Agenda and minutes

This meeting is to be webcast and the Chairman will read the following announcement:

“I would like to remind everyone that this meeting will be filmed live or recorded, and uploaded to the internet and will be capable of repeated viewing.

Therefore, by participating in this meeting, you are consenting to being filmed and to the possible use of those images and sound recordings.

If any public speakers on MS Teams do not wish to have their image captured, they should ensure that their video setting throughout the meeting is turned off and set to audio only.

Members and public speakers are reminded to turn on their microphones before speaking and turn them off when they have finished.”

The Chairman reminded everyone present that the meeting would be broadcast live to the Internet, and that the Council had adopted a protocol for the webcasting of its meetings.

To report the appointment of any substitute members for the meeting.

The Committee noted the following substitutions reported at the meeting:

(1)          That Councillor Church had been appointed as substitute for Councillor Lucas, and

(2)          That Councillor Nweke had been appointed as substitute for Councillor Wiskin.

To declare interests in any item on the agenda.

Pursuant to the Council’s Members’ Code of Conduct, Councillor Bassett declared a non-pecuniary interest as the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Qualis, and Councillor Murray confirmed that he was no longer a Trustee of Citizens Advice.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on 10 December 2024.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the meeting held on 10 December 2024 be taken as read and signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

To consider any matters arising and outstanding actions from the minutes of the previous meeting(s) that are not covered elsewhere in this agenda.

Cllr Lion requested that further to the attendance of TfL at Overview and scrutiny a request to TfL to update the web pages on the Central Line improvement programme be noted.

There were no other matters arising or outstanding actions.

To receive questions submitted by members of the public and any requests to address the Committee, in accordance with Article 6 (Overview and Scrutiny) of the Council’s Constitution.

(a)       Public Questions

Members of the public may ask questions of the Chairman of Overview and Scrutiny Committee at ordinary meetings of the Committee, in accordance with the procedure set out in the Constitution.

(b)       Requests to address the Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Any member of the public or a representative of another organisation may address the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on any agenda item (except those dealt with in private session as exempt or confidential business), due to be considered at the meeting.

(a)             Public Questions

None were received.

(b)             Requests to address the Committee

Victoria Manning-Monro, Trustee of Citizens Advice, Epping Forest District addressed the Committee in relation to Agenda item xx Budget and specifically to look for a financial commitment to continue grant funding to Citizens Advice (CA). The increased demand for services with 2,175 clients in 9 months and financial pressures faced by the organisation were highlighted. The Committee were advised the professional services and advice offered by CA and of changes to the working practices to become more efficient, however without a financial commitment form the Council would not be able to provide essential services.   The CA had identified the potential for mergers between areas but recognised that the Local Government Reform would be a factor in this.  Without maintenance of the budget the backstop position provided by CA could not be guaranteed.

The Committee were advised after questioning that there were detailed in reports of clients seen and the outcomes were modelled and measured.  The CA offered to provide detailed breakdown to Councillors in relation to the proposition of work spent on advice, between housing, homelessness, debt etc.

The Committee and Portfolio Holder, Cllr H Whitbread acknowledged the value of the service provided by CA, and advised that the presentation would be given full consideration during the relevant item.

To consider any matter referred to the Committee for decision in relation to a call-in, in accordance with Article 6 (Overview and Scrutiny) of the Council’s Constitution.

The Committee were advised by Councillor Jon Whitehouse that five members had requested a call-in on the Acquisition of Cottis Lane Multi Storey Car Park made by Cabinet Decision on 13 January 2024. The discussions held at the meeting would determine how this would move forward.

Report to follow.

Andrew Small, Section 151 Officer and Executive Director introduced the report and set out the Quarter 3 2024/25 General Fund and Housing Revenue Account budget position and highlighted a forecast underspend of £0.543m on the General Fund, a better position than previously reported. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) forecast was an underspend of £0.118m, and underspends on the Capital funds for both the general fund and HRA were anticipated due to delays in the delivery of the capital programme

.

