be investigated.

·         Occupational Health only identified root causes for sickness absence.

·         Food waste was sent to a digester and disposed of.  The cost of which was paid by Devon County Council.  If it was not sent to a digester it would be sent to the transfer station or landfill.  The Council benefitted from the shared savings scheme.

·         The Trade Waste recycling service was priced lower to encourage businesses to recycle.

·         The number of missed collections reported for Assisted Collections was very low.  The highest number reported was 7. 

·         The number of missed collections was now being reviewed on a daily basis to identify changes needed within the system to ensure that going forward, the missed collection was not repeated.

In response to questions, the Head of Resources highlighted the following:

·         The budget for 2020/21 would include a reduction in the forecast for planning fee income. 

·         In relation to the current overspend in Operational Services, all areas within the Council’s control would be reviewed such as sickness levels and vehicle maintenance. 

·         There was a need to ensure that the appropriate control measures were in place to ensure that costs were reduced and that a realistic base budget for 2020/21 could be set.  This was monitored on a monthly basis by the Senior Management Team.

·         There was a need to ensure that the core business for Waste and Recycling was stabilised and that all outstanding income was recovered.  Rounds needed to be optimised and the trade waste service to be commercially viable.  The Trade Waste service also included a recycling service. This service would be reviewed following the completion of the review of the missed collections.

·         It was anticipated that there would be a reduction in the claims for overtime from October compared to September due to change of hours for the vehicle workshop and redirection of the street cleansing team to assist with cover on the refuse and recycling services.

·         The Vanguard review of the service looked at efficiencies within the service from a customer perspective.

·         Consideration of rolling out the three weekly collection service had been delayed by a few months to ensure that the reasons for the current level of missed collections had been addressed.

·         New claims for housing benefits had now transferred to Universal Credit.  However, the majority of current claimants remained with the Council at present.  There was cross team working across the Revenues and Benefits teams which had resulted in the reduction in the number of days taken to process Housing Benefit and Council Tax support claims.

In response to questions, the Chief Executive advised the Committee that the principle of the Vanguard review approach was to ensure good customer service and that once that principle had been resolved it would produce financial savings as a result.  The number of missed collections had impacted on the Council’s financial position.  The core service needed to be resilient prior to consideration being given to the roll out of the three weekly collection service.  Vanguard was a consultant company that had been used to provide training to a number of our staff and to commence the systems review for missed collections.  This review was now being undertaken by our employees.

The Committee considered a report by the Chief Financial Officer (circulated previously) regarding the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy Mid Year Review Report for 2019/20.

The Head of Resources highlighted the following:

·         The Council was required to receive and approve three reports each year which included: Prudential and treasury indicators and treasury strategy (first report), Mid Year Treasury Management report (second report) and an Annual Treasury report (third report).

·         The Council’s investment priorities were security of funds first, portfolio liquidity second and then yield (return).

·         The Treasury Management Strategy Statement for 2019/20 was approved by Council on 25^th February 2019.  The Revised Prudential Indicator for the Capital Financing Requirement 2019/20 had been reduced to £5.4m.  The authorised borrowing limit had increased following the approval of the Leisure Centre project.

·         The table containing revised estimates for capital expenditure and the changes since the capital programme was agreed at the budget followed on from the Performance and Financial Management report for quarter 2 on the agenda. 

·         The total Capital Financing Requirement, underlying need to borrow, had reduced to £5.4m.  The current level of external borrowing of £1.25m would be retained.  Market interest rates would be kept under review.

·         There were no difficulties envisaged for the current or future years in complying with the prudential indicator.

·         The Council’s budgeted investment return for 2019/20 was £70,000. As at 30^thSeptember 2019 £62,203 investment interest was earned in the half-year period.

·         During October 2019, HM Treasury announced, with immediate effect, that it was increasing the margin that applies to new loans from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB) by 1% on top of usual lending terms. This was in part due to some local authorities substantially increasing their use of the PWLB in recent months, as the cost of borrowing had fallen to record lows.  This had an impact slowing down the levels of borrowing by Local Authorities.

