Members are asked to consider whether they have personal or prejudicial interests in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they are.

Members are reminded that they should also declare, pursuant to paragraph 18 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, whether they are subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and , of so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.

Members were asked to consider whether they had personal or prejudicial interests in connection with any item(s) on this agenda and, if so, to declare them and state what they were.

Members were reminded that they should also declare, pursuant to paragraph 18 of the Overview and Scrutiny Procedure Rules, whether they were subject to a party whip in connection with any item(s) to be considered and , of so, to declare it and state the nature of the whipping arrangement.  No such declarations were made.

Councillors H Smith, Ann McLachlan and Jerry Williams, have called this special meeting of the committee for the following reasons:

• The failure of this administration to refer any budget savings to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny committees for proper scrutiny;
• The decision taken by Council on December 12th to suspend the relevant part of the Constitution in order to avoid any such scrutiny:
• The lack of any detailed Cabinet reports setting out the details of the budget savings, and their consequences:
• The lack in particular of any explanation of the impact of the loss of over 1300 posts, the restructuring necessary to protect services and the costs of that restructuring.

We, the undersigned members of the Sustainable Communities Overview and Scrutiny Committee, call for a special meeting of this committee to be held before February 21st to investigate:

• Any planned re-structuring of services within the parameter of this committee, as a consequence of budget decisions, including EVRs and Voluntary Severance, with associated restructuring costs.
• What the impact on the public of any changes or reductions to service will be
• The manner and timescale in which proposals are being handled.
• Whether any areas concerned are covered by statutory requirements for consultation and, if so, whether such requirements have been met.
• Whether individual proposals of a similar nature in the past would have been subject to consultation as a matter of best practice, and, if so, whether that practice is being followed now.
• Whether there are any reductions in Specific Grant affecting the areas covered by this Committee and, if so, what particular plans are in place to allow for those reductions.
• What the impact for services will be of any reductions arising from the reduced formula grant, which now includes a number of former specific grants previously ring fenced to support particular services.
• What the impact on services will be of a zero inflation budget, including on contracts, when inflation is set to rise above 4%
• What the revenue impact will be of any reductions in the Merseyside Local Transport Plan and any plans for dealing with this.
• What the revenue impact will be of reductions in any other public sector bodies that link with Council services provided under this committee.
• What the impact of cuts in other public sector bodies could be where the Council has shared services or jointly funded projects
• The direct and indirect impact of cuts on the voluntary and not for profit sector who may currently be commissioned, or grant aided, to provide services.
• Any proposed increases in fees or charges
• Any changes to contracts with outside providers that may affect levels of service or charges for service
• Any other matters relevant to the budget setting process at a time when the Council faces a £52million reduction in its budget in one year.

The Chair referred to the reasons given by Labour Group members for calling this special meeting:

• The failure of this administration to refer any budget savings to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny committees for proper scrutiny;
• The decision taken by Council on December 12th to suspend the relevant part of the Constitution in order to avoid any such scrutiny:
• The lack of any detailed Cabinet reports setting out the details of the budget savings, and their consequences:
• The lack in particular of any explanation of the impact of the loss of over 1300 posts, the restructuring necessary to protect services and the costs of that restructuring.

He explained that the decisions taken by Council on 12 December, were only part of the Administration’s budget proposals and it was not bound to reveal the full details of its Budget before the Budget Council meeting on 1 March. He therefore proposed  that this meeting should be adjourned until after the Budget Council meeting.

Councillor A McLachlan, Labour Group spokesperson, commented that this committee had a democratic right to scrutinise the decisions taken by the Council on 12 December, bearing in mind that some of the planned redundancies had already been implemented.

On a motion by the Chair seconded by Councillor McCubbin it was:-

Resolved (7:3) – That this meeting be adjourned until Tuesday 8 March, 2011 at 6 pm.

(Footnote: At its meeting on 17 February, the committee subsequently decided to bring forward the date of the adjourned meeting to 22 February, to allow any budget proposals to be presented to the Budget Council on 1 March).

Councillor McLachlan referred to the reasons for calling this special meeting and stated that her group wished to question the appropriate chief officers on the detail of the Administration’s proposed budget.

David Taylor Smith, Deputy Director of Finance, responded to a question concerning the way in which the Library Service would be restructured to cope with the loss of fifty experienced staff who were taking EVR. He gave an assurance that that there were no proposals to close any libraries or reduce opening times. He also reported that the restructuring of the Library Service would involve the merger of some libraries and one stop shops but the details had still to be finalised.

In response to a Member he confirmed that the budget resolution of 21 February included £2m to meet the full costs of restructuring requirements identified by Chief Officers.

Councillor Williams emphasised the need to take account of views of users as part of the future restructuring e.g. he had particular concerns about the future of the One Stop Shop at Pennant House, Bebington.

David Green, Director of Technical Services, responded to the following issues:

(i) Value for Money Reviews – He reported upon the progress of the VFM reviews of the high spend areas - PACSPE (which had been the subject a recent call-in on 17 February) and Indoor Recreation (options report to be completed within the next 2/3 months). He emphasised that budget had been set for the leisure centres and the intention was to maintain these services at current levels.

(ii) Car Parking Charges – the effect on the retail trade and out of town shopping centres was noted and he gave an assurance that charges would not be standardised in line with Birkenhead Shopping Centre at the present time and would be considered as part of the broader fees and charges review. He reported that charges would be removed after 3 pm to encourage trade,

(iii) Street Lighting Pilot – He would report the conclusions of the pilot project in the New Brighton area, which was nearing completion, and seek approval for the roll out to other areas of the borough, subject to an ‘invest to save’ application.

(iv) Traffic  Management - He explained that the budget reduction of £150,000 could be achieved by moving towards a more structured approach and programming of work on an area basis, which would reduce costs to the contractor. He emphasised that safety was of paramount importance and the council’s key objectives and performance indicators would be achieved through more efficient ways of working.

(v) Highway Asset Management – the budget reduction of £100,000 would be achieved mainly through the use of new technology.

(vi) Highway Improvement Programme – it was noted that that there would be an increase of £1.6m in this year’s Capital Allocation.

(vii) Major Contracts – the effect of inflation (currently 4%) on the Highways, Biffa and Waste contracts was discussed. The Director gave an assurance that inflation could be accommodated within  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117.