Report of the Chief Executive and the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer

This report provides an update on the Council’s overall financial position and sets out the next steps in the budget process, including scrutiny of the draft Budget proposals and Budget report by this Committee. Each Scrutiny Committee will receive a budget report aligned to its remit, showing the main changes proposed to delivery and funding. The services to be considered by each scrutiny committee are shown at table four. The report also outlines the officer proposals for how the Council could deliver a balanced budget for 2020/21, the details of which will be discussed at the relevant scrutiny committees.

The Committee considered a report of the Chief Executive and the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer, which provided an update on the Council’s overall financial position and set out the next steps in the budget process. In doing so, the report outlined officer proposals for how the Council could deliver a balanced budget for 2020/21.

In conjunction with the above, the Committee also received and considered the draft Council Business Plan for 2020/21 and the Neighbourhoods Directorate Budget Report 2020/21.

Officers highlighted that the 2020/21 budget would be a one year roll over budget. It would reflect the fact the Council had declared a climate emergency and would also continue to reflect the priorities identified in the previous three-year budget strategy.

Taken together, the reports illustrated how the directorate would work to deliver the Our Corporate Plan and progress towards the vision set out in the Our Manchester Strategy.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were:

·         That some of the data provided in appendix 1 of the Council Business Plan 2020/21, for example on anti-social behaviour and flytipping, did not give a clear picture of the situation as it stated figures per 1000 people and did not provide enough information, for example, on trends over time and whether some areas were affected more than others;

·         Why were there no figures for 2018/19 on residents attending a cultural event or using a public library service;

·         Sickness levels across different teams and the impact on service delivery;

·         That it was not clear from the report where Equality Impact Assessments (EIAs) would be carried out and the importance of the Committee considering the impact of proposals across the equality strands;

·         The changes to the rules on the use of Household Recycling Centres and how fly-tipping was being addressed;

·         How the proposed savings of £40,000 from reducing the costs of gallery exhibitions would be achieved;

·         How confident were officers that the increases in income outlined in the Directorate Budget Report could be achieved; and

·         To seek assurance that investment in the Anti-Social Behaviour Team was not being reduced and to emphasise the importance of funding work to address anti-social behaviour, which was a priority for many residents.

The Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) reported that this was the first time that budget proposals had been presented to the scrutiny committees in this format and that officers would take on board Members’ comments on how this information was presented and review this for future budget-setting processes.  She reported that the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee had considered the changes to the rules on the use of Household Recycling Centres at its meeting on 8 January 2020 and that officers would be providing a detailed update to that Committee.  She informed Members that the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee also received detailed information on fly-tipping and suggested that the report on fly-tipping which the Committee had received at a recent meeting could be circulated to Members of this Committee, to which the Chair agreed.

The Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) reported that the HR Subgroup regularly received information on sickness levels across the Council and what was being done to tackle this but that Members of the Communities and Equalities Scrutiny Committee could be provided with data on sickness levels for areas within its remit. 

The Chair commented that, at the Committee’s February meeting, Members would receive a report on the EIAs from the previous year’s budget process. 

The Head of Libraries, Galleries and Culture reported that the data in the report on residents attending cultural events and using libraries came from a national survey; however, he reported that his service had been improving its own data collection as part of the Widening Access and Participation project.  He drew Members’ attention to the reports provided to the Committee’s October, November and December 2019 meetings which had included further information on residents’ access to and participation in libraries, leisure and culture and advised Members that he would collate this information and re-circulate it.

The Head of Libraries, Galleries and Culture informed Members how his service proposed to save £40,000 through the Museum and Galleries Exhibition Tax Relief Scheme introduced by the government in 2017.  He outlined how his service planned to increase its income through introducing wireless printing across the city’s libraries, delivering government services, enabling visitors to make contactless donations at Manchester Art Gallery and Central Library, increasing retail sales, particularly from tourists following the re-location of the Visitor Information Centre to the Central Library, and raising more income through venue hire. 

The Head of Parks, Leisure, Youth and Events outlined how his service had increased income generation, highlighting that in parks alone income generation had increased by approximately £400,000 since 2016.  He advised Members that his service had met its income generation targets for the past three years and that he was confident that the income targets set out in the report were achievable.  In response to a Member’s question, he reported that a process was being put in place for residents and community groups to put forward their ideas for how to reduce the gap between income and expenditure in parks.

The Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) clarified that the money which had been approved during 2019/20 to increase resources in the Anti-Social Behaviour Team had been committed to for a period of three years.

Decisions

1.            To support the proposals outlined in the reports, while asking the Executive to take into account Members’ comments above, in particular the importance of maintaining funding to tackle anti-social behaviour.

2.            To request that the recent report that the Neighbourhoods and Environment Scrutiny Committee received on fly-tipping be circulated to Committee Members, for information.