Contact your Parish Council

Maidstone Borough Council

Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Tuesday 1 December 2009

Future Work Programme and Forward Plan of Key Decisions

Report of: Acting Overview and Scrutiny Manager

1.      Future Work Programme

1.1     The Future Work Programme for the Committee is attached at Appendix A; Members are requested to consider this to ensure that it is appropriate and covers all issues Members currently wish to consider within the Committee’s remit.

2.      Forward Plan

2.1     At the meeting of the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 3 February 2009, Members considered the Forward Plan of Key Decisions and agreed that “this should be a standing item on the agenda to ensure important issues were dealt with in a proactive, rather than reactive, manner.”  The Forward Plan will therefore now be included on each Committee agenda under the “Future Work Programme” item.

2.2     The Forward Plan for 1 December 2009 – 31 March 2010 contains the following decisions relevant to the Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee:

·         Levels of Collection Fund adjustment to be taken into account in the level of Council Tax for 2010/11;

·         Draft Strategic Plan 2009-12 (2010 update);

·         Review of Budget Strategy 2010/11 Onwards;

·         Budget Strategy 2010/11 Onwards; and

·         Treasury Management Strategy 2010/11.

Reports with further details on these are attached at Appendix B.

2.3     The Director of Resources and Partnerships and the Head of Finance will be in attendance at the Committee’s meeting on 5 January 2010 to discuss the Review of Budget Strategy 2010/11 Onwards.  The Policy and Performance Manager will present the Draft Strategic Plan 2009-12  (2010 update) at the meeting on 5 January 2010.

2.4     The Levels of Collection Fund Adjustment is statutory and is therefore unlikely to benefit from scrutiny, whist the Treasury Management Strategy will go to the Audit Committee.  The second Budget Strategy item listed in the Forward Plan will be a result of scrutiny’s consideration of the Review of Budget Strategy.

2.5     Members are recommended to consider the sections of the Forward Plan relevant to the Committee and discuss whether these are items requiring further investigation or monitoring by the Committee.