Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Nikos Souslous.

If a Councillor has a disclosable pecuniary interest in a particular item, whether or not it is entered in the Authority’s register of interests, or any other significant interest which they consider should be declared in the public interest, they should declare the existence and, unless it is a sensitive interest as defined in the Member Code of Conduct, the nature of the interest at the commencement of the consideration of that item or as soon as it becomes apparent.

At meetings where members of the public are allowed to be in attendance and speak, any Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest or other significant interest may also make representations, give evidence or answer questions about the matter. The Councillor must then withdraw immediately from the meeting before the matter is discussed and any vote taken.

Where Members of the public are not allowed to be in attendance and speak, then the Councillor with a disclosable pecuniary interest should withdraw from the meeting whilst the matter is under consideration. Councillors who have declared other significant interests should also withdraw from the meeting if they consider their continued participation in the matter would not be reasonable in the circumstances and may give rise to a perception of a conflict of interest.

Councillors are not obliged to withdraw from the meeting where a dispensation to that effect has been obtained from the Standards Committee.

There were no declarations of interest.

To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as an accurate record and note any outstanding actions.

The minutes of the meeting held on 11 December 2023 were agreed as an accurate record.

This report provides an update on the overall preparation and proposals for the 2024/25 revenue budget, risks, financial resilience, and the impact of those proposals. The report also sets out the budget proposals for the services covered by the Policy and Oversight Board and provides an update on any proposed changes in fees and charges.

Corporate Budget

Councillor Rowan Ree (Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform) introduced proposals for the 2024/25 revenue budget – including the risks, financial resilience, and impact of those proposals.

Councillor Ree noted that it had been a difficult time for local government, with Central Government grant reductions and high inflation, but despite the constraints, the Council had delivered a balanced budget that protected core services and continued funding for the areas that were unique to the borough such as free home care, universal free school breakfasts, and the Law Enforcement Team. He said this had been achieved through ruthless financial efficiency and reforming how services were delivered. He thanked Sukvinder Kalsi, the finance team, officers across departments, and his Cabinet colleagues for making that possible.

Sukvinder Kalsi (Strategic Director of Finance) gave a short presentation on the corporate budget. He highlighted the following:

• The difficulties of the operating environment including high inflation, pressures on household budgets, new legislative burdens, and uncertainty around local government funding.
• The key objectives of the financial plan were to protect statutory services, deliver services valued by residents, ensure people’s safety, promote prosperity, and be a modern and innovative Council with strong financial governance and resilience.
• That council tax would increase by 4.99%, but an estimated 93,000 households in the borough would not pay the full amount due to discounts and exemptions.

Councillor Helen Rowbottom asked how great the risk of the unexpected increase in inflation reported in December was to the budget proposals. Councillor Ree said high inflation had made setting the budget more difficult, but contingencies had been built into the budget to mitigate its impacts – including funding for 3% pay inflation and 5% price inflation.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler asked for reassurance around the Council’s reserves. She also asked how much reserves were being used to support revenue budgets. Councillor Ree said reserves were used to smooth out spending over longer periods and acted as a ‘rainy day’ fund. He noted that the Council had topped up general reserves last year.

Councillor Natalia Perez asked about the impact of the Government’s Household Support Fund ending in March and if a replacement had been announced. Councillor Ree said this was indicative of the chaotic way the Government dealt with council finances. He explained that Councils had been told there may be some money in the Spring Budget, but no further information would be available until 6 March, which made it impossible to plan ahead.

The Chair asked for more information about how the Government’s approach to council finances hindered financial planning. Councillor Ree explained that the Council only received the final financial settlement from Central Government on 18 December. He noted that it used to be provided in November and it covered multiple years, but for the last six years they had only provided one-year settlements. The Council started planning its budget four years in advance but had to use projections and worst-case scenarios in lieu of any certainty from Central Government. He said  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

This report provides an update on the implementation of the voter ID requirements of the Elections Act 2022. It sets out the key findings from reports published by the Electoral Commission and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, and provides further details of activities being undertaken to support residents to vote.

The Chair introduced the item, noting that with Mayoral and GLA elections in May and a General Election on the horizon the Board wanted to ensure the Council was doing everything possible to include and encourage people to take part in the democratic process.

Zoe Wilkins (Electoral Services Manager) presented the report that provided an update to the previous report to the Board on 20 June 2023 on the implementation of voter ID. The report set out the key findings from reports published by the Electoral Commission and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities, and provided further details of activities undertaken to support residents to vote.

Councillor Victoria Brocklebank-Fowler asked if the Council was prepared for the upcoming elections. She also noted that there would be a national voter ID advertising campaign and suggested putting local information in the Council Tax leaflet in April. Zoe Wilkins said the Council was prepared and noted that there would be a page in the Council Tax booklet explaining the new voting requirements.

The Chair asked about funding and what else the Council could do to make people aware of the new voting requirements. Zoe Wilkins said a national campaign run through the Electoral Commission started on 8 January. The GLA would also be doing their own advertising. The Council had received £19,747 for communications but could re-allocate small amounts if necessary.

Councillor Rowan Ree (Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform) said 14,000 people were denied the vote at the first election run under the new voter ID rules and £20k of funding for publicity was not adequate. He felt the Government needed to do a lot more to promote such a major change.

Councillor Jacolyn Daly noted the Electoral Commission reported at least 14,000 were stopped from voting and it was likely more were put off completely. There were also changes to postal voting from 2 May 2023. She said it was difficult to communicate two separate complex changes. Zoe Wilkins added that there were also changes for overseas voters and agreed that there was a lot of complex information to get across to people. She said they were ensuring staff were well trained on the changes and were trying to communicate with residents via as many channels as possible.

Councillor Helen Rowbottom noted that John Pullinger, Chair of the Electoral Commission, had expressed concerns about the voter ID scheme, calling the rules ‘very, very tight’ and that the need for photo ID disproportionally impacted disabled people, unemployed people, and other under-represented groups- who were more likely to vote for the Labour party. She said nationally 2% of voters had no voter ID which would equate to 3,709 people in Hammersmith & Fulham. Councillor Ree said it was ‘a solution in search of a problem’.

Councillor Natalia Perez asked what lessons had been learned at the local level to help engage people. She also asked about the role of the voluntary sector and community groups. Zoe Wilkins said leaflet had had gone  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5.

For the Board to discuss future items for inclusion in the work programme.

The draft work programme for 2024 was presented for discussion and noting. Councillor Helen Rowbottom asked that an item on generative artificial intelligence be scheduled for the next meeting.

Members requested an update on Voter ID at the July meeting, incorporating feedback from the May elections.

RESOLVED

1. That the Board noted the draft work programme for 2024 and suggested any additions or amendments.

To note the following dates of future meetings:

·       29 Apr 2024

The date of the next meeting, scheduled for 29 April 2024, was noted.