The Chairman will advise the meeting of the evacuation procedures to follow in the event of an emergency.

The Chairman ensured that those present were aware of the emergency evacuation procedure.

To approve the Minutes of the Meeting held on 13 January 2016 (Minute Nos. 419 - 425) as a correct record.

The Minutes of the Meeting held on 13 January 2016 (Minute Nos. 419 – 425) were taken as read, approved and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

The Chairman advised that the order would be changed and the Draft Budget 2016/17 would be considered first.

Councillors should not act or take decisions in order to gain financial or other material benefits for themselves or their spouse, civil partner or person with whom they are living with as a spouse or civil partner.  They must declare and resolve any interests and relationships.

The Chairman will ask Members if they have any interests to declare in respect of items on this agenda, under the following headings:

(a)          Disclosable Pecuniary Interests (DPI) under the Localism Act 2011.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DPI, the Member must leave the meeting and not take part in the discussion or vote.  This applies even if there is provision for public speaking.

(b)          Disclosable Non Pecuniary (DNPI) under the Code of Conduct adopted by the Council in May 2012.  The nature as well as the existence of any such interest must be declared.  After declaring a DNPI interest, the Member may stay, speak and vote on the matter.

Advice to Members:  If any Councillor has any doubt about the existence or nature of any DPI or DNPI which he/she may have in any item on this agenda, he/she should seek advice from the Director of Corporate Services as Monitoring Officer, the Head of Legal or from other Solicitors in Legal Services as early as possible, and in advance of the Meeting.

No interests were declared.

To review the draft budget 2016/17 and make the necessary recommendations to the Cabinet on 3 February 2016.  Please see update from Head of Finance at Appendix III.

Cabinet, Strategic Management Team and Heads of Service have been invited to attend.  The 2 December 2015 Medium Term Financial Plan and 2016/17 Revenue and Capital Budgets report and the draft Budget Book have been attached.

The Chairman welcomed Cabinet Members, members of the Committee, visiting Members, and officers to the meeting.

The Head of Finance introduced the Draft Budget and drew Members’ attention to Appendix III in the report which highlighted changes to the Draft Budget since the Cabinet meeting on 2 December 2015, following the Local Government Finance Settlement which was published on 17 December 2015.  The Head of Finance explained that the funding gap reported to Cabinet in December had risen from £286,000 to £422,000.  Adjustments as presented would be made to fund the gap, and the draft budget will be updated for Cabinet on 3 February 2016.

The Chairman invited the Group Leaders to ask any specific questions within pages 19 - 26 of the report.

The Leader of the UKIP Group referred to paragraph 2.20 and asked what difference 0.5% either-way would make to the budget?  He was advised that a percentage increase was equivalent to £100,000.

The Leader of the Labour Group spoke on new income streams (paragraph 1.2); he acknowledged the need for reserves, but considered some investment was required, particularly with updating play areas and open spaces.  He emphasised the importance of ensuring that new homes had the necessary infrastructure, and that the built environment was sustainable.

The Leader of the Independent Group raised concern with budgeting in the future, in the next year or two, post 2016/17.  He considered national business rates were potentially volatile, as it was not known how many new businesses there would be.  He explained that the New Homes Bonus (NHB) presented the same issues, especially when homes were built following an appeal, with the loss of the NHB, and the issues that this could present.

The Cabinet Member for Finance acknowledged the issues that were raised, and explained that this was why it was important to have reserves, and it was anticipated that a balanced budget would be achieved without relying on these reserves.

The Chairman explained that he would go through pages 28 – 34 in the report, line-by-line, and Members were invited to speak and ask questions.  He advised that the draft budget book (pages 35 – 64) would not be scrutinised, it was there for reference in conjunction with the information on pages 28 – 34.

The questions and responses from relevant Cabinet Members and/or officers are noted below.

Page 28

Point 1

There was an increase in Mid-Kent Improvement Partnership (MKIP) costs, was MKIP saving the Council money?

Yes; and not only in relation to finances, MKIP also provided greater resilience across the three authorities.

The Chief Executive advised that demand for some services provided by MKIP had increased.

Point 3

What was the £7,500 figure as percentage growth?

This was a significant percentage, but the figure was not significant itself as ticket machines in car parks had been renewed which provided more resilience.  Machines had failed/jammed or been vandalised, and some new machines had been installed.

The Chief Executive advised that the draft budget provided more detail  ...  view the full minutes text for item 463.

The Committee is asked to consider the Financial Monitoring Report for Quarter 2 2015/16. 

The Cabinet Member for Finance and the Head of Finance have been invited to attend.

The Cabinet Member for Finance introduced the report which showed the revenue and capital projected outturn for 2015/16 as at the end of September 2016.  He considered that overall matters were moving in the right direction.

There were no questions.

Resolved:

(1)       That the projected revenue underspend on services of £785,915 be noted.

(2)       That the capital expenditure of £643,998 to end of September 2015 be noted.