Agenda item

D Skinner introduced the report to members and said it was an improving picture from Q2 with a current underspend of £250,000. In this quarter, the vacancy provision has improved and there have been some minor additional government grants of £45,000. There are still some pressures within the service and they are the same pressures that have been seen across the year in employees, waste services and building control.
There has been an improvement in transport with an underspend in the fuel budget.
Overall, this quarter is broadly consistent with Q2.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe referred to paragraph 3.4 which mentioned an underachievement of income in the commercial waste sector. Was there a particular sector of businesses that were lost?

C Thorpe said the council had lost a few commercial customers but this was due to businesses closing or moving out of the borough and not due to a lack of service.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked if it was a particular sector of businesses.

C Thorpe said it was across the range – from businesses to restaurants. Some have changed the size of their containers which also decreases the income.

Councillor Matthews referred to paragraph 3.1 and the pressures in building control. He asked if there was any progress in filling the vacant posts.

J Doe said there was significant progress being made. There have been three trainee appointments who have been gradually introduced into the service. The agency staff costs wont fully disappear until permanent staff are appointment in the more senior roles. We are also looking at the pay scales.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe referred back to paragraph 3.4 and the £190,000 underachievement in income. She said the report mentioned that this could be due to the uncertainty in the housing market after the EU referendum. Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said she did not feel this was the case in Dacorum and could the officers expand on this?

D Skinner said there was an initial slow down and we might see a slight spoke in 2017/18 after the market recovers. It was a lull rather than a stop. The uncertainty has meant businesses have had to take pause.

J Doe echoed the comments made by D Skinner. Some major applications have come in recently like the Maylands Gateway Site which has produced £90,000 in fee income. There has been a mixed reaction from house builders – some have put plans on hold and some have continued as normal.

Councillor Riddick asked if the 20% increase from the Housing and Planning Act had been factored in.

J Doe said it hadn’t at the moment. The Director of Finance has just written to the government accepting the 20% increase.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked for more detail on the £45,000 grants.

D Skinner said the grants were given for several different things. When the government changes policies, the grants are given. They are minor when looked at individually but they are quite a good sum when put together.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe said there was a focus on the Water Gardens at the end of the report. She asked for clarification about the overspend.

D Skinner said there is an overspend in the capital for the Water Gardens and in the profiling of the scheme. There is some slippage into next year. There is likely be an overspend at the end of the project but there is no definite figure but it should be in the region of £200,000 and the project will need to be re-profiled the project realigning with the revised delivery schedule.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked if any of it could be recouped.

J Doe said they are awaiting the final count from the contractor. There were issues in the flower garden as new top soil was laid but the flowers failed. A specialist was brought in to remediate the issue at an extra cost but this will be charged back to the contractor.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked if the electricity problems had been solved.

J Doe said they had been largely resolved.

Councillor Hicks asked why there are extra professional fees if the project had been delayed.

J Doe said there were two aspects. As mentioned earlier, a specialist was brought in for the flower garden and secondly, there was additional work needed on the footpath on Waterhouse Street which was a necessary add on. We have had a legitimate claim from the contractor for extension of time.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe referred to Appendix C and the first line of the table that refers to the Civic Centre major repairs. Will this be carried over?

D Skinner said it would be kept and aggregated into other reserves, most likely civic buildings. This has been realigned in the 2017/18 budget.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked what return was given on the Invest to Save reserve.

D Skinner said he didn’t have the figure to hand but would find the information and get back to the committee.

Councillor Anderson asked if the numbers would change significantly after the inclusion of quarter 4.

D Skinner said he didn’t anticipate a huge change.

Councillor Anderson asked if there was such a significant underspend, are members able to request improvements to their ward?

D Skinner said it was possible that this could happen but ensuring delivery by the end of the year would be unlikely. If an underspend is achieved, then we can allocate into corporate reserves so it is possible to draw down in the future and this could be looked at as part of budget setting.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked how many playgrounds were left to be refurbished.

C Thorpe said he would cover playgrounds in his presentation later on.

Councillor C Wyatt-Lowe asked if the Group Manager for Regulatory Services post had been filled yet.

D Austin said there is no replacement yet.

Outcome

That the Strategic Planning and Environment Overview and Scrutiny Committee approve the report.