Issue - meetings

That the redesign of the council’s finance and business planning process to support the development of the Corporate Strategic Plan be approved.

The Executive Member for Finance and Support Services submitted a report setting out the drivers for change in reviewing the way in which the financial and business planning process will be delivered.  He outlined a new integrated process to determine the Council’s priorities and deliver a balanced budget for the next 4 years. 

He proposed a new, integrated finance and business planning process which would support the development of a new Corporate Plan.  This would set realistic service delivery objectives based on an understanding of service pressures, customer demand, workforce capacity and financial drivers.  This new integrated approach would enable joint discussion and alignment of the formal budget setting process with the setting of service priorities earlier in the financial year than had previously been the case.  Members would be able to agree the Council’s strategic direction and the underpinning investment requirements based on needs and priorities as opposed to incrementally changing budgets on an annual basis.

The Corporate Business Scrutiny Committee, at its meeting held on 14 July 2015, had supported the redesign as now detailed.

The Executive approved the recommendation as now detailed.

RESOLVED - that the redesign of the council’s finance and business planning process to support the development of the Corporate Strategic Plan be approved.

The Executive Member for Finance and Support Services submitted a report setting out the drivers for change in reviewing the way in which the financial and business planning process would be delivered.  The report also outlined a new integrated process to determine council priorities and deliver a balanced budget for the next 4 years.

The Head of Business Development advised that the process of determining service priorities through the Corporate Planning Process had not always been fully aligned to discussions around setting the budget.   Officers were now suggesting a new, integrated finance and business planning process which supported the development of a new Corporate Strategic Plan.

Members were requested to endorse this approach and to endorse the cancellation of the October 2015 Committee meeting in favour of a combined budget and service planning training session which would be open to all Members.

Councillor M Allen commented on whether Members could have any interim updates before October.  The Director advised that Officers including Heads of Service would be engaging with the Executive and fully worked up options would be interactively presented in October. 

The Executive Member for Finance and Support Services stated that Officers had a lot of work to do and updates would be submitted to Members as early as was realistically possible.  The Committee received the report and supported the recommendations as now detailed.

RESOLVED – that (A) the proposed redesign of the Council’s finance and business planning process to underpin the later development of the Corporate Strategic Plan be supported; 

(B)   a report of the draft of the Corporate Strategic Plan 2016/17 – 2019/20 be accepted onto the Committee’s Work Programme for the meeting on 24 November 2015; and

(C)   the Executive be advised that the meeting of Corporate Business Scrutiny on 20 October 2015 would be cancelled in favour of a combined budget and service planning training session which would be open to all Members.