Issue - meetings

The Streets & Open Spaces Portfolio was now split between the Executive Councillor for Communities plus the Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment and City Centre.

Matter for Decision

The Officer’s report presented for the Streets & Open Spaces Portfolio:

       i.          A summary of actual income and expenditure compared to the final budget for 2018/19 (outturn position).

     ii.          Revenue and capital budget variances with explanations.

   iii.          Specific requests to carry forward funding available from budget underspends into 2019/20.

Decision of Executive Councillor for Climate Change, Environment & City Centre plus Executive Councillor for Communities

Approved carry forward requests:

       i.          Totalling £50,000 revenue funding from 2018/19 to 2019/20, as detailed in Appendix C of the Officer’s report.

     ii.          Of £1,226k capital resources from 2018/19 to 2019/20 to fund rephased net capital spending, as detailed in Appendix D of the Officer’s report.

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

Scrutiny Considerations

The Committee received a report from the Head of Finance. The Officer updated her report by correcting a typographical error. £20k had been omitted from the carry forward for Mill Road cemetery access and main footpath on P127 of the agenda pack (Appendix D). This would be corrected in the report going to Council on 18 July. Recommendation 2b in the Officer’s report to Environment and Community Scrutiny Committee was amended as follows:

Of £1,206k £1,226k capital resources from 2018/19 to 2019/20 to fund rephased net capital spending, as detailed in Appendix D of the Officer’s report

The Head of Finance said the following in response to Members’ questions:

       i.          Work on the A14 had led to a decline in demand for the crematorium service. This should recover when the road re-opened. The City Council expected some compensation from Highways England.

     ii.          Income levels may not recover fully to pre-A14 work levels due to competition from another crematorium in the area.

   iii.          The City Council Crematorium should benefit from A14 road works in the long term as it would be in a better location.

   iv.          For accounting reasons, the cleaning contract (Officer report Appendix B) shows an overspend in this financial year so it could be redistributed in the next financial year budget.

    v.          Water providers had failed to submit bills for some years then put in a bulk invoice for the last financial year. The figure therefore showed as an overspend in the budget (although it was a correction not an error on our part).

The Committee unanimously resolved to endorse the recommendations.

The Executive Councillor approved the recommendations.

Conflicts of Interest Declared by the Executive Councillor (and any Dispensations Granted)

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.