Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on  27 September 2022

The minutes of the meeting held on 27^th September 2022 were agreed.

The minutes of the meeting held on 27^th September 2022 were agreed.

To receive any apologies for absence.

There were no apologies.

There were no apologies.

To receive any declarations of interest

A member with a disclosable pecuniary interest or a personal interest in a matter who attends a meeting of the authority at which the matter is considered -

(i)            must disclose the interest at the start of the meeting or when the interest becomes apparent

and, if the interest is a disclosable pecuniary interest, or a personal interest which is also prejudicial

(ii)            may not participate in any discussion or vote on the matter (and must withdraw to the public seating area) unless they have been granted a dispensation.

A member who discloses at a meeting a disclosable pecuniary interest which is not registered in the Members’ Register of Interests, or is not the subject of a pending notification, must notify the Monitoring Officer of the interest within 28 days of the disclosure.

Disclosable pecuniary interests, personal and prejudicial interests are defined in Part 2 of the Code of Conduct for Members

[If a member is in any doubt as to whether they have an interest which should be declared they should seek the advice of the Monitoring Officer before the start of the meeting]

There were no declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

An opportunity for members of the public to make statements and ask questions in accordance with the rules as to Public Participation.

There were no members of the public in attendance.

There were no members of the public in attendance.

There were no referrals to Cabinet

There were no referrals to Cabinet

There were no referrals to Cabinet

Cllr Williams proposed that the meeting of the 13^th December be moved until 14^th December and mentioned this would be taken to Full Council in November

The forward plan was noted

Cllr Williams proposed that the meeting of the 13^th December be moved until 14^th December and mentioned this would be taken to Full Council in November

The forward plan was noted

Cabinet

Resolved to recommend

That Council approve the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy for the period 2022/23 –2026/27, including recommendations;

1. To note the financial projections within the 5-year Medium Term Financial Strategy and to approve the Strategy

2. A General Fund savings target of £1,799k be approved for the2023/24 budget-setting process;

3. A four-year General Fund savings target of £3.6m be approved for the duration of this Medium Term Financial Strategy;

4. The Chief Finance Officer will work with the Council’s Senior Leadership Team and Portfolio Holders to deliver options that will achieve the saving targets identified within the strategy;

5. The Financial Planning Framework is approved to support the budget-setting process for 2023/24;

6. The Chief Finance Officer be requested to revise the Medium Term Financial Strategy and re-present to Cabinet and Council for approval if material changes to

Decision

It is recommended that Cabinet recommend to Council the approval of the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy for the period 2022/23 –2026/27, including recommendations;

1. To note the financial projections within the 5-year Medium Term Financial Strategy and to approve the Strategy,

2. A General Fund savings target of £1,799k be approved for the 2023/24 budget-setting process;

3. A four-year General Fund savings target of £3.6m be approved for the duration of this Medium Term Financial Strategy;

4. The Chief Finance Officer will work with the Council’s Senior Leadership Team and Portfolio Holders to deliver options that will achieve the saving targets identified within the strategy;

5. The Financial Planning Framework is approved to support the budget-setting process for 2023/24;

6. The Chief Finance Officer be requested to revise the Medium Term Financial Strategy and re-present to Cabinet and Council for approval if material changes to forecasts are required following future Government announcements.

Corporate Priorities

A clean, safe and enjoyable environment Building strong and vibrant communities Ensuring economic growth and prosperity Providing good quality affordable homes, in particular for those most in need Ensuring efficient, effective and modern service delivery Climate and ecological emergency

Statutory Officer Comments:

Monitoring Officer:

The MTFS is an essential strategy to ensure that the Council has appropriate governance and oversight of its financial position and this report provides that overview and financial planning for the medium term.

S151 Officer:

This is a S151 Officer report.

Advice

Cllr Elliot said that this was a bit of a moving feast, as the macro and micro financial situation is changing on a daily basis. The council does need to have in place a medium term financial strategy that runs for a period of 5 years. They have headwinds coming their way with inflation, increase in supplier costs, and increase in salaries and issues with funding from central government. It was good that they had been a prudent council and had been able to absorb the shocks that had come through. With their commercial strategy that was coming forward, they could future proof any other issues that may come down the line. He thanked Nigel and the team for preparing this document he said it was clear, concise and easy to understand.

Nigel H said that they had a sustainable medium term financial strategy, it outlined that they had 3.6 million to achieve over the next five years of which they had a gap to fill of 0.8million. They have many strategies to implement and deliver; it outlines the work that had been put in over the last six to nine months to develop that strategy. He said it was a sustainable footing as long as they could deliver on the strategies that they had outlines and driving forward now.

