Agenda item

The report provides a review against the 2016/17 budget for the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account forecast to 31 March 2017 based on the latest information available.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the Executive notes the report and

1.            agrees a supplementary estimate of £20,000 and recommends to the Council that a further supplementary estimate of £230,000 be approved for external legal costs to defend the Council’s position on the Judicial Review brought by the Farnham Interest Group (FIG), as detailed in paragraph 9;

2.            approves the allocation of £7,500 from the General Fund urgent capital schemes budget for CCTV at Weyhill bring-bank, detailed in paragraph 14;

3.            approves supplementary estimates of £10,000 for external legal costs relating to the need to secure the services of a “litigation friend” through the courts as detailed in paragraph 19 above and £15,000 for external legal costs associated with addressing an Anti Social Behaviour case in housing, detailed in paragraph 20 above, to be funded from the HRA working balance;  

4.         agrees that the school parking and Saturday garden waste collection budget additional income/savings proposals are not implemented in 2016/17, noting the impact on the budget as set out in paragraph 6(i);

5.         agrees that £40,000 be ring-fenced from the Council’s Emergency Funding provision for voluntary organisations in anticipation of the required capital expenditure needed to deliver a fresh meals service from the Day Centres, as detailed in paragraph 8; and

6.         approves the HRA business plan principles as set in paragraph 27.

The Executive amended the third principle to be applied to HRA capital spending in paragraph 27(iii) by adding the text in bold and italics, to read as follows:-

iii.        No further capital commitments to new buildings or refurbishment projects are to be made unless a sound financial business case is agreed with the Director of Finance and Resources and the Portfolio Holder for Finance.

The Executive noted the report and

1.            agreed a supplementary estimate of £20,000 for external legal costs to defend the Council’s position on the Judicial Review brought by the Farnham Interest Group (FIG), as detailed in paragraph 9;

2.            approved the allocation of £7,500 from the General Fund urgent capital schemes budget for CCTV at Weyhill bring-bank, detailed in paragraph 14, and agreed that the Director of Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, utilises funds from the Council’s Emergency Funding provision to purchase a second CCTV unit for use elsewhere in the Borough;

3.            approved supplementary estimates of £10,000 for external legal costs relating to the need to secure the services of a “litigation friend” through the courts as detailed in paragraph 19 above and £15,000 for external legal costs associated with addressing an Anti Social Behaviour case in housing, detailed in paragraph 20 of the report, to be funded from the HRA working balance;  

4.         agreed that the school parking and Saturday garden waste collection budget additional income/savings proposals are not implemented in 2016/17, noting the impact on the budget as set out in paragraph 6(i);

5.         agreed that £40,000 be ring-fenced from the Council’s Emergency Funding provision for voluntary organisations in anticipation of the required capital expenditure needed to deliver a fresh meals service from the Day Centres, as detailed in paragraph 8; and

6.         approved the HRA business plan principles as set in paragraph 27, as amended.

[CORPORATE OVERVIEW AND SCRUTINY COMMITTEE]

The Executive also agreed to RECOMMEND to the COUNCIL that a further supplementary estimate of £230,000 be approved for external legal costs to defend the Council’s position on the Judicial Review brought by the Farnham Interest Group (FIG), as detailed in paragraph 9.

[This item is recommended to the Council for decision and is not subject to the call-in procedure]

47.1    The Executive amended the third principle to be applied to HRA capital spending in paragraph 27(iii) by adding the text in bold and italics, to read as follows:-

iii.        No further capital commitments to new buildings or refurbishment projects are to be made unless a sound financial business case is agreed with the Director of Finance and Resources and the Portfolio Holder for Finance.

47.2    The Executive noted the report and RESOLVED that

1.            a supplementary estimate of £20,000 be agreed for external legal costs to defend the Council’s position on the Judicial Review brought by the Farnham Interest Group (FIG), as detailed in paragraph 9;

2.            the allocation of £7,500 be approved from the General Fund urgent capital schemes budget for CCTV at Weyhill bring-bank, detailed in paragraph 14, and that the Director of Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder, utilises funds from the Council’s Emergency Funding provision to purchase a second CCTV unit for use elsewhere in the Borough;

3.            supplementary estimates of £10,000 be approved for external legal costs relating to the need to secure the services of a “litigation friend” through the courts as detailed in paragraph 19 of the report and £15,000 for external legal costs associated with addressing an Anti Social Behaviour case in housing, detailed in paragraph 20 of the report, to be funded from the HRA working balance; 

4.         the school parking and Saturday garden waste collection budget additional income/savings proposals are not implemented in 2016/17, noting the impact on the budget as set out in paragraph 6(i);

5.         £40,000 be ring-fenced from the Council’s Emergency Funding provision for voluntary organisations in anticipation of the required capital expenditure needed to deliver a fresh meals service from the Day Centres, as detailed in paragraph 8; and

6.         the HRA business plan principles as set in paragraph 27, as amended be approved.

47.3    In May 2016, the Council agreed to proceed with the major scheme to regenerate the Brightwells development site to bring much needed new community facilities, shops, restaurants and affordable housing to central Farnham.  The Farnham Interest Group (FIG) has decided to challenge the Council’s decision through a Judicial Review process.  This will delay the scheme’s commencement and is likely to incur significant legal costs.  Given that delivering this important scheme is a key corporate priority, the Council will defend the Judicial Review challenge.  It is proposed to allocate £250,000 initially to cover external legal costs to represent the Council in defending the claim.  Therefore a supplementary estimate is requested to be funded from the Revenue Reserve fund in the first instance, but a review of other capital schemes may be necessary to reinstate the fund, which will be carried out as part of the mid-year budget review.

47.4    Given that the Council needs to incur legal costs immediately, the Executive agreed a supplementary estimate of £20,000 (as set out above) and now

            RECOMMENDS that

32.       a further supplementary estimate of £230,000 be approved for external legal costs to defend the Council’s position on the Judicial Review brought by the Farnham Interest Group (FIG).

[Reason: to provide a review against the budget for the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account]