Agenda item

Members considered the reports within the District Executive agenda for 6 August 2020 and raised comments as detailed below. Responses to most questions and comments were provided at Scrutiny Committee by the S.151 Officer and Lead Specialist (Finance).

Update Report on the Impact of Covid-19 on the Council (Agenda Item 6)

·         Appendix B (Page 13)

o   it was noted that £48k was listed for Tourism – a member queried how the amount had been derived as the figure seemed quite high.

o   The figure of £200k for the wellbeing / shielding hub was also noted and the figure queried as it seemed high. A member asked where the figure had come from?

o   Building Control fees – these have been reducing for well over a year – what is actually being done to look at and address the downward trend in fees?

·         Some members asked if any town or parish councils were approaching SSDC because there’s an impact on their reserves – are any town / parish councils looking to SSDC for help?

·         Para 29 (page 10) – regarding the delaying of the payment of Business Rates to Central Government and risks of reducing consumerism – what is our exposure?

·         Para 31 (page 10) – will the additional expenditure for bereavement services have any impact for Yeovil Without Parish Council?

·         Members noted the information provided at the Scrutiny meeting by the S.151 Officer – members queried if the support funding to LED would be a grant or a loan?

·         Some members felt there was a need to look at things more strategically now, and that a paper was needed that considered the real consequences of the situation and where we go now and in the future – not just the financial facts – and more and further than a recovery plan.

·         Regarding Westlands and the Octagon – are we eligible for some of the recently announced government grants for the Arts? Also what is the status regarding the loan for Westlands?

SSDC Financial Strategy 202021 – Revised (Agenda Item 7)

·         Para 9 (page 16) – refers to awaiting details regarding the financial settlement for councils – is there an indication of when further detail might be expected? Members queried if there would be another similar report to this item when more information was known?

·         Members acknowledged that SSDC was a prudent authority and had reserves and so could mitigate for some of the costs relating to Covid. Some members commented they would not want to see reserves go too low and sought reassurance that SSDC would be able to build up reserves again later.

·         Regarding Business Rates – a member queried if the pooling was likely to continue in its current form?

Capital Outturn Report for 2019/20 (Agenda Item 8)

·         No questions.

Revenue Outturn Report for 2019/20 (Agenda Item 9)

·         No questions.

2020/21 Capital Budget Monitoring Report for the Period Ending 30^th June 2020 (Agenda Item 10)

·         Table 1 on page 66 – a member sought clarity regarding the figure scheduled / profiled to OPIUM (Investment in Property) - is the figure of £100k additional funding to the project?

2020/21 Revenue Budget Monitoring Report for the Period Ending 30^th June 2020 (Agenda Item 11)

·         No questions.

·         The Chairman and members wished to thank the Finance team for all their work and producing the reports.

Annual Achievements Report 2019-20 (Agenda Item 12)

·         No questions.

District Executive Forward Plan (Agenda Item 13)

·         Some members were concerned about the number of items scheduled for the September meeting and whether the agenda would be overloaded.

·         Future of Local Government in Somerset – was there an indication of when the report may come forward? Scrutiny sought reassurance they would receive the report in good time in order to have adequate time to ready it thoroughly.

·         It was noted that two Transformation Update reports are listed (for September and December) – member sought clarity on the items as they believed the Transformation Programme was closing down. Will the items become Digital Strategy updates?