Agenda item

Report of Councillor Nicholson on behalf of the Cabinet.  Referred from Cabinet on 2 February 2021, incorporating the recommendations from the Cabinet reports on:

·        General Fund Revenue Budget 2020/21 and Capital Programme

·        Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Revenue Budget and Rent Setting 2020/21 and HRA Capital Programme 2019-23

·        Treasury Management and Prudential Indicators 2020/21, Capital Strategy and Investment Strategy

Please notethat the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 requires named votes to be taken and recorded when setting the annual budget and council tax, including on substantive motions and any amendments.

Councillor Nicholson moved and Councillor MacCleary seconded the

the recommendations set out in the agenda, in relation to the Council Budget and setting of the Council Tax for 2021/22.  This incorporated recommendations from Cabinet regarding the General Fund Budget 2021/22 and Capital Programme, Housing Revenue Account Revenue Budget and Rent Setting 2021/22 and HRA Capital Programme 2020-24, the Treasury Management and Prudential Indicators for 2020/21, Capital Strategy and Investment Strategy.

Councillor Nicholson (Portfolio Holder for Finance and Assets) spoke to the recommendations in detail, setting out the choices being made including to invest in the environment, economy and target support to those who really needed it. She offered sympathy to all those who had lost loved ones due to Covid, and paid tribute to the response from staff, public sector, the community and voluntary sector. She thanked the Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer and their teams in achieving £1.4m in savings, to enable a balanced budget to be presented.

Councillor Miller as chair of the Policy and Performance Committee responded first on behalf of the opposition, and highlighted that Cabinet had chosen not to accept the recommendations of the Committee to freeze Council tax, and believed this should have been supported for the benefit of local residents.  Councillor Burman as shadow portfolio holder for finance joined with Councillor Miller in thanking officers for preparing the budget, he indicated his support for many of the recommendations for investing locally, but advised he could not support the budget as a whole due to the Council tax rise proposed.

The budget was then debated in full by the Council, and Councillor Nicholson was given the opportunity to sum up at the end.

The Chair advised that by legislation the Council would take a recorded vote in respect of this report.

The recommendations were put to the vote and declared carried by 21 votes to 16, with 1 abstention, and the voting recorded as follows:

For: Councillors Amy, Banks, Bird, Brett, Carr, Clay, Collier, Denis, Gauntlett, MacCleary, Macleod, Makepeace, Manley, Meyer, Nicholson, O’Brien, O’Connor, O’Keeffe, Robinson, Ross and von Kurthy (21).

Against: Councillors Adeniji, Bikson, Burman, Davis, Davy, Duhigg, Jones, Linnington, J Lord, S Lord, Maskell, Miller, Papanicolaou, Peterson, Rigden and Rutland (16).

Abstention: Councillor Saunders (1).

Resolved:

1.             The recommendations as detailed in the reports from the Chief Finance Officer and the Director of Service Delivery to Cabinet on 4 February 2021 be approved as summarised below:

      i.         To approve the General Fund budget for 2020/21 (Revised) and 2021/22 (Original).

     ii.         To approve an increase in the Council Tax for Lewes District Council of £5 resulting in a Band D charge for general expenses of £197.08 for 2021/22.

    iii.         To approve the revised General Fund capital programme 2021/22.

   iv.         To endorse the continuation of the Flexible use of Capital Receipts.

     v.         To approve the Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Strategy for 2021/22.

   vi.         To approve the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement for 2021/22.

  vii.         To approve the Prudential and Treasury Indicators for 2021/22 to 2023/24.

 viii.         To approve the Capital Strategy.

(viii)    To approve the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) income and expenditure proposals, including revised HRA budget for 2020/21 and the budget for 2021/22, rents and service charges and the HRA Capital Programme.

2.             That delegated authority is given to the Chief Finance Officer to amend the budget for any presentational changes ensuring the Council Tax Requirement remains unchanged.

3.             That it be noted, that since the Cabinet meeting on 04 February the Business Rates return to the Government (NNDR1) has been finalised.  As a result of the latest Business Rates position, it has been possible to add £384K to the General Fund reserve.  This will subsequently be allocated to the specific reserves set out below, which were identified in the budget report, once the exact allocations have been determined:

·        The creation of a capital programme acceleration reserve.

·        The creation of a commercial asset resilience planning reserve.

·        To top up those reserves used to fund Covid-19 reserve.

4.             That the expenses incurred by the Council set out below be approved as Special Expenses chargeable to the residents of each of the Town/Parish areas indicated and that any other expenses (excluding local precepts) incurred by the Council be approved as general expenditure for the purposes of Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

5.             That consequent upon a General Fund budget of £13,530,290 and other matters, the basic amount (Band D) of Council Tax for the Borough Council's functions will be £214.53 calculated as follows:

6.             That it be noted that at its meeting on 04 February 2021 Cabinet approved the following calculations for the year 2021/22, being made in accordance with regulations made under Sections 31(B)(4) and 34(4) of the Local Government Act 1992, as amended:

(a)           36,711.4 being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of the Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 , as amended, as its Council Tax Base for the year ) Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992).

(b)          

Being the amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with regulation 6 of the Regulations, as amended, as the amounts of its Council Tax base for the year for dwelling in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

7.             That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2021/22 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended:

         (h)      Parts of the Council’s area

Being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 6(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

8.             To note that East Sussex County Council, East Sussex Fire and Rescue Authority and Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended, for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated in the table below.

9.             That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 6(h) and 7 above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2021/22 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

10.      To determine that the Council’s basic amount of Council Tax for 2021/22 is not excessive in accordance with the principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended.

As the billing authority, the Council has not been notified by a major precepting authority that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2021/22 is excessive and that the billing authority is not required to hold a referendum in accordance with Section 52ZK Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended.