Issue - meetings

Report number FIN256 by the Director of Finance and Strategic Resources.

                                                                                                            (attached)

DECISION: 

(1)     To recommend to Council that the Council re-score the Financial Services Function to at least a B priority, whilst amending Council Tax collection to a Y service;

(2)     To approve additional resources within the budget papers for 2006/7 to meet the harder test.

Considerations/Reasons for Decision:

(1)        Report number FIN256 by the Director of Finance and Strategic Resources which informed the Cabinet of the steps necessary to achieve an improved performance in the Use of Resources Assessment. The District Auditor had performed a dry run during 2005/6 on the “Use of Resources – Harder test”, the results of this dry run should be known by March 2006;

(2)        In order for the Council to achieve an excellent rating it would be  necessary for the Council to achieve a level 3 judgement. This was important for the following reasons:-

(i)            Excellent financial management is an underpinning building block of the organisations development towards the delivery of properties and effective corporate governance;

(ii)          The criteria for judgement mirror best practice, and it seems logical to use them for our internal assessment;

(iii)        The Council should want to demonstrate an excellent use of its resources to all stakeholders, especially in the current uncertainty surrounding local government structures;

(iv)        Excellent service provision needs to be supported by excellent financial management.          

Financial services was currently classified as a “Y” service. It was not possible to deliver the stepped changes necessary on the operational minimal levels that the current assessment dictates.