Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Evans and Councillor Hitchins.  Councillors Keith Onslow and Gary Stevens attended as their respective substitutes.

The Chairman reported to the Committee that the Leader of the Council was listening to the meeting via conference call.

There were no additional declarations of interest.

In accordance with the Council’s Constitution, questions that are not specific to reports on the agenda must have been received in writing 10 working days before the date of the meeting. 

Questions specifically on reports on the agenda should be received within two working days of the normal publication date of the agenda.  Please ensure that questions specifically on reports on the agenda are received by the Democratic Services Team by 5pm on 17 June 2021.

No questions were received.

The minutes of the Executive, Resources and Contracts PDS Committee meeting held on 25 May 2021, were agreed and signed as a correct record subject to the correction of a minor typing error.

Report CSD21074

The report dealt with the Committee’s business management including matters outstanding from previous meetings and the proposed work plan for the remainder of the year. 

The Committee noted that the Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Transformation had not yet had the opportunity to contact Councillors Bennett and Fawthrop regarding the comments they had previously submitted in relation to the draft Building a Better Bromley Strategy.  The Chairman asked that the Assistant Director contact the Councillors as a matter of priority.

The Chairman confirmed that the recommendation to convene a meeting of the Constitutional Improvement Working Group had been made to the Executive and any response received would be shared with the Committee.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted and the Assistant Director for Strategy, Performance and Transformation be asked contact Councillors Bennett and Fawthrop as a matter of priority to discuss their comments concerning the Building a Better Bromley Strategy.

The Committee noted the statutory Forward Plan of Key Decisions covering the period June 2021 to September 2021.

Portfolio Holder decisions for pre-decision scrutiny.

The Committee considered the following reports where the Resources, Contracts and Commissioning Portfolio Holder was recommended to take a decision.

Report FSD21034

The report summarised treasury management activity during the March quarter and included the Treasury Management Annual Report for 2020/21, which was required to be reported to Full Council. The report ensured that the Council was implementing best practice in accordance with the CIPFA Code of Practice for Treasury Management. Investments as at 31^st March 2021 totalled £380.1m and there was no external borrowing. For information and comparison, the balance of investments stood at £396.9m as at 31^st December 2020 and £336.1m as at 31^st March 2020, and, at the time of writing the report (4^th June 2021) it stood at £407.2m.

In opening the discussion, the Chairman sought confirmation of the processes that had been followed prior to investments being made in the Bank of Qatar and Bank of Kuwait.  In response, the Director of Finance explained that there were four key criteria:

-  Ability to invest in sterling;

-  FCAaccredited;

-  Credit assessment; and

-  Assessment of credit default swaps.

With these measures and controls in place the banks were deemed to be comparable with UK Banks. 

The Committee noted that whilst Officers did not undertake specific checks to ensure that banks were not aligned to regimes with ‘a dubious human rights record’, Officers would be aware of wider publicity around such regimes.

The Director of Finance reminded the Committee that the Bank of England Base Rate had been 0.1% for some time, and whilst yield was a key consideration, Officers also took security and liquidity into consideration.  Over the last year the Treasury Management Strategy had resulted in additional income of £1.5m in addition to the £1.5m which had been transferred into the Income Equalisation Reserve which generated significant income for the Council whilst managing risks around volatility.

In relation to investing in local authorities, the Director of Finance explained that it was unlikely that local authorities would default on loans due to the impact on borrowing and loss of confidence in the market.  However, reputational issues were taken into account and a balanced judgement made.

In respect of Pooled investment Schemes, the Director of Finance confirmed that this related to setting aside funding for 3-5 years as well as Multi Asset income Funds.

In respect of the Project Beckenham investment, the Director of Finance explained that it had been in the Council’s interest to support a local scheme.  The Council would continue to be open to future opportunities on the basis of security. 

The Chairman acknowledged and recognised the continuing good performance in the Council’s Treasury Management.

