Agenda and draft minutes

Overview and Scrutiny Commission - Thursday, 9 January 2025 6.30 pm

Venue: Council Chamber - Time Square, Market Street, Bracknell, RG12 1JD. View directions

Contact: Louise Connelly  01344 354047

Media

Items
Note No. Item

None

43.

Apologies for Absence

To receive apologies for absence and to note the attendance of any substitute Members.

None

44.

Minutes of previous meeting pdf icon PDF 125 KB

To approve as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Commission held on 5 December 2024 .

Minutes:

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Commission held on 5 December 2024 be approved as a correct record, and signed by the Chair.

 

Responses to all of the queries and requests for information raised in the meeting had been received or formed part of the agenda.

None

45.

Declarations of Interest and Party Whip

Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary or affected interests and the nature of that interest, including the existence and nature of the party whip, in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

 

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

 

Any Member with an Affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest or indications that members would be participating while under the party whip.

 

Due to direct involvement with the draft climate change strategy, Cllr Haffegee and Cllr McKenzie-Boyle would be leaving the meeting ahead of agenda item 7, draft climate change strategy.

 

 

None

46.

Urgent Items of Business

Any other items which, pursuant to Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, the Chairman decides are urgent.

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

47.

Public Participation

To receive submissions from members of the public which have been submitted in advance in accordance with the Council’s Public Participation Scheme for Overview and Scrutiny.

Minutes:

No submissions had been made by members of the public under the Council’s Public Participation Scheme for Overview and Scrutiny.

 

 

48.

Draft Budget pdf icon PDF 90 KB

The Cabinet Member for Finance & Corporate Improvement and the Executive Director, Resources to present the draft capital and revenue budget proposals.

 

Members of the Commission are asked to submit technical or detailed questions in advance of the meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The draft capital and revenue budget proposals for 2025-2026 were presented by Councillor Neil, cabinet member for finance and corporate improvement, and Stuart McKellar, Executive Director: Resources. The focus was on protecting services for vulnerable residents, maintaining high-quality frontline services, and balancing the budget amidst rising costs and service demands.

Financial Challenges:

       The budget pressures amounted to £8.4 million, with identified savings of £5.3 million, leaving a projected budget gap of just over £3 million.

       Inflationary pressures, increased service demands, and funding uncertainty were highlighted as key financial challenges.

 

Capital Program:

       The capital program budget proposals for 2025-2026 to 2027-2028 included a total proposed capital program of £14.4 million.

       Key priorities included property maintenance, new school places, housing stock maintenance, and highways maintenance.

       The program emphasized maintaining critical infrastructure while balancing fiscal responsibility and community needs.

 

Funding Sources:

       The proposed capital program for 2025-2026 included £8.4 million funded by the Council and just under £6 million from external sources such as government grants, Section 106 contributions, capital receipts, and borrowing.

       There was increased reliance on borrowing, which required careful management to avoid further pressure on the revenue budget while properly maintaining assets.

 

Identified Savings:

       Identified savings of £5.3 million focused on efficiency, income generation, and support service reductions.

       Proposed reductions to non-essential services included scaling back grounds maintenance, reducing parking payment machines, and closing the upper decks of Braccan Walk car park for three months a year to save £9,000 on business rates.

       Fee increases were proposed, including increasing residents' parking zone fees by £10 and the brown bin garden waste service by £5 to make these schemes self-funding.

 

Public Engagement and Consultation:

       Public engagement and consultation on the budget proposals ran from 11 December 2024 to 21 January 2025.

       Feedback from the consultation would be considered before the final budget recommendation to the cabinet on 11 February 2025.

 

Discretionary Rate Relief for Charities:

       The consultation aimed to align the local relief system with other authorities and make it fairer and more affordable.

       The current rate relief provided an automatic 80% relief on business rates for charities, with local authorities offering relief on the remaining 20%.

       Proposed changes aimed to provide appropriate financial relief for charities supporting local people, paid for by local taxpayers.

 

Technical Update on Finance Settlement:

       The finance settlement included minor changes in grants and additional funding for social care.

       The higher social care grants allocation resulted in an additional £200,000, and a children's social care prevention grant of £250,000.

