Agenda and minutes

(Assistant to the Chief Executive) To declare interests in any item on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest pursuant to the Council’s Code of Member Conduct.

To confirm the minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on  (previously circulated).

Resolved:

(1)        That the minutes of the meeting held on 24 January 2013 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(Deputy Chief Executive) To consider the attached report (FPM-023-2012/13).

The Performance Improvement Manager presented a report on the Council’s Key Performance Indicators for 2012/13 and 2013/14.

The Performance Improvement Manager stated that, pursuant to the Local Government Act 1999, the Council was required to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which its functions and services were exercised, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness. As part of this duty to secure continuous improvement, a range of Key Performance Indicators (KPI) relevant to the Council’s services and key objectives were adopted each year. Performance against the KPIs were monitored on a quarterly or annual basis as appropriate, and had previously been an inspection theme in external judgements of the overall performance of the authority.

The Performance Improvement Manager reminded the Cabinet Committee that a range of 32 Key Performance Indicators for 2012/13 had been adopted in March 2012, along with a corporate target for at least 70% of the Indicators to achieve their target by the end of the year. The performance of the current Indicators at the end of the third quarter were set out in detail in Appendix 1 attached to the report and could be summarised as follows:

·                     15 (56%) achieved their accumulative target; and

·                     12 (44%) did not.

On the basis of third quarter performance, the following year-end outcomes were currently predicted:

·                     13 (48%) to achieve their year-end target;

·                     7 (26%) would not achieve their year-end target; and

·                     for 7 (26%), it was currently uncertain as whether they would achieve their year-end target.

In respect of the proposed Indicators for 2013/14, the Cabinet Committee was informed that these had been considered by Management Board recently but no significant changes had been recommended. Provisional targets for each proposed Indicator had been agreed between the relevant Service Director and Portfolio Holder, and these had been set out in detail in Appendix 2 attached to the report, although the following three changes were reported by the Performance Improvement Manager:

·                     the proposed target for KPI 35, Benefit Fraud Investigations, in 2013/14 should read 300 not 500;

·                     KPI 46, Increase in Affordable Housing within the District, to be deleted as the Director of Housing would provide the relevant information to all Members on a regular basis through alternative reporting arrangements; and

·                     A KPI to measure the percentage of benefit fraud cases investigated where fraud was proven, with a target for 2013/14 of 30%.

It was also intended that performance against all Indicators would be monitored and reported on a quarterly basis in future. There were now no Indicators where performance could only be reported on an annual basis, and quarterly targets could be profiled for each Indicator. Improvement Plans would be developed for each Indicator, and Management Board would review the targets for each Indicator when the 2012/13 outrun data became available. Any revisions would be reported to the Cabinet Committee at its meeting scheduled for 20 June 2013.

The Performance Improvement Manager advised the Cabinet Committee that it was not  ...  view the full minutes text for item 39.

(Chief Internal Auditor) To consider the attached report (FPM-025-2013/14).

The Chief Internal Auditor presented the Internal Audit Business Plan for 2013/14 for the Cabinet Committee to inspect, prior to its consideration by the Audit & Governance Committee on 4 April 2013.

The Chief Internal Auditor stated that all the fundamental financial systems had been included to provide assurance on the controls in place for good financial management. In compiling the Plan, the Corporate Risk Register and the Risk Registers for each Directorate were reviewed to ensure that all high risk areas had been included. A contingency provision had been included for investigations and other unplanned work during the year, and some flexibility had also been included to accommodate reviews of areas considered to be of a higher risk to the achievement of the Council’s objectives.

The Chief Internal Auditor added that progress against the Plan would be kept under review throughout the year and any proposed amendments would be subject to the approval of the Audit & Governance Committee. The Chief Internal Auditor highlighted the regular meetings held with his counterparts at Harlow and Uttlesford District and Broxbourne Borough Councils. The purpose of these meetings was to share best practice and expertise, and consider various joint working practices.

The Chief Internal Auditor reassured the Cabinet Committee that all high risk rated audits would be completed during the year, but some mid to low risks audits could get deferred to the following year. As evidenced by recent problems with various reconciliations, one aim during the year would be to improve the interfaces between the Council’s different computer systems. The Director of Finance & ICT added that if the Audit & Governance Committee requested any amendments to the Plan then these would be reported to the Cabinet Committee at its next meeting.

Resolved:

(1)        That the proposed draft Internal Audit plan for 2013/14 be noted.

(Director of Finance & ICT) To consider the attached report (FPM-024-2012/13).

The Senior Finance Officer (Risk & Insurance) presented a report on the Corporate Risk Register and the Risk Management documents.

The Senior Finance Officer stated that the Corporate Risk Register and Risk Management documents had been considered by both the Risk Management Group on 25 February  and the Corporate Governance Group on 27 February 2013. These reviews had identified amendments to the Corporate Risk Register and minor amendments to the wording of the Corporate Risk Documents.