RESOLVED: That the Portfolio Holder be recommended to:

1.  Note the Treasury Management Annual Report for 2020/21;

2.  Approve the actual prudential indicators within the report.

Members of the Committee are requested to bring their copy of the agenda for the Executive meeting on 30 June 2021.

The Committee considered the following reports on the Part 1 agenda for the meeting of the Executive on 30 June 2021:

Report FSD21020

The report considered the 2020/21 provisional outturn at portfolio level and Council wide as well as the potential implications for the Council’s financial position in 2021/22. The purpose of the report was to give a broad overview of the financial outturn. The 2020/21 provisional outturn provided for no variation in general fund balances, subject to the recommendations in the report being agreed.  The report referred to the financial impact of the Covid-19 situation which needed to be treated with some caution because of the ongoing uncertainty arising from moving out of lockdown to transition and ultimately the ‘new normal’. The report sought agreement to set aside resources to support funding housing investment as well as partly fund future Covid related cost pressures.  The report also referred to the arrangements to address Government funding received during 2020/21 where the corresponding costs were charged to the Council’s general fund in future years.

In introducing the report, the Director of Finance highlighted that it had been a remarkable year with the requirement to manage unprecedented levels of funding from the Government to deliver the response to the Covid pandemic.  Now was the point of transition where attention had to be turned to thoughts about adjusting to the ‘new normal’ and the pressures which would inevitably present in the coming years.

Another key focus would be supporting the Council priority of housing.  Officers would continue to work on the basis of delivering value for money and targeting resources where they were needed.

In relation to the carry forward request, the Committee noted that some would be utilised for the ongoing response to the Covid pandemic.  It was clear that current levels of government funding could not be sustained in future years, as such there was a need to manage the current funding to ensure future resilience as well as manage the ongoing risks around the pandemic.

RESOLVED: That the Executive be recommended to

1.   consider the provisional revenue and capital outturns for the 2020/21 financial year and the earmarked balances on the General Fund as at 31^st March 2021;

2.   consider the variations in 2020/21 impacting on the Council’s 2021/22 financial position;

3.   consider the comments from Chief Officers;

4.    approve the requests for carry forwards totalling £749k (net) subject to the funding being allocated to the Central Contingency in 2021/22 to be drawn down on the approval of the relevant Portfolio Holder;

5.  agree the changes to the central contingency sum;

6.  recommend to Council that a sum of £3.887m be set aside as a contribution to the Housing Invest to Save Fund earmarked reserve;

7.  recommend to Council that a sum of £6.506m be set aside as a contribution to the COVID impact/recovery earmarked reserve;

8.  note the creation of a Business Rates Adjustment earmarked reserve relating to the timing differences of grant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

Please note: Appendix 1 is marked “to follow”.

Report CSD21073

The report provided information on the performance of the Customer Service Contract provided by Liberata for the period 1^st December 2020 to 31^st May 2021.  A letter from Amanda Inwood-Field, Contract Director for Liberata, provided her update on each individual element and her letter was attached at Appendix 1 of the report.

In opening the discussion, the Chairman noted that throughout the period from March to May there had been a steady deterioration in the performance of the contact centre and asked what action was being taken to mitigate the downward trend.  In response, the Committee heard that throughout April and May there had been an increased number of calls relating to the elections and registrations of marriages, births and deaths.  Performance had been closely monitored and recent data evidenced an improvement in performance.

In relation to the review of the Council’s website, the Chairman requested that a particular effort be made to remove expired pages.  The Committee noted that the programme to review and refresh the website content had already started and as part of this old content would be deleted.

Noting that that no surveys had been sent out in April and May, the Vice-Chairman queried whether surveys were now being sent to customers.  In response, the Committee were informed that April and May had been the period of transition to the new survey.  121 surveys had been sent in the current period and measures were being put in place to increase the number of surveys being sent.  Customers who contacted the Council by telephone or in person were provided with a friendly URL or alternatively a paper copy of the survey could be supplied if required.

