Tag: Ian Coleman

Cabinet 1st September 2011 Part 5 – You Choose Budget Consultation

The Cabinet then considered Agenda item 6 – You Choose – Budget Consultation. Cllr Phil Davies chairing introduced Steve Owen who would be giving a presentation for this item. Mr. Ian Coleman (Director of Finance) said it was a budget consultation. He said a number of local authorities were using this to consult, however it … Continue reading “Cabinet 1st September 2011 Part 5 – You Choose Budget Consultation”

The Cabinet then considered Agenda item 6 – You Choose – Budget Consultation.

Cllr Phil Davies chairing introduced Steve Owen who would be giving a presentation for this item. Mr. Ian Coleman (Director of Finance) said it was a budget consultation. He said a number of local authorities were using this to consult, however it was the first time they had run through the key aspects.

Steve Owen demonstrated how it worked. They had used an increase of 3% Council Tax as Council Tax rises had been capped last year. So far Wirral Council had received two hundred suggestions. These ranged from reducing pay, selling land, pay freezes to sharing services.

There were some problems showing this during the meeting as it didn’t work, so Steve Owen took them to the next screen which showed that there had been 647 responses, the average Council Tax increase or decrease of these 647 responses was a 3% decrease. He tried to show the areas on a map where the people had responded from. However the Google map wouldn’t show. Steve Owen said that this was a “technical issue outside of his control”.

He also demonstrated to those present how a person would go through the steps needed to respond to the budget consultation. Unfortunately each time part way through Internet Explorer crashed and had to be restarted.

Cllr Phil Davies thanked him and said he had had a go and was heartened by the 647 submissions so far. He asked how long it had been running for and was told two weeks. Cllr Phil Davies said it was the 5th highest number of responses from the 41 local authorities running it. Cheshire West and Chester had 309, Liverpool 9 and Sefton 459. He said that 647 was good as they had been proactive in promoting it.

Cabinet 1st September 2011 Part 4 – Referral from Council Excellence Overview and Scrutiny Committee – Local Government Resource Review

The Cabinet then considered a referral from the Council Excellence Overview and Scrutiny Committee on the Local Government Resource Review following its meeting of the 12th July 2011. Cllr Phil Davies said it was a committee referral and the minute from that meeting was included. The response was that Cabinet agreed with all actions, proposed comments and supporting the SIGOMA response about authorities with lower levels of income from business rates. His concern about business rates was that it left Wirral in a difficult position. Ian Coleman reported to Cabinet about the localising of business rates. Mr. Coleman said there had been a consultation in July but eight annexes had not arrived. There would be a report to Cabinet on the 22nd September. A consultation response was required by early October. Cllr Phil Davies asked if they were active through SIGOMA. Cllr George Davies said he sits on SIGOMA, the facts had been resolved so that no-one would be adversely affected in the first year. It would be in the second year that Wirral would be the loser. Ian Coleman confirmed this was correct. Cllr George Davies thanked him. Cllr Phil Davies pointed out the meeting with the Minister on Tuesday and that details would come back to the next Cabinet.

Cabinet 1st September 2011 Part 3 – Community Budgets

Ian Coleman apologised for the late report, however a response was required by the 9th September. He said an expression of interest about the pilot was required, either for Families With Multiple Problems or the Community Budgets pilot. Mr. Coleman said it was part of phase 2 of the Local Government Resource Review and has to be in by the 9th. He said the financial implications were not clear whether it will be extra money or existing resources. Cllr Davies (Phil) said that Wirral had “got a good story to tell”. He said they had done good work with families with multiple problems and in the Children and Young Peoples Department and Child Services. Cllr Davies said they had a “good track record” and it would be “well worth expressing an interest”. However he couldn’t tell if it would be successful.

Cllr Adrian Jones said that Ian Coleman had answered his question about extra resources. He said the support was needed especially in the ward he represents Seacombe. The recommendation in the report was agreed.

Cabinet 1st September 2011 Part 2 – Minutes, Budget Projections 2012-2015

The minutes of the meeting held on the 21st July 2011 were agreed. The next item was Budget Projections 2012-15 introduced by the Director of Finance Ian Coleman. Mr. Coleman said there had been minor changes from July, Parliament had been in recess so there had only been consultation papers. Cllr Davies (Phil) said it was a standard report to note and review. He noted that the shortfall of £25.3 million continued to bear down on the budget [for 2012/2013]. He said there were “big challenges”. He referred to section 4.2.1 of the report and stated the Formula Grant had been decreased by £41 million [Ed – the actual figure in the report was £14 million not £41 million]. He said the issues in the next item regarding business rates “could be a challenge”. He referred to the meeting next Tuesday with a government minister in which councillors would explain Wirral’s case and hopefully get a sympathetic hearing. There would be a report back next time.

At this point the mobile of Cllr Chris Meaden (Cabinet Member for Culture, Tourism and Leisure) started ringing loudly which drowned out what her colleague Cllr Ann McLachlan was trying to say. Once Cllr Chris Meaden had found the mobile in her bag and switched it off, Cllr McLachlan finished by saying that £14 million was a lot of money and she encouraged the representation from Wirral Council. The report was noted.

Employment and Appointments Committee 11th August 2011 Part 2

Cllr Gilchrist said he was puzzled by the equality implications. He asked why they were not required for the Finance restructure but were required for the Education restructure and he asked for an explanation.

Chris Hyams, Head of Human Resources & Organisational Development started to speak but then Jim Wilkie, Chief Executive asked why had there been no Equality Impact Assessment on the IT restructuring but they had done one on the Children and Young People restructuring?

Chris Hyams, Head of Human Resources & Organisational Development said they were not changing the structure. However the Children and Young People restructure had an impact on service delivery, which required an EIA.

Cllr Gilchrist asked comparing the two structures, what posts would be deleted further down?

Ian Coleman said there would be a £500,000 staffing saving.

Cllr Adrian Jones asked if the report was agreed and said yes.

The committee then considered Item 3 – Department of Children and Young People Restructure along with Appendix 1, Appendix 2, Appendix 3, Appendix 4 and Appendix 5.

This report was introduced by Jim Wilkie, Chief Executive. He explained that the Director of the Children and Young People’s Department, David Armstrong was current on his well deserved annual holiday on a cruise ship. Although there were no senior staff here tonight from the Children and Young People’s Department, he had their telephone numbers.

He said he was at a disadvantage over the detail at the briefing. However the restructure was a result of the Early Voluntary Redundancy/Voluntary Severance which had led to over three hundred leaving.