Report to:	Place Scrutiny Committee
Date of meeting:	28 March 2023
By:	Chief Executive
Title:	Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR)
Purpose:	To review scrutiny’s input into the Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources process for the financial year 2023/24 and to consider related items for inclusion in the committee’s work programme.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Committee is recommended to:

1) Review the committee’s input into the RPPR process; and

2) Identify any potential areas for inclusion in the committee’s future work programme on services or issues within the Committee’s remit.

1          Background

1.1       The Council’s integrated business and financial planning process, Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR), matches available resources with our delivery plans for our priority outcomes so that we focus and protect our spending where it will deliver our priorities most effectively. It also ensures we have the demographic trends and performance information to monitor progress.  

1.2       Scrutiny committees actively engage in the process, firstly to bring the insight they have gained through scrutiny work into the planning process and, secondly, to help influence their future work programmes, so that scrutiny work can continue to inform RPPR on an ongoing basis.

2          Scrutiny engagement in Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources

2.1       In July 2022 scrutiny committees considered relevant parts of the quarter 4 2021/22 (end of year) monitoring report and the 2022 State of the County report. This enabled scrutiny to consider performance achievements and challenges over the preceding year, alongside engagement with the forward-looking demographic, policy and financial analysis in the State of the County report. The committees’ work planning awaydays in September enabled further consideration of issues arising from State of the County for the services within the committee’s remit and ensured that key issues were incorporated into the committee’s ongoing work programme.

2.2       In September 2022 each scrutiny committee considered an updated version of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and significant updates to the policy context since State of the County, as set out in a report considered by Cabinet on 29 September 2022. The scrutiny committees were asked to identify any further work or information needed for consideration at their November meetings.  

2.3       At the November meetings the committees reviewed a range of existing information about the services within the remit of each committee to provide an overview of the current position prior to considering draft plans for the coming year. This included the current Portfolio Plans, extracts from the Financial Budget Summary for 2022/23 and remaining 2023/24 savings plans, as set out in the February 2022 Council budget report, where applicable. The meeting provided a further opportunity to request any information required by scrutiny to inform its engagement with RPPR, for consideration at the RPPR Boards in December or as part of the wider work programme.

2.4       The scrutiny committees established RPPR Boards to provide more detailed input into the RPPR planning process.  These met in December 2022 to consider and agree any recommendations on the draft 2023/24 Portfolio Plans, the financial position and the existing savings plans. The Boards:

• considered the emerging financial outlook based on Government announcements during the autumn;
• considered any amendments to the draft Portfolio Plans and how priorities were reflected against the proposed key areas of budget spend for the coming year;
• assessed the potential impact of planned savings on services; and
• agreed comments and recommendations to Cabinet.

2.5       Appendix 1 summarises the comments and recommendations made by the Place Scrutiny Committee RPPR Board to Cabinet.

2.6       The committee is invited to:

· consider any areas arising from RPPR scrutiny discussions which should be included in the committee’s future work programme - careful selection of topics will enable the Committee to be well positioned to comment on the impact of service changes, future service delivery and budget proposals as part of the ongoing RPPR process; and

· review the committee’s input to the RPPR process and consider any improvements to the process from a scrutiny perspective.

2.7       Scrutiny’s input to planning, through RPPR, for 2024/25 will begin at the July meeting with consideration of relevant parts of the quarter 4 2022/23 (end of year) monitoring report and the 2023 State of the County report.

3.         Conclusion and reasons for recommendations

3.1       The Committee is recommended to review its input into the RPPR process and ensure its future work programme incorporates any areas that are likely to inform the future RPPR process.

BECKY SHAW
Chief Executive

Contact Officer: Martin Jenks, Senior Scrutiny Adviser

Tel. No: 01273 481327
Email: martin.jenks@eastsussex.gov.uk