Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

The Executive is asked to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 3 May 2018.

The Executive considered the minutes of the meeting held on 3 May 2018.

RESOLVED:           

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 3 May 2018 for signature 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 disclosures of interest.

Report E/18/01 presents recommendations to the Executive for the improvement of Scrutiny at Selby District Council.

The Leader of the Council presented the report that outlined recommendations for the improvement of scrutiny at Selby District Council.

The Executive were supportive of the proposals and praised the training provided by the Kirklees Council.

RESOLVED:

                        To note the following:

i)                  To develop Terms of Reference for ‘deep dives’ or ‘scrutiny in a day’ reviews looking initially at planning enforcement, housing, antisocial behaviour and the Safer Selby Hub.

ii)                 Officers to work with the Chair of Scrutiny to understand what kind of support would be most appropriate for scrutiny at Selby.

iii)               To circulate the 2018/19 Executive meeting dates at the next meeting of the Scrutiny Committee (5 July 2018) to ensure that a member of the committee attends each Executive meeting.

iv)               To arrange further scrutiny training for Members.

To agree the following:

v)            To establish a liaison group between the Chairs of Scrutiny and the Executive, to meet on a quarterly basis, to discuss the Executive’s Forward Plan and the Committees work programme.

vi)          To recommend to Council the development of a role profile for the Chair of Scrutiny.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To note and agree the recommendations above in order to ensure that the work to improving scrutiny, as recommended by the Peer Challenge Team and set out in the Council’s Peer Challenge Improvement Plan, is progressed.

Report E/18/02 presents the Council’s financial results and budget exceptions report to 31 March 2018, and asks the Executive to approve a number of transfers as detailed in the report.

Councillor Cliff Lunn, Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented the Council’s financial results and budget exceptions report to 31 March 2018 which asked the Executive to approve a number of transfers as detailed in the report.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that following the year end results for 2017/18, there had been a surplus of £414k on the general fund. It was noted that this had been made up of factors including higher interest returns and staffing savings. Additionally, the Executive were informed that there was a net surplus of £1,919k in the Housing Revenue Account.

In response to a query around surpluses, the Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that some balances were being carried forward and that all of the variances had been explained in the report.

RESOLVED:

i)             To carry forward the funds set out in Appendix D (£3.179m Revenue including Programme for Growth and £6.684m Capital) from 2017/18 to 2018/19.

ii)            To transfer the £414k General Fund surplus to the Business Rates Equalisation Reserve to support future cost pressures.

iii)           To transfer the additional £734k 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 and to make adequate appropriations to reserves to mitigate future spending priorities.

Report E/18/03 asks the Executive to approve the Treasury Management Annual Review 2017/18, and to endorse the actions of officers in relation to treasury activities.

Councillor Cliff Lunn, Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources presented the report that asked the Executive to approve the Treasury Management Annual Review 2017/18, and to endorse the actions of officers in relation to treasury activities.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that the Council’s investment over the year was at an average rate of around 0.5% and the amount earned had been higher than expected.

In response to a query concerning reducing the amount of borrowing, the Chief Finance Officer explained that this was always under review however had to be balanced with the penalties for reducing borrowing earlier than expected.

RESOLVED:

To endorse the actions of officers on the Council’s treasury activities for 2017/18 and approve the report.

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.