Archived decisions

AT A MEETING of the EFFICIENCY PANEL of the HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL held at The Castle, Winchester on Tuesday, 22 September 2009.

PRESENT:

Chairman:

p C. Davidovitz

1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE

There were no apologies for absence

2 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 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 save for exercising any right to speak in accordance with paragraph 12 of the Code. The declaration to be made at the time of the relevant debate. No such declarations were made.

3 TERMS OF REFERENCE OF EFFICIENCY PANEL

The Panel noted the Terms of Reference as follows:

a) To consider and approve the Council's annual efficiency plans.

b) To develop a programme of efficiency work.

c) To be responsible for a systematic review of efficiency proposals.

d) To develop initiatives to embed and develop value for money.

e) To specifically review and recommend to Cabinet initiatives to:-

i) develop efficiencies from procurement and commissioning, and

ii) develop efficiency reviews consistent to the Council's medium term financial strategy.

It was also noted that as a committee of the Executive, the Panel is not subject to proportionality rules.

4. EFFICIENCY CHALLENGE AND SAVINGS

The Panel considered and approved a report of the County Treasurer on the national public finances and outlook for local government finance, and discussed the possible financial implications for the County Council. The County Treasurer explained that due to expected low grant settlement and a desire to maintain a low council tax increase in 2011/12, there was a potential budget gap of £15 million and therefore an initial efficiency target fully to realise £15 million cash savings by 2011/12 was suggested.


RESOLVED:

That the Panel:

a) ensures that the programme of short term projects leading to savings available for corporate purposes is identified as part of the 2010/11 budget setting process,

b) ensures that those savings from short-term projects be projected to reach at least £15m recurring from 2011/12 onwards, but seek in addition to maximise the savings achievable from initial implementation during 2010/11,

c) assess longer term projects to take forward with a view to full specification and planning in time to feed into the 2011/12 budget setting process.

5. EFFICIENCY PANEL - LINKS TO WIDER COUNCIL GOVERNANCE

The Panel received and noted a report of the Chief Executive which outlined how the Members Efficiency Panel linked in to the wider Council governance of financial plans and budgets.

6. REPORT OF EFFICIENCY BOARD

The Panel received and noted a report of the Director of Property, Business and Regulatory Services on the Efficiency Board projects currently underway. The Director explained that the most developed of the projects related to procurement, which would realise significant savings over the next few years as existing contracts ended and new more efficient cost effective contracts were entered into. The Director confirmed that she had confidence that savings would be achieved without any detrimental impact to service levels.

The Panel welcomed the option of developing joint workshops with the Efficiency Board to explore further opportunities for efficiency savings. It was also agreed that future reports on projects underway include an assessment of risks and mitigating action.

Finally, the Panel requested that the Council communicate via the media the efficiency savings the Council will achieve as well as those already achieved.

7. APPROACH TO PLANNING FOR A SPENDING DOWNTURN

The Panel received a presentation on systematic approaches to achieving greater efficiency. During the discussion, the Panel asked about staff across the County Council understanding and engaging with the efficiency agenda, and suggested that guidelines on communications to staff in respect of efficiency activities should be produced to ensure consistent messages across departments. The Panel also suggested that a paper be produced for staff on the approaches in the presentation, highlighting useful examples.

The Panel also discussed the costs that central government imposes on local government, for example, the amount of officer time spent on supplying evidence for inspections and updating strategies, and suggested that a high level assessment of the associated costs should be considered at a future meeting.