(Members Code of Conduct – Part 4A of the Constitution)

To receive disclosures of interests from members and co-opted members on matters to be considered at the meeting. The disclosure must include the nature of the interest.

An interest must also be disclosed in the meeting when it becomes apparent to the member during the meeting.

Notes:

(1)       Members must consider their interests, and act according to the following:

(2)       Disclosable pecuniary interests relate to the Member concerned or their spouse/partner.

(3)       Members in arrears of Council Tax by more than two months must not vote in decisions on, or which might affect, budget calculations, and must disclose at the meeting that this restriction applies to them.  A failure to comply with these requirements is a criminal offence under section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. 

(4)       Officers must disclose interests in accordance with Council Standing Order 44.

No disclosures of interest in matters under discussion were received.

Recommended –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2024 be signed as a correct record (previously circulated).

(Yusuf Patel / Jane Lythgow – 07970 411923 / 07970 411623)

Resolved –

That the minutes of the meeting held on 11 January 2024 be signed as a correct record.

(Access to Information Procedure Rules – Part 3B of the Constitution)

Reports and background papers for agenda items may be inspected by contacting the person shown after each agenda item.  Certain reports and background papers may be restricted. 

Any request to remove the restriction on a report or background paper should be made to the relevant Strategic Director or Assistant Director whose name is shown on the front page of the report. 

If that request is refused, there is a right of appeal to this meeting. 

Please contact the officer shown below in advance of the meeting if you wish to appeal. 

(Yusuf Patel / Jane Lythgow – 07970 411923 / 07970 411623)

There were no appeals submitted by the public to review decisions to restrict documents.

The following referrals have been made to this Committee up to and including the date of publication of this agenda.

The Committee is asked to note the referrals listed above and decide how it wishes to proceed, for example by incorporating the item into the work programme, requesting that it be subject to more detailed examination, or refer it to an appropriate Working Group/Committee.

There were no referrals made to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

The Strategic Director Corporate Resources will submit a report (Document “AC”) which examines the progress of, and plans for, the full roll out of Universal Credit and the implications for residents and the council.

Recommended –

That Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee notes the progress being made in the roll-out of UC in the District.

(Caroline Lee - 07811 088655)

The Strategic Director Corporate Resources submitted a report (Document “AC”) which examined the progress of, and plans for, the full roll out of Universal Credit and the implications for residents and the Council. Colleagues from the Department of Work and Pensions were also present to provide additional information and respond to Members’ questions.

During the presentation, it was stated that the roll out of Universal Credit was 71% complete. It was also stressed that the managed migration of Housing Benefit claimants onto UC was also progressing well.

In response to a question regarding the roll out of UC and the challenges going forward, it was stated that there were more challenges expected as those on legacy benefits migrated to UC. It was acknowledged that there were particular challenges with this cohort and therefore help and advice would still be available, including home visits where necessary and referrals for advice to the Citizens’ Advice Bureau, in particular for those in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance.

For those claimants who did not have access to the internet, they were still being seen in person on a fortnightly basis and IT access would be provided to them on site.  However, it was acknowledged that not every client had the ability to navigate through this process.

It was stressed that given the migration of Housing Benefit claimants to UC, the workload in Housing Benefit had dropped, and therefore the work of business rates and housing benefit had now been separated, with a greater automation of the cases being referred from the Department for Work and Pensions.

In response to a question on the number of claimants in Bradford in receipt of Employment and Support Allowance, it was stated that this information will be provided outside of this meeting, adding that ESA recipients had complex needs and how we dealt with them during the migration process was a crucial element.

A Member suggested that more outreach work was needed in order to reach claimants in need of advice and support around UC migration. In response it was stated that outreach work had been undertaken, however it was worth looking at as to how this can be further extended in certain areas of the district.

Resolved –

That the Committee requests a further progress report be presented in 12 months, which focuses on the implementation of Universal Credit across the District.

To be actioned by – Strategic Director for Corporate Resources

The Strategic Director Corporate Resources will submit a reort (Document “AD”) which examines performance in and challenges for Business Rates and Council Tax collection.

The new Business Rates Rating List came into force on 1 April 2023. The report also examines this and sets out an approach to encouraging early engagement by residents in Council Tax collection.

Recommended –

That this committee notes, and gives its view on, progress in the collection of Council Tax and Business Rates.

(Caroline Lee - 07811 088655)

The Strategic Director Corporate Resources submitted a report (Document “AD”) which examined performance in and challenges for Business Rates and Council Tax collection.

The new Business Rates Rating List came into force on 1 April 2023. The report also examined this and set out an approach to encouraging early engagement by residents in Council Tax collection.

In relation to a question regarding the volume of Council Tax that was written off after five years, it was stated that this was in the region of 2%, after all other avenues had been exhausted.

The Chair stated that whilst the Council was doing well in terms of collection rates, families were under considerable financial pressure and therefore what engagement was taking place with these families, prior to any enforcement action.

