Agenda and minutes

Venue: Council Chamber - Town Hall - Maidenhead

Contact: Andy Carswell 

Items
No. Item

33.

Apologies

To receive any apologies for absence.

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Diment and Sheila Holmes.

 

34.

Declarations of Interest pdf icon PDF 133 KB

To receive any declarations of interest.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest received.

35.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 73 KB

To approve the part I minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2016.

Minutes:

The Part I minutes of the meeting held on November 23rd 2016 were agreed as an accurate record.

36.

Budget and Council Tax pdf icon PDF 167 KB

To review the report and appendices and make recommendations to Cabinet.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Finance gave a presentation to Members on the proposals, reminding Members that an increase in core Council Tax and an acceptance of the Adult Social Care Precept had been recommended for approval by Cabinet.

 

The Head of Finance told Members that the proposals had taken into consideration a number of factors, which included an increased demand for social care, changes in profiling of some recipients of social care, the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy and additional funding to cover the loss of the main Government grant.

 

The Head of Finance said that an investment need of £2.5million in Adult, Children and Health Services had been identified. For services in other priority areas the investment need had been identified as £1.6million. However the Head of Finance added that potential savings of £5.9million had also been identified. These savings had already been considered by Cabinet in September and full Council in December, along with the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

 

Members were told that the proposed budget would mean a Band D charge for 2017/18 would be £961.46, which would incorporate the Adult Social Care Precept. Members were told that the charge for 2016/17 was £925.09 and the proposal therefore meant a total increase of £36.37 per annum for a Band D property.

 

The Head of Finance informed Members that the Council needed to borrow in the region of £73million; however significant returns on investment had been forecast through the completion of the Regeneration Programme, which would outweigh the amount that needed to be borrowed.

 

The Finance Partner told Members that an extra £3.6million had gone into providing services for older people during the previous two years. Significant investment had also been made on residential and nursing home places, home care packages, services for people with mental health issues, Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding and being able to meet demographic growth within the Royal Borough.

 

Cllr Hollingsworth asked how much of the money allocated towards meeting demographic growth was provided towards refugees and immigrants. The Finance Partner said there was separate funding specifically for this.

 

Cllr Jones said she had asked for analysis of trends within Adult Social Care to identify either where savings could be made, or where extra funding was needed. She informed Members that she had raised this at other Overview and Scrutiny Panels. The Head of Finance said they were aware of Cllr Jones’ enquiries and would provide this information for her. He added that the data is likely to indicate an increase in the number of clients, complexity of cases and costs.

 

Cllr Lenton asked what assumptions had been made based on the trends in the Retail Prices Index. The Head of Finance said the fees and charges had been based on a two per cent rate; however the current rate was 2.5 per cent.

 

Cllr Lenton asked about the Council’s attempts at recruiting new staff members. The Head of Adult Social Care and Health said recruitment in the domiciliary care sector was proving challenging,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 36.

37.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT ACT 1972 - EXCLUSION OF THE PUBLIC

To consider passing the following resolution:-

 

“That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion takes place on item 3 on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act"

Minutes:

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the remainder of the meeting whilst discussion took place on item 6 on the grounds that it may involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1-7 of part I of Schedule 12A of the Act.

38.

Minutes

To approve the Part II minutes of the meeting held on 23 November 2016.

Minutes:

The Part II minutes of the meeting held on November 23rd 2016 were agreed as an accurate record.