To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 6 July 2016.

The minutes of the meeting of the Board held on 6 July 2016 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

To receive an update from the South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group on the consultation on the reconfiguration of community services.

The Board to agree how it plans to gather information in order to respond to the consultation.

Representatives of the South Devon and Torbay Clinical Commissioning Group presented the consultation document for the proposed reconfiguration of community services.  It was noted that the consultation was open until 23 November with a number of public meetings being held across Torbay and South Devon.

Resolved:  that a Community Services Review Panel comprising seven non-executive members of the Council (5 nominated by the Conservative Group, 1 nominated by the Liberal Democrat Group and 1 nominated by the Independent Group) be appointed to gather information to enable a response to the consultation on the reconfiguration of community hospitals to be provided to the Clinical Commissioning Group.

To discuss with the Mayor how the newly established Policy Development and Decision Groups will operate.

The Mayor provided information on the recent establishment of the Policy Development and Decision Groups.

The Assistant Director – Corporate and Business Services to present the Chief Finance Officer’s report setting out the Quarter 1 position for the revenue budget for 2016/2017.

The Mayor and his Executive Leads to answer the Board’s questions.

The Board to make any comments, conclusions and recommendations to the meeting of the Council to be held on 22 September 2016.

The Board considered the revenue budget monitoring report for the first quarter of 2016/2017 financial year.  It was noted that the budget was predicted to be overspent by £2.1 million primarily as a result of expenditure pressures in both children’s and adults social care.

The Board questioned both the Director of Children’s Services and the Director of Adult Services on the issues within their services.

Resolved:  that the Mayor be requested to provide additional information to the Council in order that it can be reassured that all reasonable steps are being taken to reduce the overspend on the Revenue Budget by the end of the financial year.

The Director of Children’s Services to present his report on the current position in relation to the Torbay Youth Trust.

The Executive Lead for Children’s Services to answer the Board’s questions.

The Board noted a report by the Director of Children’s Services on the proposal to start a dialogue with the Trustees of the Torbay Youth Trust, together with young people and other stakeholders, on options for the future provision of youth services based on a sustainable budget of around £300,000 per annum.  It was envisaged that the revised budget and delivery arrangements would be in place by 1 April 2017.

The Assistant Director – Corporate and Business Services to present the Chief Finance Officer’s report setting out the Quarter 1 position for the Capital Plan budget for 2016/2017.

The Mayor and his Executive Leads to answer the Board’s questions.

The Board to make any comments, conclusions and recommendations to the meeting of the Council to be held on 22 September 2016.

The Assistant Director – Corporate and Business Services presented the Capital Plan update for Quarter 1 of 2016/2017.  The report included recommendations to the Council for the allocation of three Government grants to different services across the Council.

Resolved:  (i)  that, ahead of the meeting of the Council on 22 September 2016, the Assistant Director – Corporate and Business Services clarifies whether or not the grants specified within the Capital Plan Update report are ringfenced; and

(ii)        that it be recommended to the Council that, should any of the grants be non-ringfenced, these should be allocated to capital schemes in accordance with the Council’s Capital Plan and its associated prioritisation matrix.

The Chief Executive to present the draft Efficiency Plan.

The Mayor and his Executive Leads to answer the Board’s questions.

The Board to make any comments, conclusions or recommendations to the meeting of the Council to be held on 22 September 2016.

The Board considered the final draft of the Council’s Efficiency Plan.  The Board’s Priorities and Resources Review Panel had met during August 2016 to consider, in detail, a number of projects from the Transformation Programme which formed the basis of the Efficiency Plan.  The draft report of the Panel had been circulated to members of the Board for consideration.

Resolved:  that the report from the Priorities and Resources Review Panel be published with the following recommendation:

The Overview and Scrutiny Board recommends that the Efficiency Plan be accepted as the three year plan towards Torbay Council meeting the funding gap shown within the Medium Term Resource Plan (as amended).  The Overview and Scrutiny Board has previously identified many of the issues within the Efficiency Plan as items to be explored and it expects to be able to consider the details of these proposals during its review of Priorities and Resources in November.  The Mayor and Executive is therefore requested to bring forward its proposals as a matter of urgency to enable the Council to start making difficult decisions in order to set balanced budgets moving forward.

The Assistant Director – Corporate and Business Services to present the Chief Finance Officer’s report on the proposed Capital Investment Fund.

The Mayor to answer the Board’s questions.

The Board to make any comments, conclusions and recommendations to the meeting of the Council to be held on 22 September 2016.

The Board considered a report which made recommendations to the Council on expanding the previously agreed Capital Investment Fund from £10 million to £50 million.  The Board recognised that the associated Investment Strategy took a cautious approach and requested that the Chief Executive consider whether the Strategy should be more ambitious and/or whether it could be funded in an alternative way in order to maximise the return to the Council.

Resolved:  (i)  that the Assistant Director – Corporate and Business Services be requested to prepare a supplementary report to the Council setting out a revised set of governance arrangements for the Capital Investment Fund based on the views expressed by the Board, namely:

·         Any investment decisions up to £5 million to be agreed by an politically balanced Investment Committee

·         Any investment decisions of £5 million or over to be agreed by the Council

·         The members of the Investment Committee to receive appropriate training

·         If any two members of the Investment Committee vote against a decision at the Committee, then the decision should be referred to the Council; and

(ii)        that the Chairman of the Investment Committee report back to the Council after three months of operation of the Investment Fund to provide assurance that the Fund is maximising the use of its resources and to provide any revised projections on the income generated by the Fund.

The Council’s representatives on the Board of the Torbay Development Agency to report to the Overview and Scrutiny Board on their work and the TDA’s draft Business Plan for 2016/2021.

Consideration of this item was deferred to a future meeting.

The Monitoring Officer to present her report in relation to the request from Councillors Darling (M) and Pentney in relation to the Screen on the Green.

The Monitoring Officer presented her report on the decision making in respect of the Screen on the Green and other issues which had been raised by Councillors Darling (M) and Pentney.  It was noted that there had been some confusion on the decision making process with respect to the Mayor’s Events Fund but that revised arrangements where now being put in place.

Resolved:  that the Assistant Director – Community and Customer Services be requested to present the revised governance arrangements in respect of events once her review is completed.