Agenda and minutes

Finance & Performance Scrutiny Panel - Wednesday, 20th July, 2022 7.00 pm

Venue: Conference Room, Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA. View directions

Contact: Email: Democracy@enfield.gov.uk

Items
No.	Item
1.	WELCOME & APOLOGIES View the background to item 1. Minutes: The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introductions were made. Apologies for absence were received from Cllrs Mahym Bedekova and Guney Dogan. Cllr Elif Erbil was substituting for Cllr Bedekova.
2.	DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST View the background to item 2. Members of the Council are invited to identify any disclosable pecuniary, other pecuniary of non-pecuniary interests relevant to the items on the agenda. Minutes: No Declarations of Interest were received.
3.	INTRODUCTION - PURPOSE OF MEETING View the background to item 3. The Chair to introduce the purpose of the meeting. Minutes: The Chair explained that the panel would hear from the Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement, Cllr Tim Leaver, and the Executive Director Resources, Fay Hammond, outlining the Council and departmental priorities and areas of challenge for the upcoming municipal year. The Cabinet Member and Officer would then be asked to leave the meeting, at which point the Scrutiny Panel members would discuss topics and agree a work programme for 2022/2023.
4.	MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING PDF 89 KB View the background to item 4. To agree the minutes of the Finance and Performance Scrutiny Panel meeting held on 10 March 2022. Minutes: AGREED the minutes of the meeting held on 10 March 2022.
5.	TERMS OF REFERENCE PDF 7 KB View the background to item 5. To note, for information, the attached Terms of Reference for the Finance and Performance Scrutiny Panel. Minutes: NOTED, for information, the Terms of Reference for the Finance and Performance Scrutiny Panel, as set out in the Council’s Constitution.
6.	LOCAL PRIORITIES FOR 2022/23 View the background to item 6. The Scrutiny Panel will hear from the Cabinet Member and Officers, outlining priorities and areas of challenge. Cabinet Members and Officers will be asked to leave the meeting at this point. Minutes: The Chair invited Cllr Tim Leaver, Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement, and Fay Hammond, Executive Director Resources, to present the Local Priorities for 2022/23. Cllr Leaver highlighted the importance of the role of the Finance and Performance Scrutiny Panel. Fay Hammond confirmed that the Panel was a useful ‘critical friend’. She described the typical annual financial cycle and the quarterly monitoring reports, the end of year outturn reports produced, and the budget setting process. Current areas of potential interest in the national finance context were set out; including financial resilience (section 114), cost of living / inflation impacts, construction costs and wider economic context, national spotlight on borrowing restrictions, Covid-19 legacy costs, reductions in government funding / no additional funding / fair funding, Adult Social Care reform, and Dedicated Schools Grant pressures (SEN). Local current areas of potential interest were highlighted; including large scale regeneration projects, specific areas of budget pressure, benchmarking information against other London boroughs, Assurance Report (in the context of external audit delays), Council companies / joint ventures, new CIPFA company guide, legislative changes in procurement, debt levels and recovery, and Enfield’s Capital Strategy and programme. Fay Hammond also highlighted cross over with Overview and Scrutiny Panel and General Purposes Committee planned items, together with topics previously considered by Finance and Performance Scrutiny Panel in the last two years. To allow sufficient time for in-depth scrutiny and Members’ questions, it was recommended two items be received per panel meeting. Cllr Leaver and Fay Hammond, having also responded to Members’ queries during the presentation, left the meeting at this point.
7.	PLANNING THE WORK PROGRAMME FOR 2022/23 View the background to item 7. To agree and prioritise items for the Work Programme 2022/23. Minutes: The Chair opened discussions in terms of the work programme. It was agreed there should be two items per meeting, with ten topics maximum to be put forward as potential work programme items during 2022/23. Discussions were held on appropriate topics, and the following ones were agreed: Procurement, including p-card payment monitoring, value for money and added social value Commercial property assets and investment return / income generation Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget overview Adult Social Care funding reform 2023 Fair funding: impact for Enfield Performance, with particular focus on customer service and MEQ / complaints action plans and the Council website Council companies: development and operation Medium Term Financial Plan / Strategy overview As well as continued receipt for information of Quarterly Monitoring Reports (Revenue, Capital and Performance)
8.	DATES OF FUTURE MEETINGS View the background to item 8. To note that the dates of future meetings are as follows: Wednesday 19 October 2022 Wednesday 11 January 2023 Wednesday 29 March 2023 These meetings will commence at 7:00pm and will be held in the Conference Room at the Civic Centre. Minutes: NOTED the dates of future meetings: Wednesday 19 October 2022 Wednesday 11 January 2023 Wednesday 29 March 2023 The meetings to commence at 7:00pm and will be held in the Conference Room at the Civic Centre.