Agenda and minutes

Members are reminded that this meeting will be audio-recorded.

The meeting was held using Skype for Business and in accordance with the Remote Meeting Rules. The Director of Governance and Commissioning confirmed how participants were connected to the meeting and how it would be broadcast. He also mentioned how the meeting would be monitored throughout.

Members were reminded that the meeting would be audio-recorded.

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor James Nicholas.

To receive any announcements that the Chair wishes to make prior to the commencement of the formal business of the meeting.

The Chair advised that the Brigade Managers Pay & Performance Committee had met on 28^th January and after a rigorous selection process had appointed Alex Waller as the new Deputy Chief Fire Officer for Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service.

Members are reminded that the Members’ Code of Conduct requires the disclosure of Statutory Disclosable Pecuniary Interests, Non-Statutory Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and Disclosable Non-Pecuniary Interests.

The Chair stated that he understood that Members were likely to have an interest in Item 3 – Members’ Allowances Scheme 2021-22 and Item 6 – Draft Budget 2021-22, Council Tax Precept and Medium Term Financial Plan. Dispensations had been granted to Members to allow them to take part in the debates and vote on each item. Members were asked to indicate if they did not agree with the Chair’s understanding. No Member disagreed. Therefore, all Members were taken to have interests in Items 3 and 6 with the intention to take part in the debates and votes (relying upon the dispensations).

To receive any questions submitted, in accordance with procedure rules 4.47 to 4.54 by members of the public within the area covered by the Fire Authority.

There were no questions submitted.

To confirm as a correct record the minutes of the Fire Authority Meeting held on 9^th December 2020.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Fire Authority meeting held on 9^th December 2020 be approved as a correct record.

To receive, for information, the minutes of the Governance and Constitution Committee meeting held on 27^th January 2021.

The recommendation in the minute for Item 2 is covered in Item 3 on this Agenda.

The recommendation in the minute for Item 2 was considered in Item 3 on the agenda (see below).

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Governance and Constitution Committee held on 27^th January 2021 be noted.

To receive, for information, the minutes of the Brigade Managers’ Pay and Performance Committee meeting held on 25^th and 28^th January 2021.

RESOLVED:

That the minutes of the Brigade Managers’ Pay and Performance Committee held on 25^th and 28^th January 2021 be noted.

To receive, for information, the notes of the Member Training and Development Group meeting held on 8^th December 2020.

RESOLVED:

That the notes of the Member Training and Development Group held on 8^th December 2020 be noted.

To receive, for information, the notes of the Local Pension Board – Firefighters Pension Scheme meeting held on 14^th January 2021.

RESOLVED:

That the notes of the Local Pension Board – Firefighters’ Pension Scheme held on 14^th January 2021 be noted.

The Director of Transformation presented the report which sought approval to publish the Pay Policy Statement for 2021-22, attached as Appendix 1 to the report. 

Members were advised that, under the Localism Act 2011, all local authorities were required to publish a pay policy statement on an annual basis.  The document set out the Authority’s policies for the financial year relating to the remuneration of its Chief Officers, the remuneration of its lowest paid employees, and the relationship between the pay of Chief Officers and that of other employees. The requirement was intended to increase transparency and accountability, and to give local people access to information to allow them to determine whether pay is appropriate.

Paragraphs 9-18 of the report provided an overview of changes to the Pay Policy Statement since it was previously approved in February 2020.  Changes included: the Service’s new Brigade Manager structure; increased employer contribution rates for the firefighter pension schemes; the Living Wage being reviewed and adjusted every October; and the introduction of the Public Sector Exit Payment Regulations .

The Director of Transformation referred Members to two known outstanding issues pertaining to pay in the report that could necessitate changes to the Pay Policy Statement during the course of the financial year 2021/22.  The first issue concerned the national firefighter pay negotiations that remained outstanding and the second concerned the pay freeze that was only binding on parts of the public sector that were covered by the pay review bodies. 

Members were asked to authorise the Director of Transformation, in conjunction with the Director of Governance and Commissioning, to make any necessary in-year changes to the Pay Policy Statement as necessitated by new legislation or guidance.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Pay Policy Statement 2021-22, attached as Appendix 1 to the report, be approved; and

[2]       the Director of Transformation, in conjunction with the Director of Governance and Commissioning, be authorised to make any necessary in-year changes to the pay Policy Statement as necessitated by new legislation or guidance.

The Director of Governance and Commissioning presented a report which sought approval of the Members’ Allowance Scheme for 2021-22.

Members were advised that a review of the Members’ Allowances Scheme had recently been concluded.  It was overseen by the Governance and Constitution Committee and a copy of the report considered by the Committee at its meeting on 27^th January 2021 was attached as Appendix 2 to the report.  This included a report from the independent reviewer (a member of a local independent remuneration panel). 

The Members’ Allowances Scheme 2021-22, as recommended by Governance and Constitution Committee, was attached as Appendix 1 to the report.  The Scheme was substantially the same as the existing scheme.  The independent reviewer commented in her report upon the number of Member Champions and recommended that a review should take place within 12 months so that the Fire Authority could ‘consider whether each of the Member Champion roles is necessary and satisfy itself that each provides a meaningful benefit’.  This was accepted by the Governance and Constitution Committee which planned to oversee the review.

RESOLVED: That

[1]       the Members’ Allowance Scheme for 2021-22 as set out in Appendix 1 to the report be approved; and

[2]       a review of the Member Champion roles be concluded by the Governance and Constitution Committee within the next 12 months.

