Issue - meetings

To review the budget, fees and charges, growth bids, savings bids and capital growth bids for the committee’s areas of responsibility.

19:10 – Councillor Gething arrived at the meeting.

The Chief Accountant presented the draft budget, fees and charges, savings bids and growth bids for the Committee’s areas of responsibility.

The Chief Accountant highlighted changes to net expenditure. Major changes related to staffing and removal of budgets related to Covid-19. He confirmed that future records would be tidied and clarified.

The Chief Accountant presented the Fees and Charges. Following instruction by the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee, fees had been increased by at least 5% with some increased to a higher level.

The Chief Accountant presented the savings bids. These related to budgets that had no expenditure over the past three years and resulted in £400k in savings.

The Chief Accountant presented the growth bids and informed the Committee that there was a moratorium on full-time posts unless they were fully funded or a statutory post. The recommendation from the Finance Department was that the growth bid for the Paralegal post would not meet these requirements. If the Committee wished to recommend the post for approval, savings would need to be found elsewhere in the budget.

Committee members debated the value the position provided to the Council and the risks of not recommending the growth bid for approval. The Committee were informed that the role had been previously been filled on a five year temporary contract and had allowed senior lawyers in the team to focus on case management rather than administrative work. If the role was not filled, there was a risk that work would need to be outsourced, possibly at a higher cost. The Committee acknowledged that the legal department  supported the whole of the Council through their work.

The Committee resolved that the Chief Accountant requests that cost centre’s under the remit of the Administrative Committee look for further savings to meet the cost of the Paralegal growth bid.

The Committee resolved to recommend the draft 23/24 budget to the Corporate Policy and Resources Committee.