RESOLVED

That Cabinet

1).    agrees the proposed amendments to savings set out in Appendix 1 for consideration by scrutiny in November and incorporate the financial implications into the draft MTFS 2016-20.

2).    agrees the latest draft Capital Programme 2016-20 detailed in Appendix 3 for consideration by scrutiny in November and notes the indicative programme for 2021-25.

3).    considers and agrees the draft savings/income proposals (Appendix 4) and associated equalities analyses (Appendix 5) put forward by officers and refers them to the Overview and Scrutiny panels and Commission in November 2015 for consideration and comment.

The Deputy Leader and the Cabinet Member for Finance presented the Business

Plan 2016-2020. The report sets out an update on progress on the formulation of the Business Plan 2016-20, including identifying some initial savings/income proposals for consideration prior to them being referred to the Overview and Scrutiny Commission and its Panels for their in-depth consideration. It also details some proposed amendments to savings, including replacement savings, which have been approved previously agreed by Cabinet at its meeting on 14 September 2015, which would also be purposed to be sent to the Commission or its Panels for further scrutiny.  The report detailed the latest capital programme, including new bids and an indicative programme for 2021- 2025.

In presenting the report the Cabinet Member emphasised that the report was shaped in accordance with the Council’s ‘July principles,’ using a medium term budget strategy to be forwarding thinking in budget setting and achieving a balanced budget. It was noted that the Council need to make between £15-24 million in savings per year for the next four years, but that exact figure would be dependant on the outcome of the Government’s spending review.

Peray Ahmet (UNISON Branch Secretary), Terry Downs (GMB steward in Greenspaces) and Lyla Adwan-Kamara (Chief Executive of Merton Centre for Independent Living) addressed the meeting on this issue.

RESOLVED

That Cabinet

1).    agrees the proposed amendments to savings set out in Appendix 1 for consideration by scrutiny in November and incorporate the financial implications into the draft MTFS 2016-20.

2).    agrees the latest draft Capital Programme 2016-20 detailed in Appendix 3 for consideration by scrutiny in November and notes the indicative programme for 2021-25.

3).    considers and agrees the draft savings/income proposals (Appendix 4) and associated equalities analyses (Appendix 5) put forward by officers and refers them to the Overview and Scrutiny panels and Commission in November 2015 for consideration and comment.