Dorset Council’s Cabinet will meet at South Walks House, Dorchester on Tuesday 5 November at 10am. Members of the public are welcome to attend. The agenda has been published online today.
The following important issues will be discussed:
Quarter 2 budget report
An update to the Cabinet on Dorset Council’s financial position and forecasts at the end of the second quarter of the financial year. The council is now forecast to overspend by £8.2m on its revenue budgets and £6.5m on the schools’ budget – a deterioration on the position at the end of the last quarter. This is largely the result of growing demand for adults and children’s social care, and for educational support for children with special needs and disabilities – which the council has a legal duty to provide. Cllr Spencer Flower, Leader of Dorset Council, continues to lobby central government for fairer funding.
Financial savings resulting from the creation of Dorset Council (replacing five borough and district councils and the county council) are on track, with over £5m reduction in costs this financial year.
The council is also working on its medium-term financial plan to develop a sustainable base budget for 2020-21 and beyond. This will be supported by a new transformation programme, identifying new ways of delivering council services (for instance, with greater use of digital technology) to meet the needs of Dorset residents while enabling the council to live within its means.
Procurement of banking services
Recommends moving to a single provider of banking services for Dorset Council. The predecessor councils to Dorset Council all had different providers of banking services. The expected value of the contract over its eight-year life is likely to be approximately £1.2 million.
Procurements of over £5m: gas and electricity
The paper recommends a means of procuring gas and electricity for Dorset Council and its partners (including schools) which is cost effective and manages the risk of change in the gas and electricity market. The proposed procurement also includes flexibility for the council to take a range of potential actions that could reduce carbon emissions further in future, should it decide to at a later date.
Transforming Cities Bid
Dorset Council and BCP Council are bidding jointly with the Department for Transport for between £73m and £117m of funding for a network of pedestrian and cycle routes and bus journey time improvements in southeast Dorset, through the national Transforming Cities Fund.
Temporary agency staff and consultants procurement
Asking approval for the council to procure specialist skills and expertise from temporary agency staff and consultants as required over the next four years, in line with procurement regulations. The council aims to minimise use of temporary agency staff and consultants, but recognises there are occasions when specialist skills or expertise, which do not exist within the council’s own workforce, are required or where time restraints require external capacity.
People strategy
Recommendation that Dorset Council adopts a new ‘people strategy’, outlining the plans to achieve its ambition to be an ‘employer of choice’ – fulfilling workforce potential and supporting the recruitment and retention of employees.
Dorset Council draft transformation plan 2020-2024
This report presents the draft transformation plan and recommends that a fund of £5m is provided as investment in new projects within the council which will transform services and ultimately reduce costs.
- The transformation plan aims to improve the services the council provides to residents while ensuring the council lives within its means in future. The plan has six themes:
- One council service reform – rethinking services with customers and partners
- Customer service – understanding customer experience and making services accessible
- Property and estate – delivering services in the right place by making best physical and financial use of the council’s estate
- Travel and transport – improving integrated travel options for residents of all ages and in all communities
- Employer of choice – maximising workforce potential, shaping culture and helping people adapt to, and engage in, change
- Efficient organisation – modernising the way the council works so it is leaner, and more digital and modern.
Also included in the report is an overview of the objectives, timescales, proposed budget, proposed governance structure and anticipated benefits of transformation.
Dorset Council’s response to the Landscapes Review Final Report (Glover Review)
An update to the Cabinet on the recent Landscapes Review (known as the Glover Review), commissioned by Government to look at the national network of Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONBs) and National Parks. The Government has not yet responded to the Review’s recommendations.
The recommendation in this report is that Dorset Council waits for the Government’s response and states that the council is not in a position to endorse the recommendations of the Landscapes Review or otherwise at this early stage.
Cross border Household Recycling Centre (HRC) use by Dorset residents
It is proposed to continue free access to Somerley recycling centre in Hampshire for Dorset Council residents, following negotiations with Hampshire County Council.
The report also provides an update on discussions with Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP) for continued free access to Millhams, Christchurch and Nuffield HRCs for Dorset Council residents from April 2020.
Grants to the voluntary and community sector
Officers are asking for approval from Cabinet to consult the voluntary and community sector (VCS) on a range of funding options for 2020-21, and to review the level of funding to the VCS for future years.
Dorset Council currently spends £1.8m funding the VCS in Dorset and recognises the valuable contribution this sector makes to local communities, particularly in terms of helping people early on when they are facing problems, before they reach crisis point.
Prior to the creation of Dorset Council on 1 April 2019, the previous councils provided various levels of funding for the sector with some areas benefiting more than others. The proposed review of VCS funding wants to address this inequality across the Dorset Council area and deliver some modest savings (between £0 and £160k) for the council’s 2020-21 budget.
