In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, Councillor David Bilbé to propose, and Councillor Bob Hughes to second the following motion:
“Guildford Borough Council is in an unprecedented situation with respect to financial management, service provision, staff morale and management stability. The people who will be totally affected by this significant set of circumstances are the tax paying public and those expecting support and information from the councillors whom they elected. Councillors cannot give clear confidence to voters without having accurate and cogent information. Councillors should be conversant with initiatives which affects their ability to give confident, consistent, and accurate messages to residents of respective wards.
Most well-run businesses produce a brief summary of key variables which show the health or otherwise of the underlying enterprise. This is normally a key document for senior management. This proposal will provide informed information sufficient for councillors to have confidence in the processes and to assure the residents of their ward and Guildford generally that proper action is being taken in the context of circumstances.
Therefore, this Council resolves:
To prepare a regular monthly report in summary format (maximum 4 pages) of key performance indicators (KPIs) for circulation to all councillors containing at least the following information:
(i) a forecast of projected current deficit or surplus in the next 3-month period together with a rolling forecast for the next 12 months;
(ii) details of service cost expenditure by service category comparing performance to both original and more importantly revised budget (as submitted to full Council today);
(iii) a summary of cost saving proposals and consequences for service delivery;
(iv) proposed asset disposals and yield enhancement performance progress
(v) a schedule of expected non-current expenditure costs including capital project payments, debt repayments, costs of planning appeals (inter-alia); and
(vi) any other significant matters which are considered to have an effect on financial outcome or management stability.”
Minutes:
In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11, Councillor David Bilbé proposed, and Councillor Bob Hughes seconded the following motion:
“Guildford Borough Council is in an unprecedented situation with respect to financial management, service provision, staff morale and management stability. The people who will be totally affected by this significant set of circumstances are the tax paying public and those expecting support and information from the councillors whom they elected. Councillors cannot give clear confidence to voters without having accurate and cogent information. Councillors should be conversant with initiatives which affects their ability to give confident, consistent, and accurate messages to residents of respective wards.
Most well-run businesses produce a brief summary of key variables which show the health or otherwise of the underlying enterprise. This is normally a key document for senior management. This proposal will provide informed information sufficient for councillors to have confidence in the processes and to assure the residents of their ward and Guildford generally that proper action is being taken in the context of circumstances.
Therefore, this Council resolves:
To prepare a regular monthly report in summary format (maximum 4 pages) of key performance indicators (KPIs) for circulation to all councillors containing at least the following information:
(i) a forecast of projected current deficit or surplus in the next 3-month period together with a rolling forecast for the next 12 months;
(ii) details of service cost expenditure by service category comparing performance to both original and more importantly revised budget (as submitted to full Council today);
(iii) a summary of cost saving proposals and consequences for service delivery;
(iv) proposed asset disposals and yield enhancement performance progress
(v) a schedule of expected non-current expenditure costs including capital project payments, debt repayments, costs of planning appeals (inter-alia); and
(vi) any other significant matters which are considered to have an effect on financial outcome or management stability.”
Under Council Procedure Rule 15 (o), Councillor Bilbé as the mover of the original motion, indicated that, with the consent of his seconder and of the meeting, he wished to alter his motion as follows:
Alteration:
(1) Before "Therefore, this Council resolves:" add the following words:
"Council notes that Key Performance Indicators are already reported to councillors and placed in the public domain through the quarterly Performance Monitoring Report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and that this reporting and publication of Key Performance Indicators was first introduced in March 2021."
(2) Amend the first sentence after "Therefore, this Council resolves:" to read:
"(1) To produce regular monthly and quarterly reports of key financial information to be reported to the Joint Management Team, Executive, relevant committees and to all councillors, and to be made public on the Council’s website, including the following information:"
(3) Within the proposed resolution, replace sections (i) to (vi) inclusive with the following sections:
"(i) Budget expenditure by service, covering actual expenditure vs budget, and vs previous forecast.
(ii) Explanation of any variances, the forecast for next period, and the forecast year end position
(iii) A monthly savings tracker
(iv) Capital project payments, debt repayments and key risks to be included as part of the quarterly forecast
(v) Proposed asset disposals information as soon as workstream support (currently being recruited) is in place
(vi) A covering statement from the S151 officer containing any other key risks or assessments"
(4) After section (vi) add the following additional paragraphs to the resolution:
"(2) To update the annual budget setting process such that future service plans will include detailed service budgets, establishment, key performance, and contracts.
(3) To publish this year’s revised budget book on the Council’s website by 1 November 2023, and then in advance of the new financial year in future years."
The motion, as altered, would read as follows:
“Guildford Borough Council is in an unprecedented situation with respect to financial management, service provision, staff morale and management stability. The people who will be totally affected by this significant set of circumstances are the tax paying public and those expecting support and information from the councillors whom they elected. Councillors cannot give clear confidence to voters without having accurate and cogent information. Councillors should be conversant with initiatives which affects their ability to give confident, consistent, and accurate messages to residents of respective wards.
Most well-run businesses produce a brief summary of key variables which show the health or otherwise of the underlying enterprise. This is normally a key document for senior management. This proposal will provide informed information sufficient for councillors to have confidence in the processes and to assure the residents of their ward and Guildford generally that proper action is being taken in the context of circumstances.
Council notes that Key Performance Indicators are already reported to councillors and placed in the public domain through the quarterly Performance Monitoring Report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, and that this reporting and publication of Key Performance Indicators was first introduced in March 2021.
Therefore, this Council resolves:
(1) To produce regular monthly and quarterly reports of key financial information to be reported to the Joint Management Team, Executive, relevant committees and to all councillors, and to be made public on the council website, including the following information:
(i) Budget expenditure by service, covering actual expenditure vs budget, and vs previous forecast.
(ii) Explanation of any variances, the forecast for next period, and the forecast year end position
(iii) A monthly savings tracker
(iv) Capital project payments, debt repayments and key risks to be included as part of the quarterly forecast
(v) Proposed asset disposals information as soon as workstream support (currently being recruited) is in place
(vi) A covering statement from the S151 officer containing any other key risks or assessments.
(2) To update the annual budget setting process such that future service plans will include detailed service budgets, establishment, key performance, and contracts.
(3) To publish this year’s revised budget book to be published on the Council’s website by 1 November 2023, and then in advance of the new financial year in future years.”
The Council agreed to accept the alteration to the original motion, as indicated above. The motion, as altered, therefore became the substantive motion for debate.
Having debated the substantive motion, the Council
RESOLVED: That the substantive motion, as outlined above, be adopted.