Agenda item

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Legal Services said that some of the emergency measures put in place during Covid-19 were now being relaxed or transferred into longer term arrangements such as support for the vulnerable.  He noted that the MHCLG were putting together support for the loss of income which Councils had suffered, particularly car parking income.  It was hoped to recover 75% of the lost income and the Government were expecting Councils to minimise those losses.  He also noted that the income generation team had reduced the losses on investments.  He said the finances overall were a slightly improving picture and an improved estimate on the previous report in July 2020.

The Portfolio Holder for Protecting Core Services advised that the Government had given local authorities powers to encourage the safe opening of high streets following Covid-19, including closing roads to make people feel safe and ensure space for social distancing.  He said that sections of the main shopping streets of Yeovil had narrow pavements which meant people stepped into the road.  The road closures were implemented in agreement with the County Highway Authority and although he sympathised with the concerns raised by residents requiring disabled parking close to shops, the Council had tried to do the best for all residents.  He also congratulated the County Highway Authority staff for handling the consultation and implementation of the road closures in a very short time scale.

Councillor John Clarke congratulated the finance team and Portfolio Holder for their work in structuring the Councils finances during the Covid-19 pandemic.  He also advised that the bid put forward by the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the Bunford Innovation Park was a reserve scheme should any of the selected projects prove unviable.

The Chairman noted that some SSDC staff had been put on the Government’s furlough scheme but they were few and mainly limited to the Octagon Theatre and Westlands venue staff.

The Director for Strategy and Commissioning noted that the bid to fund the lease and support at a new 8 bed house of multiple occupation in Yeovil had been successful and further information on this would be provided in the next update report. 

The Chairman of the Scrutiny Committee welcomed the news of the successful funding bid for the house of multiple occupation in Yeovil.  He noted that the Committee would have preferred the report to list numbers or percentages rather than refer to ‘a large number’ and also the explanation of some acronyms was absent.

At the conclusion of the debate, the Chairman thanked all staff, including those who had been re-deployed into different roles for some weeks and also the finance and economic development staff.  Members were content to note the recommendations of the report.