Agenda and minutes

Apologies had been received from Cllr Hinchcliffe, Cllr Pandor, Cllr Jeffery and Cllr Swift.

There were no declarations of pecuniary interests at the meeting.

There were no items that required the emption of the press and public.

That the minutes of the meeting held on 12 July be approved.

Members considered a report that provided an updated position on the quarter 1 forecast for 2022/23 as well as the approach to business planning and budget setting for 2023/24.

The Committee discussed the inflationary pressures and that the full impact would not be felt until the next financial year as most contracts, excepting those relating to buses, were renewed annually.

Members discussed the need for workshops to look at budget planning in further detail and to ensure an agile approach.

Members discussed the UKSPF and when the Combined Authority might be able to look at how the funding stream could be brought into the business and budgetary planning process. The Combined Authority had approved the submission to Government and confirmation was expected in the next month. 

Resolved: That the financial position be noted.

Members considered a report that provided an update on risk management process. Members noted the ongoing work on the escalation of risks to ensure a comprehensive and consistent approach. The risk register would also be changed to separate out risks that had been realised and in process from those risks that had been identified but were not live.

Members discussed the challenges around procurement and noted that the team had been staffed up to deal with an expected number of procurements which had been exceeded. The team had been restructured and further recruitment was underway.

Members asked for a trend to sit alongside the RAG rating to provide more context to the risks and help members to focus on the most important areas.

Resolved: That the report be noted.

The Committee considered a report that provided an outcome of the social value trials. Seven procurements had been completed as part of the social value portal trial and £435,177 worth of social vale commitments had been secured.

Members were very supportive of the social value trial outcomes and noted that the process would be reviewed to ensure that it could be refined to be more straightforward. It would also be important to monitor the delivery of the social vale commitments.

Resolved: That the successful outcome of the Social Value Portal Trial be noted.