Noting that the number of surveys sent out was currently comparatively small, the Committee were told that following the changes that had been implemented, future reports to the Committee would evidence a significant increase in the number of surveys.

The Committee requested that the next monitoring report provide details of any analysis of equality impact in terms of increased digitalisation, particularly the impact on vulnerable adults and children.  Members noted that no individual details were collected in terms of the protected characteristics of customers engaging with the Contact Centre.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report FSD21037

The report provided information regarding Liberata’s performance in the provision of Exchequer Services for the period 1^st April 2020 to 31^st March 2021. A letter from Amanda Inwood-Field, Liberata’s Contract Director, provided an update on each individual service and was attached at Appendix 1 to the report with statistical data relating to the services shown in subsequent appendices.

In opening the discussion, the Chairman asked what action was being taken to address issues around sundry debtors.  In response, the Committee heard that reminders were sent as the end of the year approached although the process was not always simple as some invoices required certain negotiation prior to the final invoice being agreed.

In relation to the debt advice provided to individuals who may be experiencing financial difficulties as a result of the pandemic, the Committee noted that there was a payment deferral period as well as new legislation to provide ‘breathing space’ to people experiencing financial problems.  Members also noted that clients were also advised to seek independent debt advice.

In response to a question, the Committee noted that in terms of disputed debt, further analysis would need to be obtained in order to review the age profile of the debt.  In relation to the BT debt, the Committee noted that an update on how the dispute was being managed would need to be obtained from the Service Department.  It was agreed that responses to these points would be addressed in the next monitoring report presented to the Committee.

Members noted that performance in respect of Financial Assessments had dipped as a result of the loss of key staff at the beginning of the year.  This was a very technical package which required specialist training for staff.  Resourcing issues had now been resolved and the target was being achieved with assessments being turned around in 10 days.  In response to a question from the Chairman concerning workforce stability, the Committee noted that recently Liberata had already transitioned to its post-Covid operating model and had started to recruit to a shared service centre which would provide increased resillience.

In relation to online residential reviews, the Committee noted that there was an alternative paper-based version in addition the setup of the Service enabled resources to be targeted on supporting vulnerable clients with completing the review either online or paper-based.

The Committee acknowledged the importance of ensuring that adequate controls were in place for payments.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.

Report FSD21035

The report provided information regarding the performance of the Benefits Service provided by Liberata for the period 1 December 2020 to 31 March 2021. A letter from Amanda Inwood-Field Liberata’s London Regional Contract Director was attached to the report as Appendix 1. This communication provided Liberata’s perspective of performance, together with an update on initiatives to be introduced in the coming months.

In opening the discussion, the Chairman noted that it was encouraging that that the increase in applications for Council Tax Support had been limited 12% to date, although it was recognised that this was likely to increase from September 2021 as the furlough scheme ended.  Members noted that there were already higher volumes of Universal Credit (UC) work coming through the system.  Investment had been made in UC automation and this would help in keeping workload volumes down.

The Committee noted that Appendix 6 to the report set out DWP reported performance for Q3 2020/21 and this showed that Bromley was tracking comparatively well for that performance.  Members suggested that a benchmarking exercise needed to be undertaken to ensure that there was increased learning from best practice.  It was clear that Bromley was performing well but it would be helpful to continually review what more could be done to drive continuous improvement.  The Chairman suggested it would be helpful for the next monitoring report to include benchmarking data for other local authorities to enable Members to identify trends.

Turning to the issue of the Council Tax Support/Reduction Scheme, the Portfolio Holder for Resources, Commissioning and Contracts Management explained that all local authorities had to make their own individual decisions in relation to the scheme offered.  Bromley had opted to take a simplistic approach to the scheme which required a contribution of 25%.  A number of other local authorities had far more complex schemes which were then challenging to administer.  It was agreed that the information produced by London Councils detailing the various Council Tax Support/Reduction Schemes across London would be shared with the Committee.  The Portfolio Holder highlighted that, as a result of the challenging financial position many families found themselves in as a result of the pandemic, it was recognised that it would be difficult for many to face an increase this year.  The Committee also noted the availability of the government funded hardship fund, which had also been increased for this year.  The Portfolio Holder highlighted the holistic approach taken to support for the Council’s Care Leavers, noting that the support package that was available went far beyond simply support with the costs of Council Tax.