·         Economics and interest rates as detailed in Appendix A.

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Resources (circulated previously) regarding the Lynton Agency Performance Review.

The Head of Resources highlighted the following:

·         In February 2015 North Devon Council approved the service improvement framework to objectively review services to improve the customer experience and/or value for money. A review of the Lynton and Lynmouth agency agreement was added to the review programme.

·         The review team put forward 14 recommendations to ensure moving forwards service levels were consistent with the rest of North Devon Council services areas and to also deal with the issues and risks highlighted throughout the review process. 

·         Significant progress has been made since the last report to Executive in September 2018 and this was outlined in the report from the Lynton and Lynmouth Town Clerk shown in Appendix A of the report.The only remaining review recommendation to be completed is in relation to exploring a joint way forwards to reducing public convenience costs and this action was reliant on North Devon Council carrying out a wider review of all public conveniences across the District.

·         It was proposed that the agency agreement with Lynton and Lynmouth Town Council be continued for a further period of 3 years from 1 April 2020.

·         As detailed in the report from the Lynton and Lynmouth Town Clerk  the actual financial performance for 2018/19 year had resulted in a net surplus of £60,177 (2017/18 was £57,674) which would be returned to North Devon Council.

The Committee considered a report by the Head of Resources (circulated previously) regarding Parish Grants 2020/21.

The Head of Resources highlighted the following:

·         Parish grants have historically been paid to Parish and Town Councils and annually cost the North Devon Council revenue budget £69,597.

·         The Medium Term Financial Strategy 2019-2023 approved in February 2019 sought to remove the grants from 2020/21 onwards as part of measures to bridge the future year’s budget gaps that had been identified.

·         Having previously contacted other Councils in the Devon area, North Devon Council are the only one that still retained payment of a grant to Parish and Town Councils.

·         Parish and Town Councils do have the ability to raise funding (without any referendum thresholds) through their individual annual precepts.

·         The report was to gain approval in advance of formulating the detailed 2020/21 revenue budget for the removal of Parish grants in order that Parish and Town Councils can be notified prior to setting their individual budgets and precept levels.

·         For the last two financial year’s 2018/19 and 2019/20; proposals have been put forward by the Executive committee when formulating the budget to reduce and fully remove the grant funding paid to Parish and Town Councils.

·         The original proposal outlined by the Leader at the Parish Forum held 10^th July 2017 was to reduce the grant by 50% for 2018/19 and fully remove the grant for 2019/20 onwards.

·         Parish and Town Councils were informed of the planned reductions at an early opportunity and notified by letter in advance of setting their individual budgets in order that they could plan accordingly for the impact.

·         Many of the Parish and Town Councils had allowed for the reduction when setting their precepts for the 2018/19 year; as they have to approve their budget levels prior to North Devon Council approving their budget and setting the Council Tax level for the forthcoming year.

·         Appendix A detailed the Parish Grants awarded during 2019/20.

·         If the Parish Grant scheme was not removed for 2020/21 then this will would increase the forecast budget gaps to £0.481m in 2020/21 to £0.746m in 2022/23 and therefore additional savings would need to be identified to bridge the future funding gaps.

·         An additional recommendation was made that “Subject to 2.1 being approved that Members as part of formulating the Revenue budget, approve an annual contribution of £20,000 for the next 3 years to an earmarked reserve in order that smaller Parishes can apply for funding for specific projects, with a strong emphasis on sustainability and countering climate change; with delegated authority given to the Head of Resources in consultation with Group Leaders and Lead Members for both the Environment and Climate Change, to approve such funding requests and appropriation of spend from the reserve”.  The budget would be considered as part of the annual budget setting process.

·         A further report would be brought to the Committee detailing the scheme and application process.  The scheme would include a definition for parish councils that would be eligible.

·         The overall Council Tax bill included the proportion of the bill that related to Parish Councils.

In response to a question, the Chief Executive advised that a review of Parish Councils would be undertaken following the Parliamentary Election.