Agenda item

Report of Chief Finance Officer

Homira Javadi, Chief Finance Officer and Andrew Clarke, Deputy Chief Finance Officer, presented the report. During the discussion the following points were highlighted:

·       Setting the council tax was a Member decision and the proposals included a £5.00 increase, and contributed to reducing the baseline and reducing the savings target.

·       Part of the comprehensive spending review would have included a business rates review. However, the review had been delayed, which in light of the current environment and the impact of the Pandemic, would lead to a more accurate reflection of the business rates position and a more fit-for-purpose review, when restarted.

·       The imbalance of business rate contributions between businesses that had benefited from the Pandemic (such as online and delivery companies) and high street retailers was noted, and would be fed back to the relevant areas of engagement and surveys carried out by the Ministry of Housing Communities and Local Government.

·       Until a national non-domestic rates calculation was undertaken, the full value of the projected business rates retention scheme was unknown. A reserve had been established for business rate equalisation to mitigate the potential volatility of business rates retention. The reset business rate value could be as low as the baseline figure included in the Budget.

·       A number of members felt that a zero increase in council tax would alleviate some of the financial pressure experienced by residents. It was confirmed that a zero increase would equate to an additional reduction of approximately £180,000 in council tax revenue.

·       A Member requested that the level of support provided by the Government to local authorities during the Pandemic be noted.

·       Members noted the Housing Revenue Account report and appendices which had been circulated earlier in the day.

RESOLVED

To support the recommendations in the report subject to the following amendment being considered by the Cabinet:

1.     Recommendation ii) in the Cabinet report be amended to read…. ‘Zero increase in the Council Tax for Lewes District Council for 2021/22’.