In relation to the consultation for the Council Tax Support/Reduction Scheme, a Member suggested that it may be helpful to respondents if the alterative options that were available were set out as part of the consultation along with figures and examples of how the different schemes would impact on finances.

At the conclusion of the discussion, Councillor Simon Jeal proposed that the recommendation be amended to add a  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24.

Report FSD21036

The report provided information regarding the performance of the Revenues Services provided by Liberata for the period 1 December 2020 to 31 March 2021.  A letter from Amanda Inwood-Field, Liberata’s London Regional Contract Director, provided an update on each of the individual service and was attached to the report at Appendix 1 with statistical data relating to the Revenues Service attached at Appendix 2.

In opening the discussion, the Chairman asked how Bromley’s performance compared with other London Boroughs in terms of Council Tax and Business Rates.  In response Members noted that for Business Rates the average decline across London was 8.4% whilst Bromley’s was 6.4% as such Bromley was below average.  In relation to Council Tax Bromley performed comparatively well.  Noting the poorer performance in respect of business rates, a Member suggested that it may be helpful for the Committee to have sight of the improvement plan for the service.  The Chairman also suggested that future reports include a commentary of comparative performance and the action being taken to drive continuous improvement.

As the information concerning the number of accounts removed from the single person discount as a result of fraud was not available at the meeting it was agreed that this information would be provided following the meeting.  It was also agreed that information concerning the number of properties vacant for 2 years and those vacant for 5 years would also be provided following the meeting.

In response to a question, the Director of Finance explained that more would be known about the risk surrounding the collection of Business Rates and to a lesser extent Council Tax once the virtual court started.  However, it was clear that a lot would depend on the economy and economic recovery.  Members noted that it had been a difficult year with a number of cancelled direct debits however, the Director of Finance confirmed that risks had been factored into the financial forecast.

Turning to the Empty Properties Premium, the Chairman noted that there were currently a number of uncertainties in relation to the performance of the economy and it would be unwise to take action which may prejudice homeowners who were trying to sell their property.  Members noted that there were a number of complex reasons why properties were left empty (such as probate) and it was important to highlight that there was currently a premium being charged for empty properties, the Committee were considering the issue of increasing this premium in certain circumstances.  The Committee requested that it be provided with any information that was available concerning why and where homes were left vacant.

RESOLVED: That

1.The report be noted;

2.  Future reports include a commentary of comparative performance and the action being taken to drive continuous improvement; and

3. The Portfolio Holder be recommended to approve the deferral of the decision to increase the Empty Homes Premium to 2022/23.

The briefing comprises:

·  Risk Management

Members have been provided with advance copies of the briefing via email.  The briefing is also available on the Council’s website at the following link:

http://cds.bromley.gov.uk/ieListMeetings.aspx?CId=559&Year=0

In response to three questions asked at the meeting in respect of Risk Management, the Director of Finance confirmed that:

1.  The Risk Register provided in the report was a high-level register with separate Risk Registers for contractors.

2.  Issues surrounding adjustment to the new normal were currently under consideration including risks around the impact of ending the furlough scheme and inflationary risks arising from the pandemic.

3.  In relation to Brexit, the approach that was now being taken was to report specific risks through the individual Risk Registers for each Directorate.

A Members also noted that reference to the continued preparation for the second wave of the pandemic should be amended to make reference to the third wave.

RESOLVED that the Press and public be excluded during consideration of the items of business referred to below as it is likely in view of the nature of the business to be transacted or the nature of the proceedings that if members of the Press and public were present there would be disclosure to them of exempt information.

The following summaries

refer to matters involving exempt information

The Part 2 (exempt) minutes of the meeting held on 25 May 2021, were agreed and signed as a correct record.