Agenda item

Report CSD16150

The Committee considered a report outlining the total expenditure of the Local Authority on consultants for 2015/16 for the Renewal and Recreation Portfolio.

At its meeting on 7^th September 2016, the Executive and Resources PDS Committee considered a report on Local Authority expenditure on consultants across all Council departments for both revenue and capital budgets and requested that this expenditure be considered by the PDS Committees for each Portfolio.  Within the Renewal and Recreation Portfolio, revenue expenditure which was focused on the need for one-off specialist advice, to respond to insufficient in-house skills or resources and planning services had totalled £344,174 in 2015/16 and £30,805 in 2016/17 to date.  Capital expenditure on consultants totalled £52,290.70 in 2015/16 and £66,654.00 in 2016/17 to date.

In considering the report, a Member was concerned at the significant increase of capital expenditure on consultants in 2016/17.  The Assistant Director: Leisure and Culture explained that a number of major capital schemes were being delivered in 2016/17 including the Biggin Hill Memorial Museum and works at Crystal Palace Park and that the full cost of these schemes, including any necessary expenditure on consultants had been presented to Members when the schemes had been considered for approval. 

Members generally discussed the planning pre-application advice service and requested that a report be provided to the next meeting of Renewal and Recreation PDS Committee on 26^th January 2017 around whether the income received for this service covered the costs of delivering it, including any use of temporary Planning Officers to meet demand and the success rate of applications where the planning pre-application advice service had been used.  It was noted that the planning pre-application advice service was purely advisory and the usual quasi-judicial process still applied to applications developed using advice from the service.  A Member suggested that this service possibly compromised the independence of Planning Officers and should no longer be offered.

In response to a question from a Member, the Assistant Director: Leisure and Culture confirmed that consultants were used where specialist advice was required for individual planning appeals, but that consideration would be given to increasing in-house expertise where particular types of specialist advice was required on a regular basis.  With regard to planning appeals, another Member suggested that Planning Officers should not make recommendations in planning reports that were for consideration by Members as this was often used as a supporting factor in appeals against the Local Authority’s decision.  Members requested that an updated list of applications refused by the Local Authority that had been appealed in the past year, including the outcome of these appeals as well as details of the initial recommendation by the Planning Officer and whether the decision was made under delegated powers, be provided to Members following the meeting.

The Vice-Chairman advised the Committee that the consultancy costs related to the proposal to vary the operating hours of London Biggin Hill Airport would be recharged to London Biggin Hill Airport which had agreed to meet all reasonable consultancy costs incurred by the Local Authority in respect of obtaining advice around this application, and an update would be provided to the next meeting of the Renewal and Recreation PDS Committee on 26^th January 2017. 

A Member noted the format by which Local Authority expenditure on consultants was reported and requested that the Contracts Sub-Committee consider whether this should be modified to identify whether or not expenditure had been approved and the project taken forward.

RESOLVED that the expenditure on consultants relating to the Renewal and Recreation Portfolio be noted.