The Finance, Policy and Resources Committee met to discuss the allocation of community infrastructure levy funds, review complaints, consider debt management, and address budget monitoring. The committee approved recommendations for community fund allocations, noted reports on complaints and infrastructure funding, and discussed the potential impact of the government's Fair Funding Review.

• Richmond Community Fund Round 6
• Corporate Complaints Report for 2024/25
• Infrastructure Funding Statement 2024/25
• Fair Funding Review 2.0
• Management and Collection of Debts
• Corporate Q2 Quarterly Monitoring
• Additional Budget Requests
• Committee Work Programme

Richmond Community Fund Round 6

The committee approved the recommended allocation of grants under round six of the Community Fund, totaling £1,108,451, fully funded by Neighbourhood Community Infrastructure Levy (NCIL) contributions. They also approved a positive revenue budget addition of the same amount for 2025/26, also fully funded by NCIL contributions. The committee delegated authority to the Assistant Chief Executive to make any necessary final minor adjustments to amounts awarded and agreed to open a supplementary round of the Community Fund programme in January 2026 for Ham and Petersham only.

The Richmond Community Fund allocates funds collected from the neighbourhood element of the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) to spend on local priorities which address the 'demand that development places on an area'. The council received 31 applications at the expression of interest stage, with 22 invited to submit a full application.

Appendix A of the Public reports pack contains a summary of grant recommendations, including advice and guidance for organisations.

Corporate Complaints Report for 2024/25

The committee approved a recommendation to note the Corporate Complaints Report for 2024/25, along with associated appendices. The report provides statistics, learning, and context to the complaints received and closed by Richmond Council for all services during the year.

The report (Public reports pack) noted that the council closed 352 complaints, a 3% decrease from the previous year. Of these, 43% were not upheld, 28% were upheld, and 27% were partly upheld. The most raised issue of complaint was 'service delay or failure', raised in 53% of complaints.

The report also provided examples of learning from complaints, such as:

• Prioritising proactive contract monitoring and enhancing communication with residents in Environment and Community Services (ECS).
• Implementing officer training and software for routine Council Tax enquiries in Finance.
• Focusing on transparent communication and regular updates for housing applicants in the Housing and Regeneration Directorate.

Infrastructure Funding Statement 2024/25

The committee approved the publication of the Infrastructure Funding Statement (IFS) for 2024/25 on the council's website and delegated authority to the Executive Director of Finance to republish the statement if modifications are required. The IFS details Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) and Section 106¹ receipts, allocations, and expenditure within the financial year. The committee also committed to lobbying the Government to safeguard the Community Infrastructure Levy, given its vital role in supporting local infrastructure and delivering community benefit.

The report (Public reports pack) noted that the total CIL received in the financial year 2024/25 was £1.95 million. In 2024/25, there was £2.2 million of Strategic CIL expenditure and £488,205 of NCIL expenditure.

Fair Funding Review 2.0

The committee approved a recommendation to note the potential impact of the Government’s Fair Funding Review² and the public affairs work the council has undertaken to campaign for a fairer outcome for Richmond.

The report (Public reports pack) noted that Richmond is forecast to lose up to 91% of its grant funding, the largest proportion of any local authority nationally. The report also outlined the council's lobbying efforts, which included direct engagement with the MHCLG and participation in wider London lobbying efforts.

Management and Collection of Debts

The committee approved a recommendation to note the action taken by services to manage debt and to support those who are struggling to pay, note the write offs under delegated authority, of debts totalling £4,261,938, and approve the write off of 2 debts relating to Sundry Accounts to the value of £156,787.

The report (Public reports pack) detailed action taken by the Executive Director of Finance in writing off debts under delegated authority during the last year, 2024/25 and sought approval to write off those uncollectable debts which fell outside of that authority. The delegated authority covers all debts with a value of less than £25,000.

Corporate Q2 Quarterly Monitoring

The committee approved a recommendation to note that the current projected overspend on the General Fund overall is £3.885m, note the overall current projected overspend for the remit of this Committee is £327,000, made up of a £551,000 overspend relating to service delivery budgets and a £225,000 underspend relating to Central Items, and note the latest position on the capital programme.

The report (Public reports pack) provided an overview of revenue and capital budget management and summarised the actions being taken where appropriate. The report noted that the overall position is largely due to continuing pressures in homelessness costs, contributing £2m to the overspend, and a £0.8m increase in demand-led Children Looked After (CLA) placement costs, contributing £1.3m to the overall overspend position.

Councillor Niki Crookdake asked why an additional £1.6 million deficit on the Dedicated Schools Grant³ (DSG) was not appearing in education committee papers, nor in finance committee papers. Councillor Jim Millard, Deputy Leader and Finance and Resources Lead Member, responded that the dedicated schools grant budget is not included within the council's general fund, and the papers in front of the committee were specifically talking about the general fund. He added that there is an update to Children's Committee on the DSG, and that the issue would be reflected in the medium-term financial strategy.

Additional Budget Requests

The committee approved the funding of those items listed in paragraph 3.1 from the central contingency budget or other sources as specified. This included approving £1,108,451 for the Richmond Community Fund Round 6, funded by NCIL funding.

Committee Work Programme

The committee approved a recommendation to note the contents of the Committee Work Programme.