Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

The Executive is asked to approve the minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 11 June 2020.

The Executive considered the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2020.

RESOLVED:

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 June 2020 for signing by the Chair.

A copy of the Register of Interest for each Selby District Councillor is

available for inspection at www.selby.gov.uk.

Councillors should declare to the meeting any disclosable pecuniary

interest in any item of business on this agenda which is not already

entered in their Register of Interests.

Councillors should leave the meeting and take no part in the

consideration, discussion or vote on any matter in which they have a

disclosable pecuniary interest.

Councillors should also declare any other interests. Having made the

declaration, provided the other interest is not a disclosable pecuniary

interest, the Councillor may stay in the meeting, speak and vote on that

item of business.

If in doubt, Councillors are advised to seek advice from the Monitoring

Officer.

There were no declarations of interest.

Report E/20/1 outlines the tenth formal annual review of the Leisure Contract with Inspiring healthy lifestyles (IHL) and covers the period April 2019 to March 2020.

The Leader of the Council presented the report which outlined the Leisure Contract Annual Review from April 2019 to March 2020.

The Leader of the Council explained that the review only includes around eight days of the effect of Covid-19. The Executive was informed that there was a number of positive elements in the report such as the number of people undertaking swimming and the number of memberships. The Executive praised the relationship with Inspiring Healthy Lifestyles (IHL) and wished them well with the re-opening of the leisure centre.

In response to a query regarding a reduction in customer satisfaction, it was explained that there had been issue around cleaniness earlier in the year which had been addressed in the report.

RESOLVED:

1)    To note the key findings of the report and in particular the performance of IHL to date.

2)    To refer the report to the Scrutiny Committee for further analysis.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To recognise the work IHL has made in delivering the leisure services offer across the Selby District and in delivering key aspects of the corporate plan.

Report E/20/2 outlines the Corporate Performance Report which provides a progress update on delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-20 as measured by a combination of: progress against priority projects/high level actions; and performance against Key Performance Indicators (KPIs).   

The Leader of the Council presented the Corporate Performance Report which provided a progress update on delivery of the Council’s Corporate Plan 2015-20 as measured by a combination of: progress against priority projects/high level actions; and performance against key performance indicators (KPIs).

It was noted there was an error in the report where the KPI for the number of affordable homes provided in the district should have read 146 rather than 196.  Discussion took place with regard to the performance indicator for affordable housing and the Executive agreed that performance should be measured as an outturn number rather than a specific performance rating due to up to 40% being the target for affordable housing.

Queries were raised with regard to the performance indicators around sickness absence for staff and the meeting the savings target for the Council. The Chief Executive explained that the sickness absence had improved during the first quarter of the new year and that an element of the savings target was based on income and that work was being done to clarify the priorities for future work.

In response to a query concerning considering a new budget, the Executive was informed that the aim was to consider a new budget at a Council meeting in September.

In response to a query concerning the performance indicator regarding complaints, the Head of Business Development and Improvement explained that there were a small number of complaints that had exceeded the response times due to members of staffing have to work on other areas such as responding to flooding.

A query was raised regarding the performance indicator relating to housing repairs. The Chief Executive explained that the Council was concentrating its efforts on repairs to void properties and work was being done to look at how repairs were managed.

RESOLVED:

1)    To note and approve the report.

2)    To amend the performance indicator for affordable homes provided in the district to a outturn number for future reports.

REASON FOR DECISION:

The reporting of performance data enables the Council to demonstrate progress on delivering the Corporate Plan Priorities to make Selby District a great place.

Report E/20/3 outlines the financial results and budget exceptions to 31^st March 2020.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented the financial results and budget exceptions report to 31 March 2020.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that the deficit in the General Fund had been partly offset in the year by factors such as unused contingency. With regard to the effect of Covid-19, the Executive was informed that the report only considered the effect of a month and therefore there would be further risks going forward concerning this.

A query was raised regarding the surplus in the Housing Revenue Account (HRA). The Chief Finance Officer explained that the surplus was due to elements such as savings from the capital programme leading to less funding being required.

RESOLVED:

1)    To carry forward the General Fund, HRA and Programme for Growth funds set out in Appendix D totalling £2,815k (net) from 2019/20 to 2020/21.

2)    To ask Council to approve the drawdown of £363k from the Business Rates Equalisation Reserve to finance the General Fund deficit.

3)    To transfer the additional £315k HRA surplus to ‘HRA Major Repairs Reserve’ to support the future capital programme.      

REASON FOR DECISION:

To allow projects and initiatives not completed in year to be rolled over to the following year, to fund the deficit on the general fund from reserves and to make adequate appropriations to reserves in the HRA to mitigate future spending priorities.

Report E/20/4 reviews the Council’s borrowing and  investment activity (Treasury Management) for the period 1^st April 2019 to 31 March 2020 and presents performance against the Prudential Indicators.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented the report which reviewed the Council’s borrowing and investment activity (Treasury Management) for the period 1^st April 2019 to 31 March 2020 and presents performance against the Prudential Indicators.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that an interest of £601k had been earned during the year and that the Council currently had £4.69m invested in property funds.

Discussion took place regarding the investment in property funds and concern was raised at the effect of Covid-19 on the property market. The Chief Finance Officer explained that the funds the Council had invested in held a diverse range of assets and that trading on the current funds had been suspended due to the current climate. Additionally, the Executive was informed that the funds were intended to be long term investments.

RESOLVED:

1)    To endorse the actions of officers on the Council’s treasury activities for Q4 2019/20 and approve the report.

2)    To note general fund investment income received over the £350k threshold to be transferred to contingency reserve, equating to £65k for the year.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To comply with the Treasury Management Code of Practice, the Executive is required to receive and review regular treasury management monitoring reports.

Report E/20/5 outlines the Council Delivery Plan 2020-23 for consideration.

The Leader of the Council presented the report which outlined the Council Delivery Plan for 2020-23.

Discussion took place regarding setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely) objectives in the plan alongside an order of priority work and assigning financial figures to each piece of work. It was suggested this item be deferred to a future meeting until this had been undertaken.

Additionally, it was suggested that there should a cross party discussion on the plan to enable a collaborative approach.

RESOLVED:

To defer discussion of the Council Delivery Plan 2020-23 to enable a discussion to be held on setting SMART objectives alongside an order of priority and financial figures to each piece of work.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To enable the Council Delivery Plan 2020-23 to be considered in a more effective way.