Archived decisions
AT A MEETING of the POLICY AND RESOURCES POLICY REVIEW(Item 2) COMMITTEE of the COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on 22 January 2004.
PRESENT
Councillors: S.A. Hayes (Chairman); Mrs. P. Banks; I.F.E. Beagley; J.V. Bryant; M.F. Cartwright; P.J. Chegwyn; A.P. Collett; B.D. Dash; C. Davidovitz; A.G. Dowden; R.J. Ellis; W.J. Filer; P.R.C. Hutcheson; M.J. Kendal; T. Ludlow; P.A. Pierce; M.J. Roberts; J.G.L. Wall; J.K. West; W.H. Wheeler.
175 DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST
Members were mindful that, where they believed they had a personal or personal prejudicial interest in any matter to be considered at the meeting, they should normally at the time of the debate, declare their interest and, having regard to the circumstances described in paragraphs 9, 10, 11 and 12 of the County Council's Code of Conduct, consider whether to leave the meeting whilst the matter was discussed.
176 MINUTES
The Minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2003 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman subject to "personal interest" being inserted in place of "non-pecuniary interest" in Minutes 169 and 172 and, inserting "personal interest" for "personal prejudicial interest" in Minute 166.
177 CHAIRMAN'S COMMUNICATIONS
There were no Chairman's communications.
178 MEMBERS' QUESTIONS
The Chairman reported that the Chief Executive had previously responded by letter to the two questions from Councillor M.J. Roberts in relation to the "Freedom of Information Act" and the "Development of a Knowledge Management Strategy". Copies of the letter were made available for Members at the conclusion of the meeting.
179 DEPUTATIONS
There were no deputations.
180 2004/05 PROVISIONAL LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE SETTLEMENT AND BUDGET GUIDELINES
The Committee considered the report by the County Treasurer with regard to the 2004/05 Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement and on the recommendations adopted by Cabinet on 15 December 2003 on the County Council's budget guidelines (Item 6 in the Minute Book).
The County Treasurer gave a presentation at the meeting on the issues involved in the grant settlement and explained in some detail the construction of the budget within the budget guidelines and the provisional Council tax bill for 2004/05 (Copies of the presentation material appears as Item 6 (i) in the Minute Book).
During a full discussion various comments were made by Members on the report and there were differences of opinion as to whether the Committee should in future consider such budget guidelines prior to, rather than after Cabinet in December, as for this and previous years.
RESOLVED:
(i) That those comments made by the Committee at the meeting be noted by the County Treasurer so that they might be taken into account in the report back to Cabinet.
(ii) That the Committee consider at a future meeting the timing of next year's budget guidelines report to the Committee.
181 REVENUE BUDGET 2004/05
The Committee received and noted the report of the County Treasurer (Item 7(i) in the Minute Book) setting out the proposed Policy and Resources revenue budget for 2004/05 and the revised budget for 2003/04.
182 CAPITAL PROGRAMME 2004/05 - 2007/08
The Committee received and noted the report of the County Treasurer (Item 7(ii) in the Minute Book) on a proposed capital programme for 2004/05 to 2007/08 for Policy and Resources within the guidelines set by the Cabinet.
183 BEST VALUE REVIEW PROGRAMME FOR THE COMMITTEE
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 8 in the Minute Book) on the proposed schedule of Best Value reviews for the forthcoming financial year.
RESOLVED:
(i) That Councillors T. Ludlow and W.H. Wheeler be appointed to the Equality and Diversity best value review scheduled for 2004/05; any further Member nominations to be notified to the Chief Executive.
(ii) That Councillor I.F.E. Beagley be appointed to monitor progress with the Improvement Plan of the Economic Prosperity best value review.
184 CROSS-CUTTING PASSENGER TRANSPORT BEST VALUE REVIEW - PROGRESS REPORT
The Committee considered the report of the Director of Environment (Item 9 in the Minute Book) on progress regarding the implementation of the Action Plan for the cross-cutting passenger transport best value review.
In discussion Members felt it was most important to seek to integrate public transport and related matters within the County Council. Also, they wished to receive such best value information in its entirety rather than only those particular areas relating to the Committee. The Director of Environment noted the points made and confirmed that it was the intention to bring forward a report to the next meeting on the future direction of this best value review.
RESOLVED:
That the Committee notes the progress made on the Action Plan of the Passenger Transport Cross-Cutting Best Value Review and that a further report would be made to their next meeting.
185 ROLE OF THE CORPORATE PERFORMANCE TEAM
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 10 in the Minute Book) on the role of the Corporate Performance Team within the Chief Executive's Department.
RESOLVED:
(i) That the Committee note the information about the role of the Corporate Performance Team in response to questions raised in earlier meetings of this Committee.
(ii) That the schedule of reporting to Members by the Corporate Performance Team forms the Committee's consideration of its own future programme.
(iii) That Members of the Committee be invited to attend the `Continuing Hampshire's Improvement and Performance Management Group' on 5 March 2004.
186 MEMBERS' DIARY AND CALENDAR OF MEETINGS
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 11 in the Minute Book) giving an update on the work that has been taking place in relation to the issue of clashes of meeting dates.
RESOLVED:
That the Committee endorses the proposals set out in the report for minimising the problem of double booking of meetings and Members be encouraged to make use of the electronic diary facility to improve information on their availability.
187 THE DRAFT COMMUNITY STRATEGY FOR EASTLEIGH
The Committee considered the report of the Chief Executive (Item 12 in the Minute Book) on the draft Community Strategy for Eastleigh.
RESOLVED:
That the Committee advises the Executive Member for Policy and Resources to approve, at the appropriate time, the Community Strategy for Eastleigh.
188 COMMITTEE'S TIMETABLE AND FUTURE DECISIONS
The Committee received and noted the report of the Chief Executive (Item 13 in the Minute Book) on forthcoming key-decisions which may be made by the Leader and on the Committee's timetable of future items. Members confirmed their earlier requests to receive reports on the Alton Material Recovery Facility and on the Little Bushy Warren Composting Site, if possible, prior to the items being considered by the Executive Member for Policy and Resources. Due to the time involved in the matters coming forward, the Director of Environment would be asked to give a progress update to the Committee by way of letter prior to the next meeting.
189 EXCLUSION OF PRESS AND PUBLIC
RESOLVED:
That, by virtue of Paragraphs 7 and 9 of Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded for the remainder of the meeting.
190 SOUTH HAMPSHIRE RAPID TRANSIT (PHASE I) : PROGRESS TOWARDS A DECISION ON FUNDING
The Committee considered the confidential report of the Director of Environment (Item 15 in the Minute Book) on progress towards a decision on funding in respect of this project.
RESOLVED:
That the situation be noted and a detailed report be submitted to this Committee later in the year, based on the outcome of a revised funding agreement with Government.
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