Agenda item

To present the findings and recommendations of the Budget Scrutiny Task Group, following its review of the Council’s draft budget proposals for 2024/25.

As Councillor Conneely was Chair of the Budget Scrutiny Task Group and would present the report, chairing responsibilities for the item were delegated to Councillor Long, Vice Chair of the Resources and Public Realm Scrutiny Committee. Following the transfer of chairing responsibilities, Councillor Conneely was then invited to present the report to the Committee.

To begin, Councillor Conneely thanked Councillors Ketan Sheth, Molloy, Smith and Jayanti Patel for their work as part of the Budget Scrutiny Task Group, before detailing that the upcoming financial year would be the most challenging year in terms of financial stability for local authorities across the country as a result of cumulative funding cuts from central government. Consequently, Councillor Conneely outlined that it was difficult for the Task Group to suggest alternative proposals due to the limited resources available to the Council. In emphasising the need for wholesale reforms to the manner in which local authorities were funded, Councillor Conneely reiterated the importance of partnership working and collaboration to achieve shared goals and deliver priorities. To conclude, the Committee was advised that due to the recommendations made by the Task Group, Cabinet had revised their decision to close the New Millenium Day Centre, which would now remain open through a multi-service offer.

Following Councillor Connelly’s introduction, contributions, comments and questions were sought from the Committee, with the subsequent discussion summarised below:

•         The Committee highlighted the lack of consultation regarding the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and given its importance as a revenue stream for the Council, queried whether engagement and consultation should be held on a more frequent basis, such as via resident and tenant boards. In response, members were advised that engagement and consultation was undertaken yearly with residents and stakeholders regarding the HRA. Furthermore, concerning the budget proposals for the upcoming financial year, members were reassured that partners and stakeholders had been contacted to encourage feedback, meetings had been offered to discuss the proposals and residents had been engaged where possible, with the Council commencing the consultation in November 2023 to ensure stakeholders had sufficient opportunity to provide feedback, ahead of many councils across the country.

•         In response to the recommendation to condense the budget engagement material to improve the accessibility of the documents, members were informed that this would be explored, but it was emphasised that all relevant information needed to be provided to ensure transparency and accountability. Furthermore, the Committee noted that the Council was restricted regarding when engagement could commence due to the current trend of single-year settlements. It was explained that once multi-year settlements had been established engagement could begin earlier.

•         In recognising the efforts of officers in preparing the draft budget for consultation at such an early stage in the process, members queried the role that ward councillors could have in spreading awareness of the budget proposals and seeking feedback to further support the engagement efforts of the Council.

•         In response to Recommendation 2, to develop clear and concise proposals, the Committee was informed that the budget process was an iterative task which was further complicated by the recent trend of single-year settlements, which introduced uncertainty regarding the Council’s future funding position. Thus, given that the Council did not have ample time between receiving their settlement and drafting the budget proposals, it was explained that continuous reviews of the proposals were necessary to ensure the delivery of services.

•         The Committee commended Recommendation 3, to align the budget proposals with climate action commitments in Borough Plan 2023-27, as the Recommendation would introduce mainstream climate action commitments which, whilst supporting with the Council’s efforts in tackling the impacts of climate change, would also present additional savings opportunities. However, members noted that climate commitments related to the HRA would likely be unattainable due to the increased financial pressures on this area of the Council.

At this stage in proceedings, the Committee agreed to apply the guillotine procedure under Standing Order 62(c) in order to extend the meeting for a period of 15 minutes to enable the remaining business on the agenda to be considered.

•         In providing further clarity regarding Recommendation 4, to explore a shared outcomes framework with the voluntary and community sector, it was explained that many voluntary and community sector organisations were concerned that the Council were signposting residents and service users to the third sector, who were already experiencing financial challenges, without consulting the sector beforehand. Thus, it was reiterated that engagement with the voluntary and community sector needed to be collaborative, frequent and iterative, occurring prior to the proposals being published. However, it was also acknowledged that further collaboration with partners and regional bodies such as the Greater London Authority would also be beneficial to securing additional funding.

•         Regarding Recommendation 5, to establish a strategic approach to income generation, members emphasised the importance of implementing an income generation strategy that set out the Council’s strategic approach to improving the organisation’s income, rather than relying on piece-meal proposals. In particular, the Task Group identified three areas in which the Council could focus on as a starting point to improve income generation: increasing HMO licensing compliance, increasing empty property council tax compliance and reducing business rates evasion.

•         In discussing Recommendation 6, renting out Civic Centre meetings rooms to generate additional commercial revenue, the Committee noted that this option would be explored. However, members expressed concerns regarding the suitability of external venues in hosting Council meetings, given the requirements for strong internet connections and AV facilities. Moreover, the Committee pointed to the rationale behind the creation of the Civic Centre, which was to establish a central hub for the Council. Nevertheless, the Committee was advised that, whilst the Civic Centre did bring staff and councillors together, holding meetings in community venues could better connect the organisation to the communities it served.

•         In response to a query regarding the possibility of lobbying for changes to the geographical restrictions tied to the Local Housing Allowance (LHA), members were informed that a recommendation was made by the 2023/24 Budget Scrutiny Task Group to lobby for amendments to the limit and structure of the LHA and therefore it was felt unnecessary to repeat the recommendation. Nevertheless, the Committee was reassured that further updates would be sought from Cabinet regarding the progress of previous recommendations.

•         Concerning Recommendation 10, Wembley Stadium 'Community Impact' Ticket Levy, members noted that the Wembley National Stadium Trust collected 1% of net revenue which was distributed to relevant parties.

•         To provide further context for Recommendation 11, delegation of budgets and decision making to Brent Integrated Care Partnership (ICP), it was detailed that due to decision making being made at the Northwest London regional level, it was felt that it was harder to ensure that programmes were suitably responding to local need and to secure funding for Brent. Therefore, it was perceived that if budgets were set at a local level, authorities would base decisions on clinical need and would co-deliver services where suitable. However, although conversations were occurring regarding the future of health funding, members heard that every borough had need and thus competition remained despite being in a Northwest coalition.

As no further issues were raised the Chair then drew the item to a close and the Committee RESOLVED to approve the findings and recommendations made by the Budget Scrutiny Task Group ahead of them being submitted to Cabinet and Full Council as part of the budget setting process.