The Senior Finance Officer reported that five amendments to the Corporate Risk Register had been proposed as a result of the recent reviews. Risk 1, Recruitment Restrictions, had been removed as the Cabinet had revoked this restriction in January 2013. A new risk had been added (37) in respect of the Local Land and Property Gazetteer and had been scored as Low Likelihood, Critical Impact (D2). An additional Vulnerability, Trigger and Consequence had been added for Risk 3, Potential Difficulty producing the Local Plan to Timetable, to cover budgetary aspects. The effectiveness of control for Risk 17, Significant Amount of Capital Receipts spent on Non-Revenue Generating Assets, had been updated to reflect the Capital Programme. The Vulnerability for Risk 29, Gypsy Roma Traveller Provision, had been updated as the new Gypsy Traveller Accommodation Assessment was now underway.

The Senior Finance Officer added that the Council’s Risk Management Strategy, Risk Management Policy Statement and the terms of reference for the Risk Management Group had been reviewed and some minor amendments proposed, as outlined in the report. The Cabinet Committee was requested to approve these documents for adoption at the next meeting of the Cabinet.

The Senior Finance Officer informed the Cabinet Committee that the Director of Finance & ICT and the Chief Executive had met with an external consultant to discuss the options for the future methodology and documentation for Risk Management. The consultant had confirmed that, whilst the existing arrangements and documentation remained robust and valid, some authorities had used the demise of the Audit Commission as an opportunity to streamline the Risk Management process. Consequently, it had been decided to devote a Management Board meeting in May 2013 to a fresh consideration of corporate risks and how they were recorded and presented. This could result in a very different Corporate Risk Register being presented to the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee.

The Cabinet Committee requested that the risk rating for Risk 3 (Potential Difficulty producing the Local Plan to Timetable) be reviewed during the next quarter; the Director of Finance & ICT reassured the Cabinet Committee that all risks above the Tolerance Line were reviewed every cycle, and that Risk 3 would be reviewed as a matter of course

Recommended:

(1)        That Risk 1, Recruitment Restrictions, be deleted;

(2)        That an additional Vulnerability, Trigger and Consequence be added for Risk 3, Potential Difficulty producing the Local Plan to Timetable, to cover budgetary aspects;

(3)        That the Effectiveness of Control for Risk 17, Capital Receipts spent on non-revenue generating assets, be amended to reflect the current  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.

(Director of Finance & ICT) To consider the attached report (FPM-026-2012/13).

The Director of Finance & ICT presented the Quarterly Financial Monitoring report for the period October to December 2012, which provided a comparison between the revised estimates and the actual expenditure or income. The report provided details of the revenue budgets – both the Continuing Services Budget and District Development Fund – as well as the capital budgets, including details of major capital schemes.

The Cabinet Committee noted that the Salaries budget showed an underspend of £112,000 or 0.8%. Investment income levels were in line with expectations after three quarters but there was no obvious sign of interest rates improving at the current time, even in the longer term. The Council had received a further payment of £68,000 from its original £2.5million investment placed with the Heritable Bank from the Administrators, which now amounted 77.6% repaid in total. The Council still expected to receive between 86% and 90% of its original investment.

Within the Planning & Economic Development Directorate, Development Control income was £6,000 above the revised estimate, and the final outturn was likely to fall somewhere between the original and revised estimate. Income from Building Control was £4,000 higher than expected, and although a deficit was still expected from this account for the year, this could be set against an accumulated surplus from previous years.

Within the Corporate Support Services Directorate, Licensing income was above expectations and income from the Fleet Operations Unit was in line with expectations and expected to return a surplus of approximately £11,000 by the end of the year. Income from Local Land Charges was also in line with expectations, although there was still significant uncertainty surrounding the future level of charges for this service. Within the Housing Directorate, the Housing Repairs Fund was showing an underspend of £185,000, but due to seasonal factors this was expected to reduce during the final quarter. In respect of Capital schemes, the Limes Farm Hall Development had been completed in February 2012, but the final account had still to be determined.

In conclusion, the Director of Finance & ICT stated that income was generally down on expectations but expenditure was also down. It appeared unlikely that there would be a significant variance on the estimated use of reserves for the year, currently predicted to be £44,000, which would leave a balance of £9.157million.

The Cabinet Committee felt that the Council was doing as well as expected, which given the economic climate was a satisfactory result. It was highlighted by the Planning Portfolio Holder that the timescale given in the report for the Local Plan was not quite correct, but this would be revised in due course with a new target date set. The Director of Finance & ICT added that any potential budgetary problems in respect of the Local Plan would be reported to the Local Plan Cabinet Committee initially, and then this Cabinet Committee if necessary. The Cabinet Committee was reassured that the budget within the Housing Directorate for bed-and-breakfast accommodation for homeless applicants had been increased for 2013/14, due to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 42.

Section 100B(4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, together with paragraphs 6 and 25 of the Council Procedure Rules contained in the Constitution require that the permission of the Chairman be obtained, after prior notice to the Chief Executive, before urgent business not specified in the agenda (including a supplementary agenda of which the statutory period of notice has been given) may be transacted.

In accordance with Operational Standing Order 6 (non-executive bodies), any item raised by a non-member shall require the support of a member of the Committee concerned and the Chairman of that Committee. Two weeks’ notice of non-urgent items is required.

The Cabinet Committee noted that there was no other urgent business for consideration.