Agenda item
Environment & culture budget issues
The Director of Environment and Culture will attend the meeting to provide a presentation for members on current budget issues facing this service area.
Minutes:
Richard Saunders (Director, Environment & Culture) gave a presentation and answered questions from Councillors on the department’s budget position and service transformation. He pointed out that the department covered a wide and complex range of services, from libraries to planning and road safety, together with a significant number of corporate services. Turnover in the current year was £90m-£100m. The current budget pressures, amounting to a total of £2.2m, were driven mainly by the recession. For example, the parking account would be £1m short of the forecast figure of £11m. The number of penalty notices issued had gone down as a result of increased compliance and possibly also as a result of the recession. Fortunately, in some services income and expenditure were linked, but this was not the case in others – land charges, for example. Zero-budgeting exercises had taken place in libraries and streetcare, and it had been possible to take action to rebalance the budget in those areas. Service units had been asked to contribute a total of £600,000 but there remained a residual predicted shortfall of around £600,000. While the department was still working on reducing this, it was proving intractable.
Pressures on the 2010/11 budget included the continuing reduced parking account, pressure on regulatory income, and uncertainty following a ruling from the Information Commissioner that, under the Environmental Information Regulations, requests for information around land charges might no longer be charged for. The success of the organic waste collection meant that extra costs would be incurred, and waste disposal costs in general were uncertain, with costs rising as the recession drew to an end.
Service transformation was taking place in line with the Council’s Improvement and Efficiency Strategy, with waste and recycling a key gold project. Another of the department’s key gold projects was the Civic Centre project and the introduction of new ways of working. Floor space in Brent House was being reorganised in preparation for new ways of working, and Internet Protocol (IP) telephony was being piloted in preparation for flexible working and hot-desking. Key silver and bronze projects included income maximisation and the review of the Veolia contract. The Council had engaged in competitive dialogue with Veolia and, while the contract specification had seemed ambitious, targets had been met. There had been an improvement in street cleaning, and Local Area Agreement (LAA) targets had been met. The Residents’ Attitude Survey (RAS) had reflected significantly increased levels of satisfaction since the introduction of the contract. The RAS had also shown increases in satisfaction with other services provided by the department and, while satisfaction with refuse collection had increased by only 6%, this – at 86% – remained one of the highest satisfaction ratings. The performance of recycling was improving, but was also costing more.
Asked about the speed of parking enforcement at weekends, Richard Saunders reported that actions at the weekend should be as effective as at other times and any reports of reduced productivity could be investigated.
In answer to a question about the use of camera systems for the issuing of penalty notices, Mike Read (Assistant Director, Policy & Regulation) informed the Panel that significant investment would be needed to introduce this, and that the Council would need to be able to take action on moving traffic offences, as well as parking offences, before these powers could be transferred from the police. He agreed to contact the contractor about a member’s concern at the difficulty of parking enforcement in Harlesden.
Answering a question on the level of grant funding received by the department, Mike Read reported that very little was received in grants. For example, in the current year £275,000 – out of a maximum of around £400,000 – had been received as housing and planning delivery grant (HPDG). However, he was confident that more would be received in the following year, as the grant would be more based on the provision of housing.
Asked about the possibility of reducing street cleaning in some areas in order to address the predicted budget shortfall, Richard Saunders informed the Panel that this was being considered, although there were areas where, even with cleaning three times a week, there were complaints. However, there were also areas where a reduction to twice a week would have minimal impact. The contractor did not use mechanical pavement sweepers, as these were not suited to narrow pavements with trees or street furniture. In general, the state of the pavements was such that their use was limited. Damage to pavements by contractors working for residents was a serious problem. While deposits were taken for Council-licensed skips, it was difficult to prove who caused damage, even when the Council took photos both before and after work had taken place. While officers checked, and residents or contractors sometimes paid up, this was not easy to enforce.
In answer to a question about parking enforcement around Wembley Stadium, Richard Saunders reported that the original Section 106 funding had been for the introduction of controlled parking, and not its maintenance. Maintenance needed to be funded from the parking account. The arrangements of signs and lines in some areas were now being reviewed, following a ruling from the adjudicator that they did not comply.
Pressed about the likelihood of being able to bridge the identified £600,000 gap, Richard Saunders informed the Panel that, while progress was often made in addressing this, it tended then to be offset by the need for funding elsewhere. Overtime and the use of agency staff was constantly under review, for example, but there were essential areas in which these were necessary. He added that, should the economic upturn come more quickly than expected, this could help increase income.
The Chair thanked Richard Saunders and Mike Read for attending the meeting and answering members’ questions.
RESOLVED:
that the presentation be noted.