To receive apologies for absence.

Apologies were received from Marie Rosenthal, Solicitor, and Cllrs Derek Biddle, Peter Ede and Andrew Gardiner.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 25 November 2010 (attached).

The committee agreed the following change on page 12, paragraph 6:

To add ‘she also asked if the council needed to have that requirement at all.’

The minutes of the meeting held on 26 November 2010 were confirmed and signed as an accurate record.

The chairman to identify any items of urgent business.

The chairman identified no items of urgent business.

To receive any declarations of interest in any matter to be discussed at the meeting.  Members and officers are requested to identify the nature of the interest and indicate whether it is personal or prejudicial.

There were no declarations of interest.

Cllr Robinson, Cabinet member for an Efficient Council and Finance to present report F.91 regarding the provisional capital and revenue budget 2011/12 to 2014/15

Cllr Robinson presented report F.91, highlighting the following points from the all-member presentation in December.

Agenda page 40 – Since the presentation the council in discussion with its actuaries on projections for the next twenty years had implemented a smoothing of pension figures to estimate changes of no more than one per cent. The figure would be nearer £100,000.

There had been no pay award for staff in the current year and none were allowed for in 2011/12. He reminded members that pay was set nationally.

The transfer of concessionary fares had been clarified.

Agenda page 41 – The emphasis was on the council tax being affordable, so as not to put an additional burden on the community.

Agenda page 42 – The saving in partnerships and community support would be achieved by a team working in a single unit operating across existing service strands.

The Budget Working Group had recognised the significant improvement produced by recent staff training, but whilst recognising there was still a need for more training, hence the 50 per cent reduction.

The council still needed to negotiate a reduced fee with the Audit Commission, based on less work.

Agenda page 43 – He now believed that there would be no more than a four per cent increase in pest control charges, and that this should help the service to break even.

He hoped that the Severn Wye Energy Agency, which had other funders, would be able to absorb the loss of the council’s grant.

The intention and discussion to stop running the district’s CCTV had been progressed over the past two years. The towns needed to decide if CCTV was important to them and look at ways of funding running costs.

He commented that the grant to the Dean Heritage Centre would be reduced to nothing over the next four years. This figure was separate from the capital grant being discussed at the Cabinet meeting on 20 January.

By reducing reception opening hours, after research into usage, less staff time would be needed.

The reduction in member expenses related mainly to changes in IT provision.

Savings in civic expenditure would be made, such as stopping use of the civic vehicle, while still maintaining security.

Agenda page 44 – The one-off freeze on reserve transfers would mean no money to be spent on topping up the reserves for replacement vehicles or IT equipment for the next year only.

Agenda page 45 – He asked members to note that the reduction in government formula grant for 2011/12 was over one million pounds and over the next two years would equate to 25.3 per cent. This meant that the council needed to sae £1.7 million over two years, which represented substantial front loading of cuts. Many savings that had been in the medium term plan would need to be made within the next 18 months.

Agenda page 46 – The council did not know what the formula grant would be for the second two years of the period,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

Tuesday 18 January 2011 at 6pm to consider the core strategy.

All at 6pm preceded by a chairman’s briefing at 5.30pm