Report to:	Place Scrutiny Committee
Date of meeting:	12 March 2024
By:	Chief Executive
Title:	Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources (RPPR)
Purpose:	To review scrutiny’s input to the Reconciling Policy, Performance and Resources process for the financial year 2024/25 and to consider related items for inclusion in the committee’s work programme.

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Place Scrutiny Committee is recommended to:

1) Review the Committee’s input to the RPPR process;

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       This time of the year provides a good opportunity for the Committee to take stock and reflect on its involvement in the RPPR process to date, and to consider any areas arising from the scrutiny discussions that took place.

2.2       By way of background, attached at Appendix 1 is a diagram setting out the RPPR cycle and below is a timeline of the Committee’s involvement to date.  

2.3       July 2023 - Place Scrutiny Committee considered relevant parts of the quarter 4 2022/23 (end of year) monitoring report and the 2023 State of the County report. This enabled scrutiny to consider performance achievements and challenges over the preceding year, alongside the forward-looking demographic, policy and financial analysis in the State of the County report.

2.4       September 2023 - the Committee considered an update on the RPPR planning process, including scrutiny engagement. Members were asked to identify any additional information or scrutiny work required to support the Committee’s ongoing contribution, for consideration at future meetings.

2.5       September 2023 - The Committee held a work planning awayday to enable further consideration of issues arising from State of the County for the services within the Committee’s remit and to ensure that key issues were incorporated into the Committee’s ongoing work programme.

2.6       November 2023 - the Committee considered an updated version of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP), an update on the capital programme and significant updates to the policy context since State of the County, as set out in a report considered by Cabinet on 7 November 2023. 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.

2.7       December 2023 - the RPPR Board that the Committee established to provide more detailed input into the RPPR planning process met to consider the draft 2024/25 Portfolio Plans and the latest financial position. The Board:

• 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;
• considered the remaining planned savings 2024/25-2026/27 in Business Services;
• considered the interim feedback from the public engagement survey; and
• agreed comments and recommendations to Cabinet.

2.8       Appendix 2 summarises the comments and recommendations made by the Place Scrutiny Committee RPPR Board to Cabinet.

3.         Conclusion and reasons for recommendations

3.1       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.

3.2       Scrutiny’s input to planning, through RPPR, for 2025/26 will begin at the July meeting with consideration of relevant parts of the quarter 4 2023/24 (end of year) monitoring report and the 2024 State of the County report.

BECKY SHAW
Chief Executive

Contact Officer: Martin Jenks, Senior Scrutiny Advisor

Telephone:      01273 481327

Email:              martin.jenks@eastsussex.gov.uk