The Committee raised several queries and were advised

·        The increase budget against the Chief Executive was related to ensuring appropriate capacity within the organisation at Chief Executive and for supporting roles.

·        There would be an impact from Local Government Reorganisition (LGR)  for strategic projects, which would be reviewed to consider which projects should be delivered, however it should that the delivery of LGR would need resourcing.

·        The underspend on IT  and Transformation, was due to delayed delivery of projects, the programme would need to be considered in light of LGR to ensure platforms would be suitable for any new organisation and provide value to the Council in the short term

·        A survey in relation to Fires Risk Assessments (FRA) was being carried out. This should be completed by the end of the financial year and a programme of capital works (HRA) would then be programmed.

The Committee acknowledged the wider economic situation and market factors which had impacted on development and housing building.

Resolved:

The Committee noted the quarter 3, 2024/25 budget monitoring report.

To consider and provide comment to Cabinet on the review of the Council Tax Empty & Second Home premiums report.

Peter Freeman , Service Manager Revenue and Benefits presented the report on the Council Tax Empty & Second Homes Premiums policy  The key aspects of the proposed changes were detailed as:

·        To bring forward the period from two years to one year when an unoccupied and substantially unfurnished dwelling (empty dwelling) could be charged a premium of 100% All other empty dwelling premiums remain unchanged, and  

·        To enable the charging of a 100% premium for any dwellings (second homes) which were, no one’s sole or main residence; and substantially furnished.

If these changes were not adopted EFDC would be the only Council in Essex that did not apply the premiums in this manner.

The Committee raised serval queries and were advised that:

·        The onus is on the owner to advise if properties are empty, inspectors, and other methods of communication are used to verify the status.

·        A property would be classified as substantially unfurnished if the home did not contain items that one could reasonably expect to be there to reside in the  property

·        Individuals can challenge a decision through the Valuation Office Agency, which part of HMRC can challenge any decision made by the local authority

·        The additional premium raised In the region of £150,000 last year

·        The regulations prevent premiums in specific circumstances in including during probate, local authority also have discretionary powers.

·        Inspectors carry out a range of duties including identifying new properties to ensure timely and accurate council tax bills. Staff costs are more than offset by the income generated.

·        In scenarios the costs of renovating properties to meeting EPC, could be prohibitive and mean that houses were vacant until renovation completed and the premium would be applied . One of the objectives of applying the premium was to encourage the occupancy of home.  

·        Confirmation was provided that EFDC received approximately 10% of the premium as the precepts for County and PFCC were still applicable to the premium charges.

Resolved:

The Committee considered the report , and referred the Council Tax Empty & Second Homes Premiums policy  to Full Council for approval.

Progress towards the achievement of the work programme for the Overview and Scrutiny Committee is reviewed at each meeting. The current work programme for the Committee is attached.

The Chairman advised members that there would be a meeting of this Committee on Wednesday 26 February 2025, to cover items initially planned for this meeting, and a further meeting had been scheduled for 25 March 2025.

The Committee noted that Local Government Reform was an important issue and suggested inclusion in the work programme for the Committee. The Leader of the Council advised that members briefings were being scheduled and that a Portfolio Holders Advisory Group may be established.

The current work programme was noted by the Committee

To review the Executive’s current programme of Key Decisions (Forward Plan) to enable the identification of appropriate matters for the overview and scrutiny work programme and the overview of specific decisions proposed to be taken over the period of the plan. 

The Committee were advised that final details were being worked on by officers before the report on the Epping Library could be presented to Cabinet.

Options appraisal for operational sites, a survey is being carried out on the operational stock, and the performance andtjhe required level of investment to ensure Value for money.

Action.  Additional information on the persistent organic pollutants needed to be provided.

Resolved:

That the Council’s Forward Plan of Key Decisions be noted.