       The employers' National Insurance increase was expected to cost Bracknell Forest Council about £1.2 million, with an estimated government funding of £950,000, leaving a shortfall of around £250,000.

 

Budget Risks and Assumptions:

       Budget risks and assumptions included social care demand, inflation, and asset maintenance.

       Concerns were raised regarding the impact of National Insurance and minimum wage increases on local charities and care providers.

 

RESOLVED that cabinet is  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48.

49.

Draft Climate Change strategy pdf icon PDF 108 KB

The Leader of the Council and Assistant Director: Contracts to present the draft climate change strategy and delivery plan.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Temperton and Assistant Director, Damian James introduced and presented slides on the draft climate change strategy.  The following points were noted:

  • Aims of the strategy were to achieve net-zero emissions, support residents in reduction of emissions and preparation for climate change impacts.
  • Importance of community engagement and involvement of residents and volunteers.
  • Use of consultations and surveys to gather feedback.
  • Financial Responsibility: Ensuring emission reduction efforts were financially sustainable. Investment in green initiatives and retrofitting.
  • Role of Volunteers and Experts: Collaboration with universities and experts which would contribute to behaviour change and community projects.
  • Housing Standards: Focused on retrofitting older homes to improve energy efficiency. Development of partnerships with housing associations and reputable companies.
  • Monitoring and Reporting: Set up systems that monitored progress and reported on achievements. Ensured transparency and accountability.
  • Ensured the journey to Net Zero was fair to everyone through commitment and illustration of impact.
  • Financially responsible decisions based on evidence were made.
  • Focussed on the needs and priorities of Bracknell Forest and considered climate impact in procurement, travel, and transport.
  • Strategy would harness innovation and technical developments and made sure ongoing efforts with residents and solar panel initiatives were developed.
  • The strategy saw the council as playing a leadership role in the wider borough which worked to address emissions at different levels of influence through activities such as:
    • Consideration for climate impact in procurement
    • Stronger influence considering climate when setting policy and delivering place-shaping actions.
    • Encouragement of others to buy into the initiatives.
  • Delivery phases were split into 3:
    • Phase One: Transition, which included to start looking and planning, conduct research and exploratory work. Set the direction for the year.
    • Phase Two: Acceleration: Lay the groundwork and building capacity. Development of skills and make business cases. Get businesses and other stakeholders on board and to make sure there was organisational buy-in.
    • Phase Three: Delivery, which included Implementations of actions and made sure everything was in progress.
  • Enablers for the above phases were to make  sure organisational capacity and skills were available, funding was in place, communications and engagement were being used and development of partnerships and support.
  • Delivery of the plan would be achieved through:
    • Extensive monitoring and outreach efforts would be in place to ensure the success of the plan.
    • Investments would include boilers, ceiling installations (e.g., Priestwood Community Centre), flood protection, drainage work, door and window replacements, and ventilation improvements.
    • Volunteer Support: Improvements like double glazing were planned to create better environments for volunteers to work in.
    • Phased Actions: The plan outlined actions for phase one and provided a list of large-scale actions for future phases, with detailed strategies, costs, and monitoring methods.
  • Achievements to date noted were:
    • Successful solar panel initiatives (Solar Together).
    • EV charging infrastructure.
    • Waste reduction, especially food waste.
    • Promotion of active transport (cycling clubs).
    • Retrofitting buildings and using electric council vehicles.
    • Tree planting and landfill reduction.
  • The strategy aimed to continue these efforts and address remaining challenges over the four years.

The following was noted  ...  view the full minutes text for item 49.

None

50.

Work Programme Update

Overview and Scrutiny Panel Chairs to provide verbal updates on the work programme and highlight any proposed changes such as scope, scheduling or duration.

 

Minutes:

Health and Care Panel Overview and Scrutiny Panel

The panel would be reviewing the mental health recommendations shortly.

A decision on the rebuild of the Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) was expected soon, following a national review of the hospital rebuilding program. A decision would then be made on the possibility of setting up a joint health overview and scrutiny committee.

Environment and Communities Overview and Scrutiny Panel

A meeting had taken place to discuss the housing scope, the topic would be is Bracknell Forest Council delivering social housing for residents and the formal scope would be presented to the Commission at a later date.