Agenda and minutes

To receive any apologies for absence.

No apologies for absence were received.

  (i)       To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary and other interests from Members in respect of any item to be considered at the meeting.

 (ii)       In accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules, the Strategic Director - Corporate Resources, Kevin Foster, declares a disclosable personal interest (non-pecuniary) in any items concerning the companies of which he is a Council-appointed director.  The companies are listed in the attached schedule.  The interests are such that Mr Foster may advise on those items.

(iii)       In accordance with the Officer Employment Procedure Rules, the Head of Transformation, Digital and Customer Services, Adam Walther, declares a disclosable personal interest (non-pecuniary) in any items concerning the companies of which he is a Council-appointed director.  The companies are listed in the attached schedule.  The interests are such that Mr Walther may advise on those items.

No declarations of interest were provided. 

The interests of the Head of Transformation, Digital and Customer Services, Adam Walther, were referred to in the agenda but it should be noted that Mr Walther was not present at the meeting.

To approve the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10 September 2024 as published.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the previous meeting, held on Tuesday 10 September 2024 were received as a true and accurate record, subject to the redesignation of references to Vice-Chair as Vice-Chair in the Chair.

To consider any business that the Chair rules may be dealt with under Section 100B(4) of the Local Government Act 1972.

No items of urgent business were raised.

To review Scrutiny work programmes, the draft Executive forward plan, the recommendations and actions tracker, suggested additions to work programmes.

Reporting people: Cllr Boote/ Toby Nash, Scrutiny and Democratic Services Officer

The Committee agreed to hold an informal work programming session to review proposed items for the remainder of the municipal year, with the output to be provided at the subsequent meeting. 

The Committee requested that reports on Fees and Charges that were to be received at the 26 November 2024 Communities and Housing Scrutiny Committee meeting be fed into the next meeting of the Resource and Finance Scrutiny Committee. Additionally, the review of car park tariffs from by the Environment and Place Scrutiny Committee, be fed into the next meeting. [action] 

Reporting people: Cllr Boote/ Toby Nash, Scrutiny and Democratic Services Officer

The Committee resolved to close actions 1-5, 23-31. Updates on items 6-8 were requested for the next meeting. Action 23, a report on complaints, would be added to the agenda. 

It was requested that the recommendation and action tracker clarified by listing the actions for each Scrutiny Committee separately. The Scrutiny Officer agreed to amend the Work Programme accordingly. [action] 

Reporting person: Kevin Foster, Strategic Director of Corporate Resources

The Committee reviewed the July Strategic Risk Register and requested the next edition be presented once available. 

In response to a query, the Strategic Director of Corporate Resources clarified that ‘treat’ was equivalent to ‘mitigate’ and noted that the Council did not have an issue register. 

It was requested that the directorate risk register be made available for the next meeting. [action] 

Reporting person: Toby Nash, Scrutiny and Democratic Services Officer

RESOLVED 

That an additional meeting be held on 2 December 2024.

Reporting person: Lee Danson, Improvement and Recovery Programme Programme Manager

Lee Danson, senior programme manager of the Improvement and Recovery Programme (IRP) introduced the item and requested the Committee review and suggest specific KPIs. 

Sir Tony Redmond, Lead Commissioner, explained the reporting process to Commissioners, who maintained oversight of the Council’s improvement and recovery plan. The Commissioners were particularly conscious of organisational capacity and risk. The Lead Commissioner emphasised that Commissioners would intervene where progress was unsatisfactory and would test the best value of council services. 

The Lead Commissioner noted that the Improvement and Recovery Plan looked at the medium- and long-term success of the Council and focused on resilience and sustainability. While immediate issues were not within the Plan they were expected to be addressed. 

A view was expressed that there was insufficient quantitative data in the Highlight Report appended to the report. 

The Senior Programmer confirmed regular meetings were being held with other Councils to develop KPIs. 

