Agenda and minutes

Apologies for the meeting were received from Councillors R. Elms and G. Scott

The minutes of the meeting held on 18 October 2022 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

Members are reminded of their responsibility to declare any disclosable pecuniary, other registrable or non-registrable interest in respect of matters contained in the agenda.

There were no declarations of disclosable pecuniary, other registrable and non-registrable interests.

Ms Viljoen spoke on agenda item 5 Review on Fees and Charges specifically relating to the parking charges at Edisford car park.

The Director of Resources submitted a report seeking member approval on proposals to increase this Committee’s fees and charges with effect from 1 April 2023. These proposals were the first stage in the review of this Committee’s budget for the forthcoming 2023/24 financial year.

Policy and Finance Committee have guided Committees to consider a 10.1% inflationary increase in the level of income raised from fees and charges and the review aims to increase the budgeted income for 2023/24 by this amount as a minimum.  After applying this percentage increase, proposed charges have generally been rounded up or down to minimise any problems with small change.

Following discussions, the proposed set of fees and charges for implementation from 1 April 2023 were produced for this Committee for members to consider and were set out in Annex 1 to the report.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1.    Considered and approved the level of fees and charges to be levied for this committee for 2023/24 as outlined in the report with the exception of the up to 1 hour car parking charge which was agreed at £1.30.

A meeting of the Car Park Working Group be reconvened as soon as possible.

The Director of Resources submitted a report outlining the revised revenue budget for 2022/23 for this Committee. Members were reminded that at this time of year the estimates are revised for the current financial year in order to predict the likely outturn.  In essence the revised estimate is the Council’s latest forecast for the outturn on the current financial year’s budget.  This also assists in preparing the original estimates for the coming financial year.

The original budget for 2022/23 included provision for pay increase at 2% and price increase at 3%.

The pay award has now been settled at £1,925 per full time employee.  It is estimated that this will add £369,000 to the base budget above what was initially allowed.

The report noted that the Council was facing significant increases in costs due to inflation and pay increases. For this committee the extra cost was estimated at £395,510.  The original estimate was therefore restated from £4,564,200 to £4,959,710.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Agreed the revenue revised estimate for 2022/23.

The Director of Resources submitted a report asking Committee to agree the draft revenue budget for 2023/24 for this Committee for consideration at the Special Policy and Finance Committee.

The forecast predicted a budget gap of £1,040,966 in 2023/24, £1,394,296 in 2024/25 and £2,412,914 in 2025/26.  Since the forecast was prepared, the Council has seen further cost increases particularly due to inflation and energy costs.

The difference between the original estimate of 2023/24 and the adjusted estimate of 2022/23 is a further increase in net expenditure of £705,710 after allowing for transfers from earmarked reserves.  This means that the total movement from the true Original Estimate of 2022/23 to the Original Estimate of 2023/24 is £1,130,340 or £1,101,220 after movements in earmarked reserves.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approved the revenue Original Estimate for 2023/24 and submit this to the Special Policy and Finance Committee

The Director of Resources submitted a report seeking Committee’s approval of the revised estimate for this Committee’s capital programme for the current financial year.

Fifteen capital schemes for this Committee’s original estimate budget, totalling £2,280,500 were approved by the Policy and Finance Committee and Full Council in their meetings in February 2022 and March 2022 respectively.  This included fourteen new schemes for 2022/23 and one scheme that had been moved from 2021/22 capital programme to the 2022/23 programme.

Five capital schemes were not completed by 31^st March 2022 and had some unspent budget available at that date.  The total unspent budget of £153,240 on those schemes, known as slippage, was moved into the 2022/23 capital programme budget, after approval by this Committee in May 2022.

The proposed revised estimate for this Committee’s 2022/23 capital programme is £671,320, which is a £1,762,420 reduction from the previously approved capital budget.

It is recommended that budgets totalling £479,440 on five schemes are moved to the 2023/24 financial year.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

Approved the 2022/23 revised estimate of £671,320 for this Committee’s capital programme, as set out in Annex to the report.

Approved the move of the following capital scheme budgets from 2022/23 to 2023/24:

·          Castle Keep Lime Repointing Works and Repairs, £307,600.

·          Replacement of Refuse Iveco Tipper (PO60 AYK), £46,000.

·          Replacement of High Top Transit Van PJ63 WUC, £34,500.

·          Mardale Playing Pitches Drainage, £80,440.

·          Edisford Playing Pitches Drainage Works, £10,900.

The Director of Resources submitted a report asking members to consider the proposed future capital programme for this Committee, covering the period 2023/24 to 2027/28.

Members were reminded that the Council usually operates a five-year capital programme, but only a three-year capital programme for 2022/23 to 2024/25 was approved last year. This was due to the Council awaiting the outcome of the Government’s fair funding review before committing to setting a longer term five-year capital programme. Committees had however submitted capital scheme bids for 2025/26 to 2026/27 as part of last year’s capital programme review.

This year, the aim is for the Council to return to a five-year capital programme, covering the period 2023/24 to 2027/28. Therefore, Heads of Service were asked to:

· Review the capital schemes already approved for 2023/24 and 2024/25

· Review any previously submitted capital scheme bids for 2025/26 and 2026/27; and

· Submit new capital scheme bids for 2027/28.

The proposed amendments to the previously approved capital programme would increase the capital programme by £64,500.

If all reviewed bids from the 2021 bidding round and those from the 2022 bidding round were approved, this would increase the proposed capital programme by £12,983,200.

If all amendments and bids were to be approved, this would result in a proposed capital programme for 2023/24 to 2027/28 for this Committee of fifty-five schemes, totalling £13,974,000.

RESOLVED THAT COMMITTEE:

1.   Considered and agreed a future capital programme for this Committee’s services for onward recommendation to Policy and Finance Committee for the period 2023/24 to 2027/28, based on the proposals included in this report with the addition of a bandstand in Longridge at an approximate cost of £200,000.

2.   Recognise that further capital bids will be submitted to the Policy and Finance Committee by the political groups, which may impact on this Committee.

3.   Agreed that officers submit a report to the next meeting of this Committee on the return of the toilets on Berry Lane Longridge to the ownership of RVBC.

Agreed to bring the new feasibility study bid on Ribblesdale Pool forward to 2023/24.

Report of Director of Community Services enclosed.

The Head of Cultural Services provided a report to the Committee with an update on the situation regarding the playing pitches and parking issues in the area.

The report noted that the playing pitches at Mardale are located alongside a housing estate and access to the pitches is through the estate where the car park is located.  Prior to the pandemic, the issue of parking had occasionally been raised by residents on the estate.  However, it had not caused significant issues that the Council was aware of. 

The report also noted that the residents and RVBC had proposed several solutions to resolve the car parking issue.

Report of Director of Community Services enclosed.

The Head of Cultural Services provided the Committee with an update on the work carried out to the pool during the recent closure for essential maintenance.

The report noted that the work carried out will help the pool to continue to operate for the next year or so, which will give the Council an opportunity to strategically review how the demand for a community swimming pool in the Borough may be met.

Report of Director of Community Services enclosed.

The Director of Community Services had provided a report updating the Committee on a variety of developments in sports, arts and community development and performance of the Platform Gallery.

The report noted that the installation of new pay and display machines is now complete and that the Council has replaced all twenty two machines on the pay and display car parks across the Borough with new ones.

None.

There were no minutes of Working Groups

None.

Councillor Austin provided an update on the Waste Management Partnership.

None

There were no items for exclusion