Agenda and minutes

To approve as a correct record and sign the Minutes of the meeting held on 28 January 2015.

The Minutes (copies of which had been circulated) of the meeting held on 28 January 2015 were approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

No declarations of interest were made.

Members of the public are invited to put questions to the Chair and Executive Councillors on any matters within the powers and duties of the Executive, subject to the exclusions set out in the Code of Practice.  (Questions must be submitted no later than 30 minutes prior to the commencement of the meeting on the card provided.  These are available at the meeting. You can also submit via the Council’s website at www.stockport.gov.uk/publicquestions)

No public questions were submitted.

To consider whether it is in the public to exclude the public during consideration of agenda items 6,7,8 and 9 which contain information “not for publication by virtue of Category 3 ‘Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority)’ as set out in the Local Government Act 1972 (as amended).

RESOLVED – That in order to prevent the disclosure of information which was not for publication the disclosure of which would not be in the public interest, would not be fair and would be in breach of Data Protection principles, the public be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items:-

To consider a report of the Financial Director, Solutions SK Ltd.

The report provides an overview against targets which support the company strategy.

The Committee are invited to consider and comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Stephen Morris by email: stephen.morris@stockport.gov.uk

The Finance Director, Solutions SK Ltd, submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an overview of the financial performance against the Company’s targets within its Corporate Strategy.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Performances overall was positive and on course to reach target.

·         There had continued to be reductions in the number of internal and external debtors that had contributed to a positive cash balance that was broadly in line with the target for year end.

·         The deployment of a new tranche of vehicles had now begun following manufacturing delays.

·         Ongoing efforts were being made between SSK and the Council to ensure year end accruals were consistent.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

Representatives of PWC to report at the meeting.

Representatives of PricewaterhouseCoopers attended the meeting and made a presentation to the Committee on the headline outcomes of their review of Solutions SK, in advance of the final report being presented to the Council. The presentation summarised the key findings and identified areas for further work.

It was commented that in recent years the relationship between the Solutions SK and the Council, including the quality of information provided, had improved greatly. It was suggested that continuing the open dialogue was vital to achieving continuing improvements in that relationship and performance of the company.

It was also commented that Solutions SK needed to be seen within the context of ‘family’ of Council companies, as well as the financial challenges the Council faced.

RESOLVED – That the presentation be noted.

To consider a report of the Finance Director, Solutions SK Ltd.

The report sets out for approval the 2015/2016 budget and associated issues.

The Committee are requested to approve the recommendations detailed in the report.

Officer Contact: Steve Jallands by email: steve.jallands@solutionssk.co.uk

The Finance Director, Solutions SK Ltd, submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) inviting the Committee to consider the trading report for Solutions SK for the 11 month period to 28 February 2015; an overview of performance against the forecast for the financial year 2014/15; an update on progress with Individual Solutions SK and seeking authorisation for the 2015/16 budget.

The following issues were highlighted:-

·         The Company was projecting a profit for 2014/15.

·         Close working was taking place with the Council to reconcile accounts, invoices etc.

·         There was an increasing volume of company activity from non-Council sources.

·         A number of areas of growth in 2015/16 had been identified, and resources were being invested into business development to support these opportunities, as well as in ICT infrastructure.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Councillors welcomed the improvements in the quality of the reporting to the Committee.

·         There was discussion about the challenge of expanding certain areas of the business, such as the School Meals service. It was recognised that previously the Company may not have provided a service that was competitive but there was confidence that Solutions could attract new school meals clients following a restructuring of the service and changes to its management.

·         The Committee discussed potential for adoption of a multi-branding Strategy to the business to make the Company more attractive new commercial customers.

·         It was suggested that future budget reports should provide further commentary on the potential risks and sensitivity analysis of the projected areas of growth.

RESOLVED – (1) That the report be noted.

(2) That Solutions SK budget for 2015/16 be authorised.

To consider a report of the Managing Director, Solutions SK Ltd.

The report provides an update on issues relating to company business including:-

FBE Contract Update

2015/2016 Strategy

-       Top level objectives

-       Top level strategy

-       Top level business plan

The Committee are invited to consider and comment on the report.

Officer Contact: Stephen Morris by email: stephen.morris@solutionssk.co.uk

The Managing Director, Solutions SK, submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing an update on issues relating to company business, including the Fairfield Bio Energy contract and updates on the 2015/16 Strategy, highlighting key areas of projected growth.

The following comments were made/ issues raised:-

·         Discussions were ongoing to resolve issues with the Fairfield Bio Energy contract and further updates would be provided the Committee as appropriate.

·         The Committee discussed the need to ensure that the Council was utilising Solutions SK services where appropriate and the role of Solutions in marketing their services.

·         Opportunities to grow the business, particularly in relation to alarms and security were discussed, as were ongoing challenges such as building cleaning and the sign-shop.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

The Committee and representatives from Solutions SK Ltd are requested to determine the most appropriate months to hold quarterly meetings of the Committee in 2015/2016.

RESOLVED – That the Democratic Services Manager be requested to arrange a programme of meetings as appropriate for 2015/16.