To consider and provide comment to Cabinet on the Draft Budget 2025/26 report.

Note Annex 2 of Appendix A and Appendix F are restricted reports, presented as a supplementary agenda.

The Finance and Economic Development Portfolio Holder, Cllr Holly Whitbread, introduced the report and acknowledged the value of the constructive approach of developing the budget in collaboration with Scrutiny.  She advised the budget process had been challenging and there had been a reduced grant from government, only 13% of the Council’s budget came from council tax, the remaining amounts  came from grants and income from commercial premises such as Epping Forest Shopping Park, car parking charges, the repayment of loans from Qualis and recharges to the HRA.  The £88m capital receipt from Google had not been spent, there were no plans to allocate any spend on any Capital projects in the next financial year and the interest received was important in underpinning the revenue streams.

Details of the budget deficit and pressures were as included in the report, £1.048m deficit for the General fund with a further deficit of £0.277m on the HRA.  The report proposed £1.45 m in savings and a 2.99 % increase in Council Tax, the equivalent of £4.99 per annum for a band D property at £172/year.

The commitment to financial responsibility, with balanced books and best value to local taxpayers underpinned the proposed budget. Comments received at the previous Overview and Scrutiny meeting had been considered and the impact of the discussions had been reflected in the detailed proposals shown in the restricted papers. The budget looked to minimise the impact on Council Jobs and in year savings and transformation funds could be utilised to preserve essential skills.  Then budget had accounted for the transfer of Cottis Lane car park. The impact and scope of Local Government Reform was unknown at this stage, but may provide opportunities moving forward.

The importance of the Capital Programme was highlighted and the initial draft Capital Programme for both General and HRA was detailed as £50.790m over the next five years, with £40.368m committed to 2025/26.

There was a deficit of £277k on the HRA fund, which would be covered by surplus HRA balances.

The Committee were advised of the uncertainty of future funding and the predicted funding gap for 2026/27.

The Committee raised a range of general issues and

Received confirmation that the interest from the Google Capital receipt formed part of the revenue stream.

Were advised that the majority for the transformation reserve would be available for repurposing, however there would be costs associated with Local Government Reform.

There was discussion and debate in about the impact of the transfer of the acquisition of Cottis Lane Car Park from Qualis to the Council, and the impact on the budget. Members of the Committee asked if: other operational models, including the operation by a commercial provider or selling the asset had been considered; the financial impacts could be profiled over several years; there was potential for Qualis to use their profit to offset the loss.

The Commercial & Estates Portfolio Holder, Cllr T Matthews, advised that details of the rationale had been presented to Cabinet on 13 January 2025  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61.

Exclusion

To consider whether, under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press should be excluded from the meeting for the items of business set out below on grounds that they will involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

The Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006, which came into effect on 1 March 2006, requires the Council to consider whether maintaining the exemption listed above outweighs the potential public interest in disclosing the information. Any member who considers that this test should be applied to any currently exempted matter on this agenda should contact the proper officer at least 24 hours prior to the meeting.

Background Papers 

(Democratic & Electoral Services Team Manager) Article 17 - Access to Information, Procedure Rules of the Constitution define background papers as being documents relating to the subject matter of the report which in the Proper Officer's opinion:

(a)        disclose any facts or matters on which the report or an important part of the report is based;  and

(b)        have been relied on to a material extent in preparing the report and does not include published works or those which disclose exempt or confidential information and in respect of executive reports, the advice of any political advisor.

The Council will make available for public inspection for four years after the date of the meeting one copy of each of the documents on the list of background papers.

The Committee agreed that under Section 100(A)(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the item of business set out below on grounds that they would involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the following paragraph(s) of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act (as amended) or are confidential under Section 100(A)(2):

To consider the restricted Appendices to Agenda Item 11 - Draft Budget 2025/26

Appendix A - Annex 2 and Appendix F.

Resolved:

The Committee discussed and provided comment to Cabinet on specific budget proposals.