Agenda item

D Skinner introduced the report to members – quarter 1 was a good news story with a continued positive outturn from 2016/17. The main highlights of this quarter are:

-       A £77,000 over spend on employee costs due to additional spending in Strategic Planning as a new post has been created to deal with the Brownfield Land Register which is a government requirement and is funded from reserves.

-       A £98,000 over spend due to legal costs in Regulatory Services which is met from litigation reserves.

-       There is a £100,000 over achievement in income due to an increase in planning applications as there has been a decrease in the factors that affected the downturn in 2016/17.

-       There is also extra income from the Alternative Financial Model and recycling credits.

-       In the capital program there has been slippage due to the fleet replacement which is delayed costing £1.5 million as refuse vehicles are needed for the flat recycling project.

Councillor Birnie asked what the complex legal case was about.
D Skinner said it was a prosecution against a large retailer.
Councillor Birnie asked if this due to end by the end of the year.
E Walker said it should be closed by the end of the financial year.

Councillor Riddick asked where the council are in the legal process.
E Walker said the Council was close to serving summons which was likely to be successful.

Councillor Riddick questioned the £76,000 over spend from employees due to a new post. He said the employee was already employed by the Council and just moved roles – surely this wouldn’t create an additional spend.
C Taylor said this was a 12 month post to perform a particular function. The post left vacant has not been back filled and the team are picking up the extra work.

Councillor Riddick said two planning officers have left so questioned why there wasn’t a surplus.
J Doe said the vacant posts are being advertised to be filled as the capacity is needed.

Councillor Matthews asked what would happen to the employee once the post ends.
C Taylor said they would return to their previous role.

Councillor Fisher asked about the progress of the Brownfield Land Register.
J Doe said they are currently completing the register after an overall survey to identify land for potential development. Stage 2 requires picking out larger sites to grant them permission in principle. The impact of this is not yet known and it will be an ongoing task to monitor sites.

Councillor Anderson asked if councillors could have a copy of the brownfield sites identified for development in their ward
J Doe said this shouldn’t be a problem. Constitutional amendments are also required before permission I principle can be granted to sites and this will go to Cabinet and Council for approval.

Councillor Riddick referred to paragraph 4.3 and the under achievement of £90,000 in the waste service. Has there been any progress on understanding why commercial customers are taking their business elsewhere?
D Skinner said they collect about £1 million from commercial waste service. Some companies are offering deals such as free collections or they are able to negotiate a lower price. Work is ongoing to understand how these companies can undercut our prices.

Outcome

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