The Corporate Select Committee met to discuss the council's financial performance, procurement, and a revised strategy for empty properties. The committee reviewed the first quarter financial, performance, and procurement report, and recommended that the Executive approve the updated Empty Property Strategy and Enforced Sales Policy. Members also received an update on local government reorganisation in a closed session.

First Quarter Finance, Performance and Procurement Report

The committee reviewed the First Quarter Finance, Performance and Procurement Report, which included updates on the council's financial position, procurement activities, and overall performance.

Finance: The General Fund is provisionally forecast to underspend by £158,530. Efficiencies of £48,140 have been identified, with another £61,610 still to be found. The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) is forecast to be in deficit by £1,363,822, which is £293,722 more than anticipated. The General Fund Capital Programme is forecast to underspend by £1.156 million, while the HRA Programme is forecast to underspend by £1.63 million. Cash investments totalled £18.6 million, and external borrowing was £73.3 million. There is a forecast overspend of £147,800 on net interest costs. Collection rates for council tax and business rates were slightly lower than the previous year.

Procurement: 40 procurement activities were completed during the first quarter. The procurement forward plan includes 52 activities for completion or start in 2025/26. Procurement performance during the period was 96%.

Performance: 71% of key performance indicators were on track to be met, with 34% performing better than in the previous year. The council closed 77 complaints and received 79 comments, 19 MP comments, and 14 compliments.

The report detailed specific areas of underspending, including Regeneration (£312,610), Customer Services (£160,080), and Corporate Finance (£196,780). Overspending was projected in Environmental Health (£87,480) and Waste Collection (£174,790).

The committee scrutinised the report, and resolved to note the financial, procurement, and performance position, recommend that the Executive approve the proposed reserve movements, and note the carry forward of unspent capital budget.

Empty Property Strategy

The committee considered the updated Empty Property Strategy and Enforced Sales Policy, aiming to bring empty properties back into use. The objectives of the strategy include:

• Bringing empty properties back into use through advice, assistance, and support
• Using enforcement action for long-term, problematic empty homes
• Raising awareness of empty property issues
• Minimising the number of properties that become long-term empty
• Creating accurate information on empty properties
• Balancing new builds with the use of existing stock
• Discouraging anti-social behaviour and improving housing conditions

The strategy outlines options to deal with empty properties, including offering information on funding and working with owners to understand why a property is empty. The council has a dedicated Empty Homes Officer who works to implement the strategy.

The Enforced Sales Policy is to be used as an alternative to Compulsory Purchase Orders and Empty Dwelling Management Orders on vacant properties where a debt has been incurred by the council.

The committee recommended that the Executive approve the Empty Property Strategy and Enforced Sales Policy.

Local Government Reorganisation Update

The committee received a verbal update from the Leader on Local Government Reorganisation. This part of the meeting was closed to the press and public due to the discussion of exempt information.