In response, it was stated that families were contacted via email, text on the amounts due, therefore reminders were set up to encourage early engagement, in case there were payment issues and this increased over time.  Vulnerability was taken into account and residents were also signposted to support that was available and wider debt advice they could tap into, thereby reducing the number of Council Tax summons that had to be issued.

In relation to Business Rates Collection, again the estimated collection rate was in the region of 98%, after applying any rate relief.

In response to a question regarding large scale appeals based on technicalities, it was stated that regular meetings were held with the Valuations Office, and we would have a better idea in around six months if there were any particular large-scale appeals in the offing.

In terms of the amount of Business Rates handed over to Government this was primarily            a year end calculation and appropriate adjustments were made as part of the NNDR1.

In relation to a question regarding the challenges posed by empty homes in the district in the collection of Council Tax, it was stressed that every effort was made to trace property owners using a variety of methods in order to recoup any outstanding balances as well as encouraging via our Empty Homes Team to get those properties back into use and signpost owners to grants that may be available to renovate homes.  In cases where owners were difficult to trace and were traced some time down the line, charges could be imposed retrospectively.

Resolved –

That this Committee requests that a further progress report is presented in the new municipal year.

To be actioned by – Strategic Director for Corporate Resources.

The Director of Finance will submit a report (Document “AE”) which provides Members with the forecast year-end financial position of the Council for 2023-24 and sets out the unprecedented scale of its financial challenges. It outlines the revenue and capital budgets and the year-end forecast financial position based on information at the end of December 2023. It states the Council’s current reserves and school balances.

The report also summarises the ongoing action being undertaken to address the current challenges and further urgent action that will be required to secure a sustainable financial position. The Council has applied for Exceptional Financial Support from Government which If agreed, would be provided in the form of a capitalisation directive which would allow the Council to borrow to fund revenue expenditure.

Recommended –

The Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee is being asked to review and comment on the Qtr 3 Finance Position Statement for 2023-24.

(Andrew Cross - 07870 386523)

The Director of Finance submitted a report (Document “AE”) which provided Members with the forecast year-end financial position of the Council for 2023-24 and set out the unprecedented scale of its financial challenges. It outlined the revenue and capital budgets and the year-end forecast financial position based on information at the end of December 2023. It stated the Council’s current reserves and school balances.

The report also summarised the ongoing action being undertaken to address the current challenges and further urgent action that will be required to secure a sustainable financial position. The Council had applied for Exceptional Financial Support from Government which If agreed, would be provided in the form of a capitalisation directive which would allow the Council to borrow to fund revenue expenditure.

A capitalisation directive is however only an interim solution. To achieve a financially sustainable position, the Council and the Trust will need to deliver a combination of; significantly higher level of savings than is currently proposed; additional income, further asset disposals and further capital expenditure reductions.

A continuous cycle of identifying new savings and other measures to reducing the gap will need to be embedded in 2024-25. The report also provides a budget update for 2024-25 taking account of the completion of the NNDR1 form that sets the Business rates base, and further updates in relation to the Exceptional Financial Support request.

The Director of Finance added that the forecast overspend for 2023/24 would be £75m, which included the use of £48m one off reserves, with the overspend primarily related to Childrens and Adults Social Care, details of which were set out in the report.

The Bradford Children’s and Families Trust had developed a business plan which aims to get back to 2023/24 contract price levels by 2027/2028, however the cost in placements had gone up over time.

The request for Government support was alluded to, the details of which were set out in the report; the response from the Government for assistance would not be known till early March and we had therefore been advised to hold back setting a Budget till that time.  The assistance being sought would only be an interim measure to get the Council back onto a sustainable financial footing.

In relation to the 2024/2025 budget additional resources had been made available and they were set out in the report.

During the discussion it was stated that the average cost of children’s placement was in the region of £338k a year, however did we have any indication of the cost difference in term of the public and private sector.

In response it was stated that this was difficult to compare, with an acknowledgement that there was a profit margin in the external market and where there were vacancies a cost was associated with that vacancy.  It was suggested that further information around costs and comparative analysis around this could be provided in future reports. 

In response to a question around the budget pressures in Sports and Culture  ...  view the full minutes text for item 66.

The Chair of the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee will submit a report (Document “AF”) which includes the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee work programme for 2023/24, which are attached as appendix 1 to Document “AF”.

Also attached as appendix 2, is a list of unscheduled topics for 2023-24.

Recommended –

(1)      That the Committee may choose to add to or amend the topics included in the 2023-24 work programme.

(2)       That Members consider any detailed scrutiny reviews that they            may wish to conduct.

(Mustansir Butt - 01274 432574)

The Chair of the Corporate Overview & Scrutiny Committee submitted a report (Document “AF”) which included the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Committee work programme for 2023/24, which are attached as appendix 1 to Document “AF”.

Resolved –

That the Committee discussed and amended the work programme.

To be actioned by: Overview and Scrutiny Lead