To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Councillor Mrs P. A. Andrews.

To receive any declarations of interest by Members in respect of items on this agenda.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 20th July, 2006.

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 20th July, 2006 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To consider suggestions from members of the public on issues the Committee could scrutinise in the future.

There were no suggestions from members of the public.

To consider the draft Medium Term Financial Management Strategy.

The Committee considered the draft Medium Term Financial Strategy, which had been agreed by Cabinet in July as a basis for consultation.

The draft Strategy as presented to Cabinet had been circulated separately to Members of the Committee.

The Director of Resources presented the report.  She explained that the Strategy was intended to integrate financial planning more closely with corporate and service planning so that those plans were developed and priorities set with a clear understanding of the financial context within which the Council was operating.

She commented on each section of the Strategy which included the national policy context, the national financial context, Herefordshire’s policy context, Herefordshire’s financial context, the financial management strategy and arrangements for consultation on and review of the Strategy.

She noted in particular that a second national Comprehensive Spending Review was underway with the outcome due to be reported in 2007.  This would cover the years 2008/09, 2009/10 and 2010/11.  The expectation was that there would be a very tight settlement with public spending being reduced and there would be further, more challenging efficiency targets.  The indications from the Lyons Review on the role and function of local government were that particular attention was being given to the scope for levying discretionary fees and charges as a way of paying for services, further suggesting that the financial settlement would be tight.

The Director’s current view was that the Council may have some headroom in the 2007/08 budget but no growth in the following three years.  The Council’s ambitious improvement programme had to be seen in this context.

She concluded by explaining that the draft Strategy was the subject of ongoing consultation and, as was to be expected, would need to be updated to reflect developments since its publication.  It was intended to report to the Community Forums in October and then again to the Strategic Monitoring Committee before the Strategy was submitted to Cabinet.  There would also be further informal briefings for Members as they wished.

In the ensuing discussion the following principal points were made:

·          In response to a question about action the Council was taking to make the case for fairer funding the Leader of the Council advised that the situation was constantly emphasised to Government but to date there had been little sympathy shown.  In the case of Education, whilst funding per pupil in Herefordshire was low the results were good.  This meant the Government was not inclined to increase funding.  The Council was working with other rural authorities to try to demonstrate the escalating costs of providing services in rural areas.  He was due to see Sir Michael Lyons shortly as part of his review and would have the opportunity to make the case to him.  One particular concern was possible changes to the allocation of the Business Rates.  Currently these were distributed on a national basis and Herefordshire, with a low business base, benefited significantly from the redistribution of these rates. 

He added that in terms of increasing fees and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 21.

To note performance to the end of July 2006 against the Annual Operating Plan 2006-07, together with performance against revenue and capital budgets and corporate risks, and remedial action to address areas of under-performance.  The report also covers the progress being made against the Council’s Overall Improvement Programme, which includes the Joint Area Review (JAR) Action Plan, the Adult Social Care Improvement Plan and the Herefordshire Connects programme.

The Committee considered the Integrated Performance Report setting out performance to the end of July 2006 against the Annual Operating Plan 2006-07, together with performance against revenue and capital budgets and corporate risks, and remedial action to address areas of under-performance.

The report also covered the progress being made against the Council’s Overall Improvement Programme, which included the Joint Area Review (JAR) Action Plan, the Adult Social Care Improvement Plan and the Herefordshire Connects programme.

The Corporate Policy and Research Manager highlighted that 19 of the 89 strategic performance indicators in the Annual Operating Plan were in the category: not achieved, or not expected to be achieved, or no targets/milestones identified.  This compared with 45 indicators at the time of the last report, which represented significant progress.  The principal reason why there had been 45 indicators in this category had been due to the need to identify clear action plans and milestones.  14 of the remaining 19 red-flagged indicators still had these deficiencies, with most depending on agreeing the relevant material with partner organisations.  Work continued to complete all to the necessary standard, with the expectation this should be done before the next performance report was published in October.

He noted that in considering the report on 7th September Cabinet had indicated its clear expectation that there should be continued progress and that now action plans and milestones were in place there was a need to ensure their delivery.

He reported that the Council’s Overall Performance Improvement Plan would be reviewed and, as necessary, revised at the end of October.  This would take into account suggestions and recommendations from the Audit Commission following their September review of the Council’s progress in respect of performance management.  The existing Plan had, however, been judged by the Commission to be currently fit for purpose.  He noted that the assessment of the future social care needs of older people and adults with learning difficulties and services to meet them was nearing completion, with the intention of reporting to Cabinet in October.

Regarding the Joint Area Review (JAR), he reported that there had been good progress in increasing the number of cases of children being referred to the Council, to the extent that the target set to be achieved by March 2007 had been exceeded during July.  However, this meant that many more assessments had to be carried out, which created pressures.  The situation was being managed intensively. 

The JAR in the autumn of 2005 had concluded that the arrangements for “Staying Safe” (the overall contribution of services to keeping young people safe) were inadequate.  An independent review by the Department for Education and Science had now concluded that, following an intensive programme of remedial action by Children’s Services with partner organisations, the arrangements for “Staying Safe” were now adequate. This was identified as high priority in the corporate risks in the Risk Register.  It was important that this position was maintained.

He drew Members’ attention to the position on the revenue budget and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

To consider the review of school provision.

The Committee considered progress on the review of school provision commissioned by Cabinet in March 2006.

As reported to the Committee on 26th June, following informal discussions about the scrutiny programme, consideration of the schools review had been included as part of that programme.  At a subsequent informal meeting on 20th July it had been decided to proceed on the basis that when proposals from each of the school reviews came forward they would be reported to the Strategic Monitoring Committee for consideration and comment.  The expectation was that the Committee would be given the opportunity to comment before any formal decision was taken by the Executive.  In making comments the Committee would consider the reviews against a wider remit than just educational provision having regard to the Herefordshire Thinks Rural perspective, considering the part schools play in the community, and the link to other Council plans.

It was noted that two consultation exercises were currently underway: the Kington, Weobley and Wigmore area; and the Kingstone and Peterchurch area.  It was intended that documents setting out a suggested way forward would be issued in September for a second round of consultation.  Initial discussion documents would also be issued for the Bromyard and Leominster area and for the review of high school provision. 

In the course of discussion the following principal points were made:

·          In response to questions the Head of Commissioning and Improvement commented on the significance of falling rolls and highlighted that although 4,372 houses had been built in the County between 1999 and 2005 the numbers of primary school pupils had dropped by 1,253.  This demonstrated that extra housing in an area did not guarantee additional pupils.  He added that consideration had been given to the potential impact of migrant workers but to date this was minimal.

·          Members noted the work which had been undertaken by a consultant on scope for co-operation and federation between schools and that this would be something to monitor as the proposals were developed.

RESOLVED: That the report be noted.