Issue - meetings

To consider Report No. ACE2503 (copy attached), which sets out recommendations from the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee in relation to Citizens Advice Rushmoor and its Service Level Agreement with the Council.

The Cabinet considered Report No. ACE2503, which set out recommendations for the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee in relation to Citizens’ Advice Rushmoor (CAR) and its Service Level Agreement with the Council. The Chairman welcomed Cllr Halleh Koohestani, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, who was attending to report on the Committee’s considerations and recommendations.

Members were informed that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had held a meeting on 12th December, 2024 where Citizens Advice Rushmoor (CAR) had attended and had given a presentation on its  2023/24 Annual Report, in line with the Service Level Agreement with the Council. The Committee had considered the representations made by CAR in respect of the challenges and risks it faced as an organisation. The following were the recommendations of the Committee to the Cabinet:

·                 To consider a multi-year funding agreement, taking account of any inflationary increase measure from 2025/26 alongside a clear set of KPI’s to measure performance, and;

·                 review the rental and service charges associated with the places occupied by Citizens Advice Rushmoor in both Aldershot and Farnborough.

The Cabinet expressed gratitude both to Citizens Advice Rushmoor for the excellent work carried out by them in the local area and to the members of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee for their diligence in producing these recommendations. It was confirmed that these would be considered fully during the budget setting process in the following months, taking account of the recent Local Government re-organisation proposals. The Cabinet also committed to engaging with both Rushmoor Voluntary Services and Citizens Advice Rushmoor to consider future working arrangements.

The Cabinet RESOLVED to consider the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, as set out in Report No. ACE2503, as part of the 2025/26 budget setting process.