Agenda and minutes

An apology was received from Deputy Philip Woodhouse.

There were no declarations.

To agree the public minutes of the meeting held on 30^th March 2021.

RESOLVED - That the public minutes of the meeting held on 30^th March 2021 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of The Town Clerk & Chief Executive and The Chamberlain.

The Sub-Committee received a Joint Report of the Town Clerk and the Chamberlain concerning the Target Operating Model “flightpath” savings.

After the Chamberlain provided an overview, there followed a discussion and several points were made.

In response to a query, the Chamberlain, whilst recognising the initial TOM costs of £6.6m, stressed that this was a one-off sum; the key focus will be on scoping out the permanent savings as part of our delivering on the 12% overall target; achieving this savings target (approx. £15m per annum) is vital to set the Corporation’s finances on a long term sustainable footing.   

The Chamberlain informed Members that the Fundamental Review savings was separate to the 12% savings target.

The Deputy Chairman remarked that the TOM work was core for the Sub-Committee over the upcoming year.

He added that the presentation in the Report could be sharper for future iterations; for instance, a barometer would be a useful illustrative device to indicate progress achieved and what still needs to be done.

Given that the savings targets have, ultimately, been set by the Town Clerk, the Deputy Chairman requested that the Town Clerk or a senior representative from the Town Clerk’s team (e.g. the COO) be invited to attend future meetings of the Efficiency & Performance Sub-Committee when TOM related papers are considered. The Chairman asked the Committee clerk to liaise with the Town Clerk on this point.

In response to a query, the Chamberlain confirmed that officer-to-officer accountability was robust. Departmental proposals went through the (the officer composed) Design Authority Board, the Chamberlain held regular meetings on progress with Chief Officers (and their senior teams) and the respective departmental Heads of Finance (and information was shared in a timely manner); in addition, the newly established Executive Board would be examining the departmental financial information as

There were no questions.

There were no items of urgent business.

MOTION - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

RESOLVED - That under Section 100(A) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Part I of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act.

To agree the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 30^th March 2021.

RESOLVED - That the non-public minutes of the meeting held on 30^th March 2021 be agreed as an accurate record.

Report of The Comptroller & City Solicitor.

The Sub-Committee received a Report of the Comptroller & City Solicitor.

There were no questions.

There was no other business.