Agenda item - Budget Scrutiny Feedback

Report of the Director of Strategy and Governance

86.1    The Overview and Scrutiny Commission considered feedback on the scrutiny of budget proposals 2010-2011 and commented on the budget scrutiny processes for this year.

86.2    Members stated that officers had been helpful in providing budget information in good time to specially convened meetings of each of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees. Scrutiny comments had been taken into account in the final budget papers and this also was a positive step compared with 2009 – 2010 budget scrutiny.

86.3    It was acknowledged that the adverse weather in January had caused disruption to some of the budget scrutiny meetings.

86.4Members asked for early information to be available for the 2011/12 budget and noted that budget scrutiny meetings might need to be arranged accordingly.

86.5A key recommendation from OSC had been for Equalities Impact Assessments to be carried out for future budget rounds.

86.6    It was noted that services were increasingly being provided from pooled budgets and strategic commissioning; for the future, it was requested that scrutiny of budget processes for partnership organisations be included in scrutiny work programmes.

86.6RESOLVED; (1) the improved process for scrutinising budget proposals 2010-2011 be  welcomed

(2)       budget scrutiny in  future be extended to partner organisations.