A question session with the Lead Councillor for Resources. Councillor Tim Anderson’s areas of responsibility are:
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed the Lead Councillor for Resources and reminded the meeting of Councillor Anderson’s main areas of responsibility: finance; commercial asset management; and procurement.
The following information and responses were provided during the ensuing discussion:
· In reply to a question about the impact of the pandemic on the Council’s commercial assets, the Lead Councillor for Resources indicated that in 2019-20 the Council’s commercial assets were valued at £153.4m, giving rent receipts of £8.4m and a yield of 6.3 percent. He stated that units at the redevelopment of Midleton were selling rapidly. With reference to the impact of the pandemic on the Council’s income, the Lead Councillor for Resources indicated that some rent deferrals and changes to payment terms had been agreed with businesses. He suggested that the pandemic had speeded up an already existing process of retail decline. The Lead Councillor for Resources advised the meeting of the financial success of the Council’s investment strategy, along with the need to keep the approach up to date and ensure it considered the needs of local businesses.
· In reply to a question, the Lead Councillor for Resources indicated that adoption of the Procurement Strategy in 2020 had been a key change in the organisation and a significant step change in terms of approach to sourcing and contracting. He stated that Council services had responded well to the change and were largely on board with the strategy ensuring engagement for any expenditure over the new threshold of £1,500 (previously £10,000). The Lead Councillor for Resources informed the Committee that he was confident the new procurement measures and procedures in place would deliver the right outcomes for the Council.
· In response to a query about the government’s proposed changes to procurement for local authorities, the Lead Councillor for Resources advised the meeting that the consultation on the green paper for procurement reform closed on 10 March 2021 and the timeframe for enacting any changes was unknown. He indicated that there was new guidance in effect currently for below Find a Tender levels which allowed the Council to specify that only suppliers located in a geographical area could bid. He indicated the guidance permitted the Council to reserve some procurements for small and medium enterprises or for voluntary, community and social enterprises.
· The Lead Councillor for Resources indicated his priorities within his portfolio, confirming that his financial priority was the budget. He informed the meeting that balancing the budget for 2021/22 was assisted substantially by the Local Government Finance Settlement in December with government being more generous than we had expected and providing an additional £1.4 million. In addition, he confirmed that four capital projects had been removed from the 2021/22 budget [the museum, public realm, bike share, and the town centre gateway]. The Lead Councillor for Resources stated that budgets up until March 2026 still showed a cumulated deficit of nearly £6 million.
· The Lead Councillor for Resources indicated that within the commercial assets area of his portfolio his priority was to maintain the performance achieved. He advised the Committee that his priority for procurement was to ensure the new procurement protocol was embedded fully and savings achieved.
· The Lead Councillor for Resources advised the Committee that progress towards a new Corporate Plan had been made in 2019 and in 2020 prior to the pandemic. He stated that the top corporate priority was the budget.
· The Lead Councillor for Resources indicated that as part of the budgeting process a survey of the views of Guildford’s population across the borough had been undertaken to help both the budgeting process going forward and the next Corporate Plan. He advised the meeting of the priorities identified from this survey of residents: services to elderly and vulnerable; environmental services; public health and safety; economic development, business, jobs, and employment. The Committee heard that the process to develop and adopt the new plan would involve working through group leaders to involve all councillors and the Council’s executive advisory boards.
· In reply to a question about the representativeness of the survey of residents, the Director for Resources advised the meeting that the survey was representative of the population of the Borough. The Strategy and Communications Manager suggested that it might be possible to provide further detail and breakdowns of the survey data for Councillors.
· The Lead Councillor for Resources confirmed that the survey was intended to identify residents’ priorities and inform decision-making within the Council.
· The Lead Councillor for Resources was asked about his confidence in the Council’s level of borrowing to fund development. He stated that the Council needed to borrow £400 million to fund an ambitious investment programme, although interest rates were predicted to remain low for some time and the Council would begin to receive income once its developments completed. He indicated that the risks of borrowing were under control at the Council.
· In response to a question about his vision for the Borough, the Lead Councillor for Resources indicated the key importance of the town centre masterplan and other regeneration projects, together with the need for the Council to plan and deliver more social and affordable housing for the whole Borough. He stated that the waiting list for Council housing in the Borough was far too long.
The Chairman thanked the Lead Councillor for Resources for attending and answering questions.