Agenda and draft minutes

It was moved by Councillor Jacobs and seconded by Councillor Horner that Councillor Adams be appointed Chair of the Joint Meeting of Scrutiny Committees. After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that Councillor Adams be appointed Chair of the Joint Meeting of Scrutiny Committees.

To receive apologies for absence.

There were apologies for absence from Councillors E Buckmaster, Cox and Willcocks. There was also an apology from an Independent Person – Mark Poppy.

The Chair welcomed all to the meeting and reminded all participants to use their microphones when speaking.

The webcast of the meeting can be viewed here Joint Meeting of Scrutiny Committees - 28 January 2026.

The Chair reminded Members that their comments would be captured within the minutes of the meeting and by officers, who would feed these back to the Executive. He added that the minutes and any comments would be included as appendices to the Executive report. 

To receive any Members’ declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Executive Member for Financial Sustainability introduced the report which set out an updated Medium Term Financial Plan for 2026/27 to 2030/31, which reflected the provisional Government settlement and several emerging financial pressures.

The Executive Member for Financial Sustainability said that although the Fair Funding review outcome was more favourable than expected, Government support will still decline, leaving Council Tax growth as the main driver of a modest rise in core spending power - one that remains below inflation. He said that additional pressures included £706k in new budget demands, anticipated Local Government Reorganisation costs, and slower?than?expected BEAM income - all requiring prudent contingencies.

The Executive Member for Financial Sustainability said that savings from the Hertfordshire Pension Fund valuation - nearly £1 million annually, would enable a balanced budget and the creation of new reserves to strengthen resilience. He said that the plan emphasised continued efficiency, increased income from fees and charges, and careful reserve management to maintain financial sustainability amid ongoing uncertainty.

The Chair thanked the Executive Member for Financial Sustainability for his report.

Members raised questions and concerns in relation to the decision to not raise Sunday car parking charges (citing this as a potential lost avenue for raising revenue for the Council), versus the adverse reactions from residents which the agreed increases had received. It was clarified that the Sunday charge would be increased in all but the rural carparks within the district, and that the increases did provide a significant figure towards the Council being able to produce a balanced budget. Members heard that should the increases not occur in the current year the Council would fall behind, leading to higher than inflation increases being made in future years. It was also acknowledged that the regime needed to be equal and fair, and although the district’s High Streets (with Buntingford being cited by ward Members) were under pressure, this was due to several factors such as the cost of Business Rates and the rise of online shopping.  

Members debated the Council’s reserves,  as shown at Appendix C of the report and it was confirmed that the presentation of the reserves earmarked for LGR over the next 2 years (as on page 53) would be amended from £500,000 for 2026/27 to show £250,000 for both 2026/27 and 2027/28. Discussion was had as to if the reserves earmarked for the costs of LGR were adequate, and Members heard that uncertainties/unknowns surrounding the reorganisation made an answer currently impossible.

Members agreed that LGR was both unwanted and a huge expense, which gave little benefit. They heard that the biggest LGR expenses would relate to officer resource, staff changes (including possible redundancies) and the harmonising of IT, all of which were advance costs, required to be in place from day 1. It was further explained that each of the proposed modules for LGR were expected to take somewhere between 3 – 6 years to yield savings or ‘break even’

Discussion around LGR continued, noting that there  ...  view the full minutes text for item 306.

The Director for Finance, Performance and Risk introduced the report which presented the Council’s Capital Strategy, MRP Statement, and Treasury Management Strategy for 2026/27. The report set out the framework for how capital investment is planned, financed, and governed.

The Director for Finance, Performance and Risk said that with resources being extremely limited, the capital programme focused solely on essential health and safety and business critical works, with future investment dependent on asset disposals. He said that the Treasury Strategy maintained a low?risk approach to managing cash, borrowing, and investments in line with CIPFA requirements, while the MRP Statement continued the prudent policy of repaying borrowing over the life of assets to ensure long?term affordability and sustainability. 

The Chair thanked the Director for Finance, Performance and Risk for his report.

Members sought assurance that the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Policy remained up to date. They heard that this was the case, and that the Policy was Treasury Advisor aligned.

It was moved by Councillor Dunlop and seconded by Councillor Nicholls, that the recommendations, as detailed, be approved. It was noted that Councillor Jacobs abstained from the vote. After being put to the meeting and a vote taken, the motion was declared CARRIED.

RESOLVED – that Members examine and comment on the Capital Strategy, Minimum Revenue Provision Statement and the Treasury Management Strategy 2026/27 including the Prudential Indicators contained within the reports.

No Part II business has been notified for this meeting.

If Part II business is notified and the procedures set out in the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012 have been complied with, the Chairman will move: - That under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the press and public be excluded from the meeting during the discussion of item XX on the grounds that it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraph XX of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the said Act and the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

There was no Part II business.

To consider such other business as, in the opinion of the Chairman of the meeting, is of sufficient urgency to warrant consideration and is not likely to involve the disclosure of exempt information.

There were no urgent items.