1.     Pursuant to Paragraph 11 of the Council Procedure Rules the following question was put by Mr Bernard Brown and answered by Councillor Dixon.

Question: A Question on the Corporate Plan

In late May 2022 a Freedom of Information request was submitted asking for a comparison between target and achievement of 14 priority objectives for the elapsed period to 31 March 2022. The response given by the Council showed the following:

Of the 14 targets from the Corporate Plan only three had been achieved.  None of the targets for Cost savings / reductions or revenue increases had been achieved.

Is it accepted this is an unacceptably high failure rate which means the true Financial Stability of the Council has been allowed to drift into an increasingly dangerous state?

What specific steps will the Administration take to rectify this failing performance by 31 March 2023?

Answer: I totally reject the statement that the “true financial stability of the Council has been allowed to drift into an increasingly dangerous state”.  Members and officers of this Council have been working hard post COVID-19 to deliver the required savings, along with ensuring that we promote and invest in the economic activity of the district.  We are confident that the steps being taken will deliver a budget that removes reliance on reserves and in fact returns money to reserves by the timescale referred to in the Corporate Plan.  No one has ever stated this would be an easy or quick process.

For clarity, the Corporate Plan is a dynamic document and from time to time it will be necessary to change targets and deadlines.  It is linked to the Medium Term Financial Plan, which is also a live document, and is periodically reviewed for affordability. The next review will take place in the next few weeks and reported to Members in the autumn as part of the budget setting process. The Corporate Programme Board, made up of Officers and Members also meets regularly to review progress of both the Corporate Plan progress and the Financial Stability Programme.

As Mr Brown is aware from the answer given to his question at the full Council meeting in January, it would have been very easy to simply stop delivering services, make more staff redundant and slash expenditure to meet our financial targets.  We specifically chose not to do that and instead want to protect services that local people value and want to see continued.  As stated previously and in line with Cabinet decisions, the way we are doing this is through discussion with our Town Councils and the outcome of these discussions will be reported through the democratic process later this year.  Cabinet has already agreed a ‘Plan B’ if these discussions are not successful.

Furthermore, through the Council’s regeneration investment there will be income streams coming on-line this year that will further contribute towards the financial stability of this Council in the long term. 

Supplementary Oral Question: Thank you, Madam Chairman

Any organisation with more than 65% of targets unmet is risking being a failing organisation.  This is reflected beyond the Corporate Plan as exampled by delivery failures with Glyne Gap Roundabout; PSC, SLA and External Director issues at Rother Housing and a progress report required by resolution to Overview and Scrutiny in early 2022 on the Town Hall Project.  None of which have been delivered.

The Corporate Plan is a dynamic plan, a living plan but here that means if you fail to meet your targets, just change them, no explanation required.  That is not planning, it is the stuff of fairy tales and financial nightmares.  Councillor Dixon refers to his January answer ignoring that it is his administration’s freely set policy and targets not being met. 

So, I specifically ask again, how will the overall financial targets be met when there is a £2m deficit in the savings target? 

Answer: Thank you Mr. Brown for your question, even though I think it is the same question that you asked and the original question so I am not really sure what more I can add to that except that savings are ongoing.  I will repeat again, for several meetings I have said the same thing.  We have had an issue at the Council with the removal of Government grants, just like all councils have across the country and these discussions are happening in every council chamber across the country because every council is in the same position.  I refer back, because I have to, to 2011 to 2015 where this Council did not put up its Council Tax and that has caused us to have currently a £88,000 per year shortage in its income, we would have had £7.9 million pounds more in income in that period.  We have also had the Biffa issue of a million pounds extra that we have to pay, so these things are all long-term and have caused over a long-term and will be fixed over a long-term.  Your reference to the 31 March 2023 seems a little arbitrary.  These are issues that are going to go on longer than that and actually, probably for years and years.  All get used to the new regime of councils not having any grants from the Government and as I said there is going to be an awful lot of councils that are in an awful lot worse position.  Thank you.