Cllr Tindall referred to par 5.6 where is mentions “any authority that does not increase council tax by the maximum permissible amount”. He said that this was something that they had before and is most likely going  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA/85/21

Cabinet

RESOLVED TO RECOMMEND

That Council accept the report on Treasury Management performance in 2021/22 and the Prudential Indicators for 2021/22.

Decision

1. That Cabinet recommends to Council acceptance of the report on Treasury Management performance in 2021/22 and the Prudential Indicators for 2021/22.

Corporate Priorities

A clean, safe and enjoyable environment; Building strong and vibrant communities; Ensuring economic growth and prosperity; Providing good quality affordable homes, in particular for those most in need

Statutory Officer Comments:

Monitoring Officer:

No comments to add to the report

S151 Officer:

This is a Deputy S151 Officer report. Comments are contained within the body of the report.

Advice

Cllr Elliott advised that this is the usual annual review and he would like to draw attention to the fact that interest rates have increased and borrowing has gone up but we are in a fairly robust situation with regard to Treasury Management.  We are looking at other ways are to increase our returns on cash but this will be done in a very prudent way.

Recommendations agreed

Cabinet

1. Reviewed and Approved the Electric Vehicle Strategyw.

2. Delegated responsibility to the Strategic Director for People and Transformation to make any final changes prior to publication.

Decision

1. To review and approve the Electric Vehicle Strategy Cabinet www.dacorum.gov.uk

2. To delegate responsibility to the Strategic Director for People and Transformation to make any final changes prior to publication.

Corporate Priorities

- Building strong and vibrant communities

- Ensuring economic growth and prosperity

- Climate and ecological emergency

Statutory Officer Comments:

Monitoring Officer:

The strategy itself does not raise any legal issues but various contractual and land issues will arise as the strategy is delivered and continued liaison with the legal team will be required.

Deputy S151 Officer:

The strategy itself does not require financial approval. The development of an action plan, and delivery of the action plan, may require financial support or the commitment of Dacorum land and assets at which point continued liaison with the finance team will be required.

Advice

Cllr Williams said that this is a strategy for the charging structure across the Borough which is increasingly coming under scrutiny as the use of electric vehicles continues to grow.  Aside from the Strategy we are working hard to achieve contracts to bring electric vehicle charging into our car parks.

The paper on Electric Vehicle Strategy was presented.  Sustainable transport is a key element to the Climate and Ecological Emergency Strategy and we are very aware of the growing demand from the public regarding our approach and plans for improving availability of EV charging as well as access to electric vehicles.  If approved this will be published on our website and Mel will be working through the detailed implementation plan linked to the wider Climate and Ecological Emergency Programme delivery tracker that is being developed.

Cllr Griffiths said that she thought it was an important document to have as it lets everyone know what our position is and will hopefully get the engagement of the pubic and businesses.  Presumably this will be a fairly fluid document that as the world changes at a substantial rate it will be updated with the changes.  Cllr Griffiths thanked everyone involved in its production.

Regular reviews and scrutiny of the document will be expected as we move forward through the planning and policy.  The approach to existing petrol stations being changed to charging stations is a key element also and DBC will support to businesses where possible.  A discussion took place regarding street charging and the problems of providing charging points to locations in narrow streets, flats etc. and how these issues can be overcome by entering into dialogue with the various petrol stations.  The charging hierarchy and approach is explained further on page 11 of the strategy.  Various case studies are taking place across the country regarding cable-less charging and information is being shared.

Recommendations agreed

Cabinet

Noted the content of the Strategic Risk Report

Decision

That the content of the Strategic Risk Report is noted

Corporate Priorities

A clean, safe and enjoyable environment; Building strong and vibrant communities; Ensuring economic growth and prosperity; Providing good quality affordable homes, in particular for those most in need; Ensuring efficient, effective and modern service delivery; Climate and ecological emergency

Statutory Officer Comments:

Monitoring Officer:

No comments to add to the report.

S151 Officer:

This is a S151 Officer report.

Advice

Cllr Elliott presented the Quarterly Strategic Risk Register and pointed out that the funding and income are not sufficient to deliver corporate objectives however, most of it can be covered on the MTFS and actions being taken to mitigate the risk.  Another other key risk was about the issues coming from Brexit negotiations but that has all been concluded and should now be removed from the Risk Register.

Nigel Howcutt said that in terms of evolution there was a list of recommended changes to the Strategic Risk Register that senior colleagues are going through and this will be coming to Members during the next four to five weeks to review and assess.  This has been brought about by Brexit still being on the Risk Register and the uncertain economic and political situation.

Recommendations agreed