Agenda item

To consider a report by the Director for Digital Sustainability and Resources, copy attached as item 10

Before the Committee was a report by the Director for Digital, Sustainability and Resources, a copy of which had been circulated to all Members, a copy of which is attached to the signed copy of these minutes as item 10. The report before Members provided members with a progress report on the delivery of the Authorities financial strategy for 2022/23, along with details of the proposals that would help deliver a balanced budget for the next financial year and beyond

The Chief Financial Officer was present to answer questions

A Member asked the following question: In relation to the cost associated with temporary and emergency accommodation, how has the closure of the Turning Tides Hostel at 22 Lyndhurst Rd been planned for? The Committee was told that the Council’s Housing Services had been in conversation with Turning Tides about the closure of Lyndhurst Road since the beginning of the year. Every resident in Lyndhurst road would have a move on plan which would depend on their current support needs. The move- on options were likely to be a move into independent or semi-independent living or move to another supported housing scheme if they still needed support. Residents who moved into independent accommodation would continue to receive low level support.

A Member asked the following question: Paragraph 6.2 states work is still to be done to identify savings to meet the initial target.  How much is still to be done and what is the risk of a shortfall? Members were told that the budget was balanced for Adur, there was a small issue with Worthing of £54,000. The budgets both still contained allowances for new service investments which could be removed if necessary. Paragraph 6.2 did not refer specifically to identifying additional savings but additional work more generally. This would include: A reassessment of capital financing costs in the light of progress on the capital programme. This was likely to reduce costs based on our current understanding of progress in delivering the projects and, for Worthing, the new approach to calculating the MRP; A reassessment of cost pressures to ensure that we are setting a robust budget; the final assessment of the impact of settlement. Overall it was anticipated that the outcome of this work would be that the Council would be able to set a balanced budget without use of reserves.

A Member asked the following question: Adur’s revenue streams are rooted in business rates, parking, commercial, strategic investments & employment. Do we feel we are being innovative enough here or, could we be trading our services with other Councils for example? Last year London Borough of Harrow became one of the first local authorities in the country to sell its own recyclables in an online ‘e-auction.’ The council used an e-bay style system to sell 100 per cent of its dry recyclables to waste management firm Viridor. Could we replicate? Members were told that the Council already sold services to other public sector partners - e.g insurance services, legal services. The Councils were also one of the first to set up a partnership arrangements which levered in savings to both Councils’ of £3.3m per year.  Overall commercial services had delivered growth in income across the two councils of around £600k per year consistently over several years. Work with colleagues within the NHS was being undergone to create a shared campus for the Council and various health bodies - sharing our buildings with the CCG to generate a saving of £364k per year, the financial challenge was such that the Authorities were always seeking opportunities to work in partnership with others to reduce our cost base. With respect to the sale of recyclates, this sat within the disposal authority who processed recyclable waste.

A Member asked the following question: The Council was planning to spend £44.9m over the next 3 years to increase the supply of affordable homes and improve the condition of existing housing stock. How much have we spent so far? Members were told that the council had spent over £12m in the previous 3 years on the housing stock and new developments. There was a further budget to spend £5.6m per year on maintenance.