Agenda item

17.1     The Chief Operating Officer introduced report, which follows on from the RPPR report presented to the Committee at the September meeting. At that meeting the Committee requested more detail on the Core Offer which is provided in the Cabinet report of 13 November (see Appendix A of the report) and the current year savings plans (see Appendix B). The areas of search for savings were agreed by Cabinet on 13 November 2018 and are detailed in appendix 3 of the Cabinet report. The recommendations of the report invite the Committee to comment on the Core Offer, Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and the areas of search for savings. It also asks the Committee to identify any further information it requires for the RPPR Board in December and to consider any other work for input into the RPPR process.

17.2     The Chair outlined that there appeared to be more unknowns than knowns in the MTFP. The Chair acknowledged that the Core Offer was an articulation of the services that a competent council should provide and is not intended to be the detailed budget proposals for the Council. These will be developed later through the RPPR process, following the announcement of the provisional local government settlement on or around 6 December 2018. The Chair noted that the Core Offer had been discussed in detail at the recent Cabinet meeting, and suggested that the Committee focus on the areas search for savings and any requests for further information for the December RPPR Board.

17.3     The Committee discussed the proposed savings for 2019/20 to 2021/22 (appendix 3 of the Cabinet report), and made the following requests for further information, or sought clarification on the savings proposals and impacts.

Road Safety Services

• The Committee asked for further information on what is intended for Road Safety Services and what this would mean in practice for Community Safety Partnerships (CSP’s) and Joint Action Groups. The Director of Communities, Economy and Transport (CET) outlined that the Team will still attend community safety meetings and continue work with Public Health team on road safety issues (e.g. driver behaviour change initiatives).

Trading Standards

• The Committee asked for more information about the proposed changes to Trading Standards and in particular the work to protect people vulnerable to scams. The Committee also requested a more in depth explanation of the changes to food sampling regimes, especially in the light of national interest in food sampling to protect consumers.

Civil Parking Enforcement

• The Committee would like further detail on Civil Parking Enforcement (CPE) proposals for fee increases including where the fee increase are, residents parking permits, and whether there is scope to increase fees further. The Director of Communities, Economy and Transport (CET) explained that the existing CPE schemes started at different times and vary in nature. Any changes to fees needs to reflect local circumstances, but work in this area will look to rationalise the fee structure where possible. It is also important to look at what Borough and District councils are charging for off street car parking. The Committee noted that an insight into the Borough and District council proposals would also be helpful.

Libraries

• The Committee asked for clarification on whether there is ongoing work to examine further changes to Library services. The Assistant Director, Communities responded that the Team’s current work is focussed on implementing the Library and Information Service (LIS) Strategy, and is not looking at further changes currently.  The proposed saving represents 15% of the remaining net budget for the LIS, and if the Core Offer goes ahead, the Team will look at further changes to Library services. The Committee asked if there was sufficient time to carry out this work. The Assistant Director, Communities indicated that there would be sufficient time. The Lead Member for Communities and Safety added that the LIS Strategy is a living document which will respond to changes in the way people use the new and existing library services over time (e.g. increased use of the e-library service).

Summary Comments

17.4     The Chief Operating Officer clarified that the saving proposals listed in appendix 3 of the Cabinet report are areas of search and are not fully worked up savings proposals at this stage. The Director of Communities, Economy and Transport added that officers have looked at the service offer over the next three years, and are indicating some areas for savings that ESCC will have to look at if it moves to the Core Offer.

17.5     The Committee asked what the impact of moving to the Core Offer will be on Legal Services in terms of the demand for legal work, advice, and potential legal challenge. The Assistant Chief Executive responded that the impact on Legal Services has been considered when the areas of search were discussed by the Corporate Management Team.

17.6     The Committee indicated that it did not wish to discuss the Core Offer in detail until further information on the local government settlement is available. The Committee asked if a budget for 2019/20 and an updated MTFP will be available by the date of the RPPR Board meeting on 17 December 2018. The Chief Operating Officer responded that it is hoped the Council will have the information on the local government settlement by 6 December 2018, but the Council has received this information later in previous years. It is hoped that it will be possible to provide updated budget information for the RPPR Board meeting.

17.7     The Committee stated that it would like to have as much budget information as possible for RPPR Board meeting on 17 December 2018. The Chair invited Committee members to indicate if they wished to take part in the RPPR Board meeting. Councillors Martin Clarke, Darren Grover, Chris Dowling, Claire Dowling, and Godfrey Daniel indicated that they would attend the RPPR Board meeting on Monday 17 December 2018. Councillors Nigel Enever and Barry Taylor indicated that they may possibly attend the RPPR Board meeting.

17.8     The Committee RESOLVED to:

1) note the Core Offer proposals, MTFP and the 2018/19 savings plans;

2) request further information on the savings proposals as detailed under minute 17.3 (above) to be presented at the December RPPR Board; and

3) agree that the Place Scrutiny RPPR Board will be comprised of all Place Scrutiny Committee members who wish to attend.