Issue - meetings

The Chair welcomed Neil Kissock, Director of Finance; and Khadija Saeed, Head of Corporate Finance, to the meeting.

The report presented an update on the actions taken by officers in response to the Internal Scrutiny Committee task group recommendations for income generation in support of the council achieving financial sustainability.

The task group had recommended that consideration could be given to exploring and undertaking feasibility studies in the following areas:

·  Traded services

·  Statutory and non-statutory services

·  Property portfolio

·  Commercialisation

Members felt that part of the problem in trying to increase income generation was the lack of capacity needed to market opportunities within the county council due to staffing reductions over the years. .  In terms of the service challenge it was important to ask every service what was required regarding additional investment.

The committee suggested that a new task and finish group could be set up with a broader remit, still working within the right parameters and linked to the External Scrutiny Committee looking at issues such as low carbon technology, and the commercialisation of Lancashire County Council's land and site usage.

Regarding capital receipts, the committee was informed that over the last three years Lancashire County Council had invested a significant amount of capital receipts in terms of setting the budget. Flexibility for this investment was to be extended by central government for another two years. Within the MTFS Lancashire County Council was assuming £15m of capital receipts would be generated and spent on areas identified in the budget report. If these capital receipts were not generated the county council would need to fund it from its reserves.

Resolved: The Internal Scrutiny Committee;

  i.  Note the progress detailed in the report.

  ii.  Consider setting up a task and finish group between the Internal Scrutiny Committee and the External Scrutiny Committee looking at a broader remit including low carbon technology and the county council's land and site usage.