City Governance Committee - 04/12/2023

At a MEETING of the CITY GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE held remotely on 4th December, 2023.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Councillor John ALEXANDER, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 20th November, 2023 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I DECLARATION OF INTEREST

There were no declarations of interest.

II COUNCIL PLAN MID-YEAR PROGRESS REPORT

There was submitted Report No 324-2023 by the Chief Executive, providing the Committee with a mid-year update showing progress so far during 2023/2024, being Year 2 of five-year plan.

The Committee noted the progress being made and remitted the report to the Scrutiny Committee for further consideration.

III CAPITAL EXPENDITURE MONITORING 2023/2024

There was submitted Report No 352-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, appraising the Committee of the latest position regarding the Council's Capital Plan 2023/2028.

The Committee noted the latest position regarding the Council's Capital Plan 2023/2028.

IV REVENUE MONITORING 2023/2024

There was submitted Report No 351-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, providing the Committee with an analysis of the 2023/2024 projected revenue outturn as at 30th September, 2023 and the impact on the Councils overall balances position.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note that as at 30th September, 2023, the General Fund was projecting an overall overspend of 1.391m against the adjusted 2023/2024 Revenue Budget and the impact this had on the projected Councils General Fund Balances;

(ii) to note the budget adjustments totalling 12.104m and detailed in second column of Appendix A to the report as virements to the previously approved Revenue Budget;

(iii) to note that as at 30th September 2023, the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) was projecting an overspend of 1.000m against the adjusted HRA 2023/2024 Revenue Budget and the impact this had on the element of the projected Renewal and Repair Fund balance earmarked to HRA;

(iv) to note the position on ring-fenced grants expenditure outlined in Appendix B to the report;

(v) to note that the Chief Executive, in consultation with Executive Directors, would continue to take appropriate steps to manage current and recurring revenue expenditure, including reviewing all vacancies within the Council, reduce discretionary expenditure where possible and limit any new recurring commitments. Executive Directors would work with Corporate Finance to develop recovery plans to identity options to reduce the projected in year overspend;

(vi) to note the key strategic, operational and financial risks being faced by the Council outlined in Appendix C to the report; and

(vii) to note the current position in relation to Leisure and Culture Dundee (LACD), as set out in paragraph 7.3 to the report and authorise the Chief Executive to extend the financial support provided to LACD by the Council to 30th June, 2024 should this be necessary.

V COMMUNICATION STRATEGY 2022/2027 - UPDATE

There was submitted Report No 347-2023 by the Chief Executive, giving an update on progress during 2022/2023 on the Councils Communication Strategy 2022/2027 and associated Action Plan.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to note the progress being made on the strategy; and

(ii) the 2023/2024 Action Plan in Appendix 3 to the report.

VI DUNDEE ADVICE STRATEGY - UPDATE

There was submitted Report No 355-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, which referred to Report No 164-2022 which was submitted to the Policy and Resources Committee on 27th June, 2022 and gave an update on the progress of the advice strategy in Dundee covering the work of Dundee City Council Advice Services (DCAS), Dundee CAB (CAB), Brooksbank Centre and Services (Brooksbank), SCARF and Aberlour. This report covered operational developments and, where available, the latest documented outputs and outcomes for each area of work. It also demonstrated how these interventions had mitigated some of the worst impacts of the cost-of-living crisis for those with the least financial resources living in Dundee.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to the Dundee Advice Strategy annual update for 2023;

(ii) to over 15.1 million of financial gains for clients secured by Dundee Advice Strategy Partners; and

(iii) to the initial draft Advice Strategy actions proposed for 2024 as set out in Section 5 of the report.

VII SECONDARY SCHOOL SERVERS

There was submitted Report No 340-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, considering the purchase of new servers for secondary schools.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to the Council purchasing eight new servers for secondary schools; and

(ii) to remit the Head of Customer Services and IT to purchase new servers for secondary schools, following a compliant procurement process as detailed in the report.

VIII IT DESKTOP TRANSFORMATION

There was submitted Report No 364-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services, gaining approval for the procurement of licenses, hardware and services for a project to deliver a new platform for managing and delivering Council corporate applications and desktops.

The Committee agreed:-

(i) to the purchase of software licenses, hardware and services for a new platform to securely deliver applications and desktops to all Council staff; and

(ii) to the procurement strategy detailed in the report and note the outcome of this would be presented to Committee for approval.

IX PROVISION OF INSURANCE COVERS

There was submitted Report No 341-2023 by the Executive Director of Corporate Services providing an update on the tender process per Report No 236-2023 for the Provision of Insurance Covers and to seek final approval for the award of contracts, for the 2024/2031 Insured and Self-Insured arrangements.

The Committee agreed:

(i) to note the outcome of the procurement exercise summarised in the report;

(ii) to approve the award of the contracts to various insurers as detailed at paragraph 4.3 to the report;

(iii) to delegate authority to the Executive Director of Corporate Services to award contracts for Engineering Inspection, Fine Art, Marine and Personal Accident Insurance; and

(iv) to note that a report would come back to members for approval after the third year of the contract detailing whether the contract was to be extended.

John ALEXANDER, Convener.