Agenda item

The Monitoring Officer submits a report informing the Committee that the Executive Decision taken by the City Mayor on 24 November 2023 relating to in-year budget savings has been the subject of a six-member call-in under the procedures of Rule 12 of Part 4D (City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules) of the Council’s Constitution.

The Committee is recommended to either

a)    Note the report without further comment or recommendation. (If the report is noted the process continues and the call in will be considered at a future meeting of Full Council); or

b)    Comment on the specific issues raised by the call-in. (If comments are made the process continues and the comments and call in will be considered at a future meeting of Full Council); or

c)    Resolve that the call-in be withdrawn (If the committee wish for there to be no further action on the call-in, then they must actively withdraw it. If withdrawal is agreed the call-in process stops, the call-in will not be considered at a future meeting of Full Council and the originaldecision takes immediate affect without amendment).

A report was submitted informing the Committee that the Executive decision taken by the City Mayor on 24 November 2023 relating to in-year budget savings had been the subject of a six-member call-in under the procedures at Rule 12 of Part 4D, City Mayor and Executive Procedure Rules, of the Council’s Constitution.

The Chair clearly outlined the process that he would follow in determining how to resolve the call-in.  The Commission was recommended to either:

a)    Note the report without further comment or recommendation. (If the report is noted the process continues and the call in would be considered at Full Council); or

b)    Comment on the specific issues raised by the call-in. (If comments are made the process continues and the comments and call in would be considered at Full Council) or

c)    Resolve that the call-in be withdrawn.

The Chair invited the proposer and seconder of the call-in, Councillor Kitterick and Councillor Bajaj to address the committee.  The following points were raised:

• Although many of the decisions reflected in the report were uncontentious and were being undertaken for operational reasons, it was felt that more detailed scrutiny of these was required.
• Detail was sought regarding the impact of the restructuring the provision of waste services. 
• Detail behind the anticipated additional income within Bereavement Services was also sought. 
• The level of saving within Enablement Services was seen as particularly significant. 

The Chair invited the Director of Finance to respond to the call-in.  The following points were put forward:

·         In respect of waste management, complaints were now handled internally, and the City Council had charged a small increase for trade waste.

·         With regard to Cleansing Services, the City Council had purchased more street cleaning machinery and required fewer staff as a result. 

• A number of long-term vacancies had been held within the Regulatory Services division. 
• In respect of savings made for CAMHS support, it was noted that external funding had now been secured in order to meet provision. 

·         Domestic Abuser provision was now primarily delivered in-house rather than sourcing external providers. 

·         With regard to enablement services, the provision of a 12-week intervention programme resulted in fewer required staff.  This led to the formulation of a service review.  It was reported that this would not impact service delivery. 

Members of the Commission discussed the report which highlighted the following points:

• During the last decade, the Council’s level of spend had reduced by over 50% as a result of government cuts.  These cuts were very challenging for the City Council and it was reported that further savings would be required in the future. 
• It was made clear that services that were not filling all vacant posts would comprise a staffing structure that was able to successfully deliver the required service. 
• Further information would be provided in respect of fee increases within Bereavement Services. 
• Furter information would be provided in respect of the total number of deleted posts as a result of all of the savings proposed in the report. 
• It was noted that individual scrutiny commissions should be responsible for examining the impact of changes to services within their portfolios. 

Councillor Cassidy moved that, following the points raised during the meeting, the call-in be withdrawn. This was seconded by Cllr Surti.  Upon being put to the vote, the motion was carried.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the call-in be withdrawn and that the Committee supports the implementation of the Executive decision. 

2)    That further information be provided to members in respect of the total number of deleted posts as a result of all of the savings proposed in the report; and

3)    That further information be provided to members in respect of fee increases within Bereavement Services.