Issue - meetings

To outline the Council’s budget consultation in Overview & Scrutiny.

(a)       That the Committee is assured by the process being used for consultation and scrutiny of the 2018/19 Council Budget;

(b)       That a further report, reviewing the 2018/19 budget process and including amendments to the Budget and Policy Framework be prepared for a future meeting of the Committee;

(c)       That all Members and co-optees be invited to contribute to the review process; and

(d)       That the next meeting of the Committee be moved to April.

The Chief Officer (Governance) presented a report to review the process for the setting of the annual budget process, as agreed at the Corporate Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting.  It was suggested that the process be reviewed after completion of work on the 2018/19 budget, to develop a budget consultation protocol.  The rules in the Constitution could then be updated to more accurately reflect the budget process.

In response to comments by Councillor Heesom on decision-making powers, the Chief Officer explained that most decisions were taken by Cabinet, as specified in legislation, but that important decisions such as the budget were retained for approval by the County Council.  The process included opportunities for valuable input by non-Cabinet Members and various examples were given where proposals had been challenged by Overview & Scrutiny, resulting in recommendations to Cabinet.  Contributions would be sought from Members to design the budget process within the terms of the legislation.

On the budget protocol, Councillor Peers referred to the principle on sharing information with Members.  He said that more detail should be provided to clarify reasons for movement in the budget gap against the total income and that information on portfolios should be made available.  Officers explained that a breakdown of the budget gap had been provided.  The Chief Officer agreed that the level of information would be reviewed to explain movement in the gap at each stage to help Members approve the overall budget.

Councillor Healey explained that the reason for his request for a review of the budget process was to standardise the process.  This had arisen from his concerns that some of the larger issues within Stage 2 budget options had not been considered by the respective Overview & Scrutiny committees.

Councillor Hughes commended the Member workshops during the process.

Councillor Shotton welcomed the phased approach to approving the budget and spoke in support of the principles for the protocol set out in the report.

The Democratic Services Manager explained that due to ongoing work on the budget process, an additional recommendation was to move the date of the next meeting of the Committee.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the Committee is assured by the process being used for consultation and scrutiny of the 2018/19 Council Budget;

(b)       That a further report, reviewing the 2018/19 budget process and including amendments to the Budget and Policy Framework be prepared for a future meeting of the Committee;

(c)       That all Members and co-optees be invited to contribute to the review process; and

(d)       That the next meeting of the Committee be moved to April.