As a general point on KPIs, it was suggested that they were most useful where it was clear how the desired outcome could be reached. 

Suggestions included more commercial KPIs, particularly on asset disposal, and metrics on organisational culture and staff resilience. 

The Committee requested to view the asset register, and the Strategic Director of Corporate Resources confirmed it had been cleaned and would check its availability on the Council’s website. Discussions with central government on the Council’s asset approach were ongoing. [action] 

It was suggested that risk handling measures and retaining historical KPI values for comparison would be beneficial. The Lead Commissioner proposed an interface between the Improvement and Recovery Board and the Council’s Committees be developed to ensure Members were informed. The Lead Commissioner further suggested that those measures reported to the IRB could also be reported to Members to ensure they were appropriately informed. 

Above all else, the Lead Commissioner wanted to ensure that risk was properly accounted for and managed at the Council so that past mistakes could not be repeated. 

In response to a query, the Strategic Director of Corporate Resources confirmed that risk was not explicitly taught to all members of staff. It was suggested that this could be introduced over the medium-term. 

The Committee recognised the efforts made by the transformation team and senior programme manager particularly, and the transparency exhibited. 

RESOLVED 

That the Committee comment on the first draft KPIs, recognising that they will need to meet the requirements of the Commissioners. 

Reporting people: Stephen Fitzgerald, Strategic Director of Finance (Section 151 Officer)/ Mike Stevens, Deputy Financial Services Manager

The Strategic Director of Finance introduced the item, explaining that the CIPFA code required regular reporting on treasury management. 

The Strategic Director noted the removal of the 1% premium Public Works Loan Board loans and to this effect would be shared with Members. [action] 

Officers would seek to hold external training on treasury management for Members. [action] 

In response to a query about debt repayments from Victoria Square Woking Limited (VSWL) following the opening of the Hilton Hotel, the Strategic Director of Corporate Resources confirmed that the 2 December Committee meeting would detail company debt and serviceability, with part of the meeting to be held in private due to commercial sensitivity. 

Officers confirmed that, to the best of their knowledge, the council was practising the fundamental aspects of treasury management, acknowledging past issues with Minimum Revenue Provision. 

It was suggested that the full year treasury management report should state compliance with CIPFA guidance. [action] 

The Strategic Director of Finance explained now employed a risk-avoidant approach. 

Officers confirmed the use of key indicators for day-to-day treasury management and that liquid assets were held in deposit accounts and investment restricted to entities with AAA rating. 

The Committee agreed to recommend to the Executive that a limit of 20% of the Council’s total liquid assets held by any one organisation be placed. 

RESOLVED

That  (i)  the report be received and noted; and 

          (ii)   the Committee support that a member-level training session on Treasury Management be set up at the earliest opportunity, using an external specialise resource. 

RECOMMENDED to the Executive 

That a limit of 20% of the Council’s total liquid assets held by any one organisation be placed. 

Reporting person: Kevin Foster, Strategic Director of Corporate Resources

The Strategic Director of Corporate Resources noted that statutory duties did not determine how much should be invested by a Council to deliver each service. 

A view was expressed that it was not clear what was statutory and that this should be communicated to central government. 

The Lead Commissioner highlighted the relationship between services provided by District-level and County-level authorities, and those provided by charity and private sectors. Discretionary services could be provided where it was affordable to do so and Commissioners were critically reviewing these services to ensure this. 

RESOLVED 

That the report be noted. 

Reporting person: Kevin Foster, Strategic Director of Corporate Resources

The Strategic Director of Corporate Resources noted the reduction of posts and savings achieved through the two phases of the Fit for the Future programme. 

Workforce surveys were conducted during the restructure to understand staff concerns. Many Officers, uncertain of their post deletion risk status chose to resign and find alternative employment, rather than await the result of the process. 

It was explained that pension strain became an immediate cost to the Council for those that were 55 and older. 

The Committee requested more detail on the change across directorate throughout the year. [action]