Agenda item

The Chief Executive, Mr Ade Adetosoye, attended the meeting to respond to questions from the Committee. A written update for the Committee had been circulated as part of the agenda papers.  Mr Adetosoye responded to questions, making the following comments –

·  In relation to the Transformation Programme, the Chief Executive was confident that the transformation actions identified would deliver savings.  In terms of policy formulation, any identified savings would be presented to PDS Committees in the September meeting cycle and would be scrutinised by Members at that point.  Committees would continue to receive the usual quarterly budget monitoring reports which would set out any in-year savings and mitigation identified.  The Chief Executive confirmed that he would take steps to ensure that that the Forward Plan of Key Decisions reflected any decisions that needed to be taken as part of the Transformation Programme.

·  The Chief Executive highlighted that the Council’s Contract and Financial Procedure Rules were very clear about not allowing delegated authority for spending outside the budget.  Consequently, any growth items would be identified and reported to Members for scrutiny and decision.

·  The Council currently had a blended approach to contract management with contract managers often undertaking a number of other roles.  Any moves toward a more centralised approach to contract management would need to be carefully considered as it would inevitably consume a greater proportion of time.

·  In relation to the implementation of the new audit standards, the legal status remained unclear, and staff were currently waiting for CIPFA to provide advice.  There were a few recommendations that would have significant implications for local government.

·  Plans for the move to the new Civic Offices at Churchill Court remained on-track in terms of timeframe and budget.  Oversight of the project was very tight, and the plan remained to move into the new offices in September 2024.

·  Progress continued to be made in terms of developing the Digital Strategy.  Once the move to the new civic offices had been completed there would be a focus on digital inclusion, with free sessions being run for residents.

·  In relation to the budget, there were unprecedented challenges facing the Council over the next three years.  There remained a duty for Members to balance the budget and a duty for Officers to present options for balancing the budget.  The options that would be presented in the next three years would reflect the scale of the challenges and would bear no similarity to options presented in the past.  It would be for Members to chose whether on not they took the options being presented.  In terms of managing demand going forward, there would need to be a robust review of what could and what should be done differently going forward.

·  In terms of succession planning, the Chief Executive provided assurances that there was an internal capacity risk assessment and efforts were made to ensure that knowledge was transferred.

·  There were a few key posts where there continued to be recruitment challenges, and these were monitored by the Recruitment and Retention Board.  There were challenges around securing permanent staff in some services however, only Directors could sign off on the use of consultants, and where consultants were employed there had to be a clear rationale.

·  There was more to be done in terms of “grow your own" and work on this would continue.

·  In terms of funding for statutory services, the challenges facing the nation as a whole were growing.  Lobbying continued at all levels as the fundamental issue was that levels of funding from central government did not reflect rising demand. Only time would tell whether the continued lobbying would result in increased funding.

·  Work around the Council’s approach to free speech continued under the leadership of the Director of HR and the Director of Corporate Services and Governance.

The Committee thanked the Chief Executive for his informative and helpful update.