The Policy and Transformation Officer presented a reported which provided feedback from the 2020-21 Precept Survey regarding the proposed increase to the Authority’s precept for 2021-22 financial year.

Members were reminded that the Authority was required to consult on its precept for the forthcoming financial year. Given the recent approval and publication of the latest Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP), covering the period to 2024, there was no requirement to consult on the IRMP this year. Therefore, it was decided to undertake a survey that focussed exclusively on a proposal to increase the Council Precept for 2021-22.

The survey was launched on 21^st December 2020 and closed on 28^th January 2021. This was the period between the announcement of the Local Government Financial Settlement and the preparation of the budget papers. Given the restrictions in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic all engagement around the survey was undertaken using online methods only.

The survey received a total of 484 responses and of these 475 were from residents of Cheshire. A copy of the 2021-22 Precept Survey Results Information Pack was attached at appendix 1 of the report. The report provided a demographic profile of respondents and lists all the comments received via the survey.

RESOLVED: That:

[1]       the report be noted and the feedback considered when determining the Council Tax precept during Item 6 – Draft Budget 2021-22, Council Tax Precept and Medium Term Financial Plan (see below).

The Head of Finance presented the report which sought approval of the Treasury Management Strategy 2021-22 (the Strategy). This was a requirement of guidance issued by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG), the CIPFA Treasury Management Code and the CIPFA Prudential Code.  It also assisted the Authority in showing its compliance with requirements contained in the Local Government Act 2003.

The Strategy comprised of four main elements, namely:-

-       Capital Expenditure Plans and Prudential Indicators

-       Borrowing Strategy and Prudential Limits

-       Annual Investment Strategy

-       Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement

The Head of Finance referred Members to Table 7, the operational boundary and Table 8, the authorised limit for external debt. These were the two key prudential indicators that set the maximum limit for external debt based on the capital programme and the current borrowing requirements. The  authorised limit in Table 8 could not be exceeded.

A Member made reference to the Government Capital Funding arrangements which ceased a number of years ago and sought clarity about the impact of the withdrawal of capital funding. In response, the Head of Finance confirmed that the Service used to receive Government funding each year for capital programmes.  However, this stopped a number of years ago. The Service could now only apply for specific grant funding and at this time, there were no programmes open. Therefore, the Service had to be self-sufficient in funding any capital programmes.

A Member queried the period of the new operational training centre being written off.  He understood this to be over a 25 year period and asked whether the loan would be paid off within this period.  In response, the Head of Finance confirmed that this was a normal period of time before significant reinvestment or rebuild was required. Longer periods could be applied.  However, due to the use of the operational training centre it was deemed that 25 years was an appropriate lifespan.  The repayment would be at the conclusion of the 25 years and funding would be set aside so when the loan matured the funds would be available to repay the loan.

RESOLVED: That:

[1]       the Treasury Management Strategy 2021-22 be approved; and

[2]       the Authority’s Prudential Indicators including the Authorised Limits (Appendix 1 to the report, paragraph 5.2.7) be approved.

The Treasurer presented a report which sought Members’ approval for the Authority’s budget for 2021-22, the Authority’s precept, as required by law, for 2021-22 and its Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) for 2021-26.

The Authority was required to approve its budget and set the Council Tax precept for the financial year commencing 1^st April 2021. The Authority was required to take into account Government funding, precept regulations and organisational demands.  This requirement was supported by the production of a MTFP with the annual budget forming the first year of the MTFP.  The creation and maintenance of the MTFP was fundamental in promoting good financial planning and delivery of value for money. The MTFP was Appendix 1 to the report.

Members had considered the Authority’s financial position at their Planning Session on 15^th January 2021 where they had the opportunity to challenge the assumptions and proposals being put forward by officers as part of the draft budget and MTFP. 

The Treasurer reported that the report followed a similar format to those that had been presented in previous years. The current and ongoing impact of Covid-19 made it much more difficult to forward plan with the usual level of relative confidence. The report attempted to summarise the current understanding of the impact of Covid-19. However, a range of factors could alter the situation and it would be important to regularly return to check assumptions and financial performance to enable financial plans to be reviewed and updated as the impact of Covid-19 becomes clear.

The 2021-22 budget proposals were based on the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2021-22, a one-year settlement. The Settlement included Council Tax Referendum Principles that allow for an increase in council tax of up to 2%, without triggering a local referendum. If Members were to agree an increase of 1.99% in the council tax, this would generate an additional £646k council tax income compared to 2020-21, based on the tax bases of Band D equivalent properties. When other elements of funding were included such as revenue support grant and business rate income - the overall net revenue budget would increase by £1.37m compared to the previous year, including two one-off grants totalling £2.48m. 

Members were referred to Table 2: Construction of Proposed 2021-22 Revenue Budget within the report which showed the proposed adjustments to the revenue budget. The increase in funding of £1.372m would not be sufficient to balance the budget and therefore savings proposals of £0.499m had been identified to ensure that planned spending matched the level of proposed resources. The proposals represent a balanced budget of £46.203m for 2021-22. The proposed increase in council tax of 1.99% would result in a Band D precept of £80.87: an increase of £1.58 (or 3p per week) for a Band D property.  Should Members wish to propose a council tax precept increase of less than the 1.99%, further savings would be required in order to balance the budget.

Members were referred to Appendix 2A of the report which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.