Issue - meetings

Report of Councillor Mattock on behalf of the Cabinet. 

Please note that the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 require named votes to be taken and recorded when setting the annual budget and council tax, this to include substantive motions and any amendments.

This matter was reported and proposed by Councillor Mattock on behalf of the Cabinet and seconded by Councillor Tutt.  The Council considered the reports to Cabinet, as included in the draft budget book and also the Cabinet minutes and resolutions from the meeting held on 3 February 2016. The budget proposals were also reported to Scrutiny Committee on 1 February 2016 where no comments or proposals for change were made.

The Council expressed its thanks and appreciation to officers and in particular the work undertaken by the Chief Finance Officer and his team in the preparation of the draft budget.

Resolved: (By 15 votes to 0 with 9 abstentions) That approval be given to the following:

1.        The recommendations as detailed in the reports from the Chief Finance Officer and the Senior Head of Community to Cabinet on 3 February 2016:

(i)          The General Fund net expenditure for 2016/17 of £15,165,850 and the growth and savings proposals.

(ii)         The charge for council tax for Eastbourne Borough Council Band D change to £228.51; an increase of 1.93%.

(iii)       Housing Revenue Account (HRA) income and expenditure proposals, including revised HRA budget for 2015/16 and the budget for 2016/17, rents and service charges, arrangements for finalising Eastbourne Homes’ management fee and annual plan.

(iv)       General Fund capital programme as set out in the report of the Chief Finance Officer.

(v)        The Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators.

2.        That consequent upon a General Fund budget of £15,165,850 and other matters, the basic amount (Band D) of Council Tax for the Borough Council's functions will be £228.51 calculated as follows:

The statutory resolutions relating to this matter are given at paragraphs 3 and 4 below.

3.        That it be noted that at its meeting on 9 December 2015 the Cabinet (in exercise of powers delegated to them by the Council) delegated the final determination of the Council Tax Base to the Chief Finance Officer. This has been set at an amount of 33,606.10 Band ‘D’ equivalent properties for the year 2016/17 (Item T in the formula in section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended by the Localism Act 2011).

4.        Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2016/17 as £7,679,330.

5.        That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2016/17 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended by the Localism Act 2011:

Report of Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Finance Officer.

Cabinet lead member:  Councillor Gill Mattock.

Full council, at meeting on 17 February 2016, recommended to approve:

(a) General fund budget for 2015/16 (revised) and 2016/17 (original) as set out in appendix 1 to report including growth and savings proposals for 2016/17 as set out in appendix 2 to report.

(b) Increase in the council tax of 1.9% resulting in an unaltered ‘Band D’ charge of £228.51 for 2016/17.

(c) General fund capital programme and financing 2015/19 as set out in appendix 3 to report.

(d) Regarding the government’s offer of a 4-year settlement, council be minded to accept offer subject to receipt of further detail and decision on whether or not to accept delegated to chief finance officer in consultation with lead cabinet member.

61.1 Councillors Ungar and Di Cara addressed the cabinet.  Councillor Ungar said he was pleased to see the inclusion in the proposed 2016/17 capital programme of 2 schemes in Old Town; £25,000 for Old Town recreation ground to achieve ‘Green Flag Award’ status and £50,000 for the Green Street public conveniences.  Councillor Di Cara queried the figure given in the report for reserves.  The chief finance officer said that the £4m figure included other reserves such as that for the Devonshire Park project.

61.2 Cabinet considered the report of the deputy chief executive and chief finance officer setting out the general fund revenue budget proposals for 2016/17 and a 3-year capital programme 2015/19.  The medium term financial strategy (MTFS) had been revised in July 2015 and the cabinet had agreed a draft 2016/17 budget proposal last December.  The MTFS and resulting draft budget had been subject to extensive consultation and previously reported to cabinet and members of the scrutiny committee. 

61.3 The budget was the product of various plans and strategies as part of an integrated and corporate planning process and was linked principally to:

·         The medium term financial strategy

·         Asset management plans

·         The corporate plan

·         Workforce strategy

·         Treasury management strategy

·         Service plans

·         Housing revenue account business plan

·         DRIVE corporate transformation programme

·         Sustainable service delivery strategy

61.4 The chief finance officer had a legal responsibility to give positive assurances on the robustness of the estimates used in the budget and the level of reserves.  He commented that if the recommendations in his report were agreed then these assurances would prevail.

61.5 The budget proposals included:

·         An increase in the council tax in 2016/ 17 of 1.9%; the first increase for five years.

·         Overall savings/new income totalling £0.6m (4% of the net budget).

·         Efficiency savings of £0.5 (5% of the net budget).

• Inflation and unavoidable costs of £0.8m (5% of the net budget).

·         Other recurring service growth of £0.1m.

·         Non recurring service investments of £0.6m.

·         General reserves averaging in excess of £4m (against a minimum recommended of £2m).

·         Capital receipts of £0.4m invested in new capital schemes.

61.6 The budget represented management of financial risks by:

·         Building on a favourable outturn position.

·         Balancing the base budget requirement without needing to use reserves for recurring expenditure.

·         Identifiable and deliverable savings with accountability and no general unidentified targets.

·         Reserves well above the minimum level.

·         Zero basing of minor reward grants.

·         Providing the funding required for the DRIVE change programme to deliver the future savings required by the MTFS via the strategic change fund.

61.7 The underlying methods of local government financing had changed significantly in recent years including the wrapping up of grants in the base “Standard Funding Assessment” notably:

·         The council tax freeze grants (2011-15)

·         Some new burdens grants

·         Homelessness grant

61.8 For Eastbourne the headline figures of the government settlement were:

·         A further reduction in revenue support grant of £0.9m (30%) to £1.8m (reduced from £10.4m in 2010).

·         Partially offset by new homes bonus and section 31 grants (additional £0.2m in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 61