Agenda and decisions

To consider the Minutes of the previous meeting.

That the Minutes of the meeting held on the 5 November, 2024 be agreed as a correct record.

That the contents of the update report be noted.

(i)                  That the first draft savings proposals as set out in Appendix A and Appendix B to the report, be noted.

(ii)                 That the revised Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) funding gap

(Appendix C), be noted.

(iii)               That any surplus funds identified when setting the budget to be transferred to Reserves in order to achieve future financial resilience, be approved.

(iv)               That the commencement date of the Budget Consultation period as mid-November to mid-December 2024, be noted.

(v)                That the first draft savings proposals be referred to the Finance, Assets and Performance Scrutiny Committee for their views (Appendix A and Appendix B).

(vi)               That the refreshed Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) (Appendix D) be referred to the Finance, Assets and Performance Scrutiny Committee for their views.

(vii)             That the Mid-Year Capital Estimates for 2024/25, be approved.

(viii)            That the proposed setting of Council Tax at 1.99 per cent for 2025/2026,

be noted

(i)              That this report and the successes evidenced, be acknowledged.

(ii)             That the lessons learned and the need to continuously improve as the One Council programme closes, be acknowledged.

(iii)           That service level change and delivery of improvement moves into business as usual as teams use the skills they have learned through this process to challenge them selves and others to continue to make positive change, be noted.

(iv)           That the significant efforts of Council teams involved in the transformation, be celebrated and endorsed.

(v)             That it be agreed that Agile becomes the espoused project methodology across NULBC, along with knowledge of the tools used to deliver the One Council Programme – Refresher training be offered to Business Managers to ensure the required adoption.

(vi)           That it be approved that the Benefits Tracker continues to be used to capture opportunities organisation wide to ensure their delivery and inclusion into succession programmes and Efficiency Boards.

(vii)          That the Programme governance, approach and dashboard model is emulated in the One Council Green, Digital and Commercial follow-on Programmes, be agreed.

(viii)        That the report be referred to the Finance, Assets and Performance Scrutiny Committee.

(i)                  That the Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for One Council, People and Partnerships be authorised to enter into a contract by direct award to procure a suitable, modern CRM system.

(ii)                 That the Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for One Council, People and Partnerships, be authorised to enter into a contract by direct award with a suitably qualified CRM partner to design, deliver and support the CRM programme.

(iii)               That the implementation of a single CRM and case management solution across all Council services, be approved.

(i)                  That the updates to the Council’s Car Parking Strategy 2019-29 be approved.

(ii)                 That consultation on a Traffic Regulation Order amendment be commenced and the Deputy Chief Executive in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Town Centres and Growth be authorised to make any necessary recommendations and adopt the Traffic Regulation Order.

(iii)               That the Christmas Period Free Parking times, as set out in the report, be noted and endorsed.

(iv)               That it be approved that the Portfolio Member for Finance, Town Centres and Growth has flexibility in setting the Castle Car Park parking charges once open, as noted in the report.

That the Forward Plan be received and noted.

To resolve that the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following reports, because it is likely that there will be disclosure of exempt information as defined in the paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 12A (as amended) of the Local Government Act 1972.

Resolved:-             That the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration if the following matter because it is likely that there will be disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs contained within Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act, 1972.

That the confidential appendix be received and noted.