Members considered a report that sought
approval of:
-
the wording of the Letter of Representation (as set
out in Appendix A of the presented agenda report);
-
the audited Statement of Accounts for the financial
year ended 31 March 2019 (as detailed in Appendix B of the
presented agenda report); and
-
the Annual Governance Statement post audit (as outlined at Appendix
C to the presented agenda report).
In debate, particular reference was made
to:-
(a)
the
development of local Town Centre
Strategies. The Committee was informed
that the development of the local Strategies would be a key piece
of work for the Director of Place and Enterprise when the role was
appointed to in the autumn;
(b)
the
financial future of the Council. The Section 151 Officer confirmed that Negative
Revenue Support Grant had been factored into the forecasted budget
gap of £470,000 for 2020 onwards;
(c)
the
Development Management Performance
Indicators. A Member repeated his
previous concerns that the current Development Management
performance measures were not fit for purpose. In making the point that the reference to being
‘on or above target’ was only due to the prior
agreement of time extensions, the Member felt that the measures
should be subject to review. Officers
advised that they were currently reviewing the current corporate
approach to performance measures and the
importance of Members expressing their views (and the subsequent
need for Member training) was recognised.
It was then:
RESOLVED
That the Committee approve:-
1.
the wording of the Letter of Representation (as set
out in Appendix A of the presented agenda report);
2.
the audited Statement of Accounts for the financial
year ended 31 March 2019 (as detailed in Appendix B of the
presented agenda report); and
3.
the
Annual Governance Statement post audit (as outlined
at Appendix C of the presented agenda report).