Venue: Sparkenhoe Committee Room, County Hall, Glenfield
Contact: Mr. M.I. Seedat (Tel: 0116 265 6037) Email: mseedat@leics.gov.uk
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By Invitation Mr. D.R. Parsons CC – Leader of the Council. Mr. R. Miller CC – Deputy Leader of the Council. Dr. R.K.A. Feltham CC – Cabinet Lead Member for Better
Access to Services. Mr I. D. Ould CC – Cabinet Lead Member for Education Mr.J.B. Rhodes – Cabinet Lead Member for Community Safety. |
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Minutes of the meeting held on 7 January 2004. PDF 93 KB Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on 7 January, 2004 having
been previously circulated were taken as read, confirmed and signed subject to
the inclusion of the names of Mrs. M.L. Sherwin CC and Mr. M.B. Page CC in the
list of members present. |
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Question Time. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 35. |
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Questions asked by members under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that no questions had been received under Standing Order 7(3) and 7(5). |
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Any other items the Chairman has decided to take as urgent elsewhere on the agenda. Minutes: There were no urgent items for consideration. |
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Declarations of interest. Minutes: The
following declarations of interests were made by members:- Mr Hyde CC – personal and prejudicial as a member of the
Co-operative Society in relation to the savings proposals affecting the
Leicestershire County Co-operative Development Agency; Mr M. L. Sherwin CC – personal and non prejudicial as a
member of the Leicestershire Police Authority in relation to any discussions
relating to the contribution by that Authority to the activities of Youth
Offending Service Management Board. |
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Declarations of the Party Whip in accordance with Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rule 16. Minutes: There were no declarations of the Party Whip. |
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Presentation of Petitions under Standing Order 36. Minutes: The Chief Executive reported that there were no petitions to be presented. |
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Revenue Budget 2004/05 and Capital Programme 2004/07 PDF 58 KB Additional documents:
Minutes: The Commission considered a joint report of the Director of
Resources and Chief Executive concerning the Revenue Budget for 2004/05 and
Capital Programme 2004/07 in relation to the Chief Executive’s Department. A copy of the report marked ‘B’ and ‘B1’ is filed
with these minutes. The Commission also considered the following reports, copies
of which are also filed with these minutes: -
Report of the Director of Resources to the Cabinet on 28
January, setting out the overall position on the Revenue Budget 2004/05 and
Capital Programme 2004/07 (marked ‘BB’). -
Comments of the Scrutiny Committees on the proposed
Revenue Budget and Capital Programme relating to their respective service areas
(marked ‘B2’). The Chairman welcomed to the meeting the following members
who had kindly agreed to attend the meeting to answer questions: Mr. D.R. Parsons CC - Leader of the Council Mr. R. Miller CC - Deputy Leader of the Council Dr. R.K.A.Feltham CC - Cabinet Lead Member for Better Access to
Services Mr I. D. Ould CC - Cabinet Lead Member for Education Mr. J.B. Rhodes CC - Cabinet Lead Member of Community Safety Messrs. Ould and Rhodes advised the Commission of their personal interests in relation to the Youth Offending Service as members of the Probation Board and Police Authority respectively. a) Chief Executive’s Department Budget In reply to questions the Commission was advised as follows:- i) That the efficiency savings would be
achieved by a range of measures
including:- ·
£130,000 in a full year from the review of the Training
Function previously carried out by the Department; ·
increased income primarily from increased charges for
orders and agreements relating to development and environmental issues; ·
closer and more careful management of operational and
staffing budgets including managing vacancies. With regard to implementation,
the normal procedures would apply regarding reporting to the Cabinet and, if
appropriate, the Employment Committee. Scrutiny would be able to comment on the
decisions of the Cabinet before implementation. ii)
the increased budget provision for Youth Justice and
Safer Communities was made up two elements, firstly to meet the cost of
strengthening the management and financial monitoring arrangements which were
necessary following the merger of three different teams and secondly, to meet
the demands from increased referrals and the shortfall in contributions from
partner agencies. With regard to the role of the
partner agencies, the Commission was assured that all the partners on the Youth
Service Management Board were committed to the success of the Youth Offending
Service. However, in view of the
particular financial circumstances facing their respective organisations in the
coming year the Police, the NHS and, in particular, the Probation Service were
unable to commit the additional financial resources requested. The underspending in the 2003/04 budget
was partly as a result of the focus being on bringing together the Youth
Offending Service, the Drugs and Alcohol Action Team and the Community Safety
Unit and partly as a consequence of the process of recruitment. The increases
in the budget were deemed necessary to deliver the County Council’s commitments
in the Medium Term Corporate Strategy. iii) the additional revenue and capital included
for the Better Access to Services Initiative was to deliver the three year
strategy agreed by the Cabinet and was also a response to the Government’s
strategy of making services accessible electronically. The additional
investment would enable the Authority to address the implications of the
Freedom of Information Act, continue the roll out of the model services shop
initiative and begin to address the issue of broadband access for remote
villages. iv) the £50,000 growth included for implementing the Leicestershire Local Strategic Partnership ... view the full minutes text for item 61. |
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Date of Next Meeting. The date of the Commission’s next meeting will be Wednesday 3rd March, 2004 at 2.00pm. Minutes: It was noted that the next meeting of the Committee would be held at 2.00 p.m. on Wednesday, 3 March, 2004. 2.00 p.m. – 3.50 p.m. CHAIRMAN 9 February 2004. |