Agenda and draft minutes

Venue: Town Hall, High Street, Maidstone

Contact: Committee Services  01622 602033

Items
No. Item

88.

Apologies for Absence

Minutes:

There were apologies of absence from Councillor Springett.

 

89.

Notification of Substitute Members

Minutes:

Councillor Garten was present as a Substitute Member for Councillor Springett.

 

90.

Urgent Items

Minutes:

91.

Notification of Visiting Members

Minutes:

There were no Visiting Members.

 

92.

Disclosures by Members and Officers

Minutes:

There were no disclosures by Members or Officers.

 

93.

Disclosures of Lobbying

Minutes:

There were no disclosures of lobbying.

 

94.

Exempt Items

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That all items be taken in public in public, unless any Member of the Committee wished to refer to the information contained within Item 15 - Minutes (Part II) of the Meeting held on 17 October 2022.

 

95.

Minutes of the Meeting Held on 17 October 2022 pdf icon PDF 82 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes of the meeting held on 17 October 2022 be agreed as a correct record and signed.

 

96.

Minutes (Part II) of the Meeting held on 17 October 2022

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Minutes (Part II) of the meeting held on 17 October 2022 be agreed as a correct record and signed.

 

97.

Presentation of Petitions

Minutes:

There were no petitions.

 

98.

Question and Answer session from Local Residents

Minutes:

There were no questions from local residents.

 

99.

Questions from Members to the Chairman

Minutes:

There were no questions from Members.

 

100.

Forward Plan relating to the Committee's Terms of Reference pdf icon PDF 127 KB

Minutes:

RESOLVED: That the Forward Plan to be noted.

 

101.

Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023 - 2028 pdf icon PDF 145 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure introduced the report and explained that the purpose of the Strategy was to show in financial terms how the Council would deliver its Strategic Plan. Following scenario planning, scenario 4 was considered the most likely and scenario 5 was the worst case, and therefore projections were shown for both. Scenario 4 was based on assumptions of a two percent Council Tax increase, a five percent pay increase for staff and general contract inflation of five percent. Finally, it was highlighted that the current five-year capital programme amounted to £230 million and due to inflation, some of the schemes may be re-prioritised.

 

Due to an error, the item was not included in the paper copies of the Agendas which had been distributed to the Committee. Therefore, the Head of Finance gave a verbal summary of the report for the Committee, and emphasized that this was the draft Strategy to agree the direction of travel, following which a more details report would be presented.

 

The Chairman shared the Committees concerns that the papers had not been printed correctly and instructed this should be investigated to ensure any issues were resolved. The Chair reiterated that the report contained the draft Strategy and that the final version would be returned to Committee prior to being adopted.

 

RESOLVED: That;

 

1.  The issues and risks associated with updating the Medium Term Financial Strategy be noted; and

 

2.  The Executive be recommended to approve the draft MTFS and the proposed approach outlined to develop an updated Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2023/24 – 2027/28 and a budget for 2023/24.

 

CHANGE TO THE ORDER OF BUSINESS

Item 14a - Financial Update & Performance Monitoring Report would be taken before Item 14 - Governance and Procedural Arrangements for CIL Ward Spend, to enable the Committee to consider the financial items in succession due to the related subject matter.

102.

Financial Update & Performance Monitoring Report pdf icon PDF 150 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure introduced the report. With regards to the revenue budget, there were four areas of potential underspend: On Street Parking; Pay and Display Carparks; Off Street Parking Enforcement; and Park and Ride.  There was overspend in Development Control Advice due to decreased demand. The Capital budget showed an underspend on the Bridges Gyratory Scheme. Despite the projected variances, services within the Committee’s remit were projected to have a balanced budget by the year end.

 

The Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure highlighted that all six Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) had been met.

 

In response to questions, the Head of Finance explained that funding for the Local Plan Review (LPR) was kept in a separate reserve rather than being taken from the core budget. Impacts from the mini-budget published prior to the Committee, along with impacts from the first budget announcements in November 2022, would be considered within the updated version of the MTFS.

 

RESOLVED: That;

 

1.  That the Revenue position as at the end of Quarter 2 for 2022/23, including the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position, where significant variances have been identified, be noted;

 

2.  That the Capital position at the end of Quarter 2 be noted; and

 

3.  That the Performance position as at Quarter 2 for 2022/23, including the actions being taken or proposed to improve the position, where significant issues have been identified, be noted.

 

103.

Governance and procedural arrangements for CIL Ward spend pdf icon PDF 190 KB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Lead Member for Planning and Infrastructure introduced the report, and explained that the proposed arrangements would allow Ward Councillors to apply directly to the Council, for CIL monies to fund specific projects identified by their local communities.

 

In response to questions, the Head of Development Management explained that CIL monies were paid at the commencement of the development, and therefore there would be a lag between planning permission being obtained and the CIL monies being paid. Adjacent wards could choose to pool their allocated resources for collaborative projects.

 

Resolved: That;

 

1.  The appendices A and B to the report be agreed;

 

2.  The principle that local ward councillors should engage with local communities directly to agree how best to spend the neighbourhood funds from their area, be agreed;

 

3.  Ward councillors should apply directly to the Council for allocation of available local CIL funds to projects, using the application form attached as B to the report; and

 

4.  Such applications be assessed by officers against the agreed funding criteria, as contained within Appendix A to the report.

 

104.

Duration of Meeting

Minutes:

6.30 p.m. to 7.08 p.m.