A REFORMED management group should be formed of council members who are “financially sophisticated”, a meeting heard.

Maldon District Council’s finance and corporate services committee on Tuesday voted to reform the Asset Management Working Group, which was disbanded in 2015.

The group was first established by the council in February 2006 as a working group of councillors and council staff who helped plan how assets are managed and that assets and funds are fit for purpose.

It also ensures both capital and revenue expenditure is efficiently used.

It was disbanded in June 2015 as it was deemed as having little value to the council.

Whilst the committee voted to approve the reformation of the group, chairman David Sismey stated he would want more members of the finance and corporate services committee to be in the group than any other committee.

The group had before been made up of two member from their committee, plus two from the community services and planning and licensing committees.

David Sismey said: “I remember being fairly ambivalent about this group being disbanded before, I know members of the committee voted in support of it being abolished.

“I support this committee being re-established. I do think in order to make sure the broadest membership can be part of this committee it is sensible for it to meet in the evening."

Mr Sismey said there had been issues with the make-up of the previous committee and said he believed more financial focus was needed. 

He said: “They would then come to this committee and we would overturn a view that was taken at the asset management working group and then council would support us in that view.

“So all I am saying is that if this asset management working group is to be effective and for its decisions to acutally likely be implemented I suspect it needs more financial support and more members who are financially sophisticated than necessarily this membership suggests.

"That is my suggestion if members disagree then I think we might just find in six months or 12 months time that people find this working group isn’t making much progress again."

Bob Boyce, councillor for Althorne, said: “This group will be of great value to us as a council, particularly after the news about the significant budget gap we face.

“I certainly don’t agree about having more members of this committee involved than others, I look forward to seeing what the public would make of our financial sophistication.”