To review performance for Quarter 4 2021/22 and the final budget outturn for the year.

The cabinet member finance, corporate services and planning introduced the report and highlighted a published correction to one of the tables. She explained that the council had faced the largest in-year savings target ever at over £11m in addition to the continued challenges of covid and that the final outturn was an underspend of nearly £550k. Additional covid grant support from central government had gone a long way towards meeting the additional costs incurred but there were still significant impacts such as delays to delivery of capital projects.

Cabinet members highlighted the key achievements and progress in their portfolio areas and thanked officers for their support during the year.

Group leaders and representatives put comments and questions on behalf of their groups. It was noted that:

·       Further work was needed with parish councils and communities on how to access Section 106 contributions, the importance of updating their lists of infrastructure requests and positively engaging with planning processes;

·       A dedicated talk parish session on Section 106 processes was being considered;

·       The council would consult with parishes and ward members as part of the Section 106 process but as the senior authority and highways authority the final decisions were the responsibility of Herefordshire Council;

·       Previous feasibility work on an eastern bridge route was being reviewed and updated as necessary and would be shared when ready;

·       Over 60 talk community hubs had been set up, with the council providing seed funding and support to get them off the ground and development officers to help those running the hubs to ensure they had a sustainable future;

·       It was intended that the talk community hubs would work closely with NHS partners and the integrated care services board to develop diagnostic services within some hubs and further expand the services they could offer;

·       It was important to share details about the services and projects that the council delivered each year.

It was resolved that:

a)             Cabinet, having reviewed performance and financial forecast for year 2021/22, as set out in the appendices A-F, has not identified any additional actions to be considered to achieve future improvements.