Agenda item

Report of Councillor Holt on behalf of the Cabinet. Referred from Cabinet on 9 February 2022. To include decisions in respect of:

 

·         General Fund Budget 2022/23 and Capital Programme.

·         Treasury Management and Prudential Indicators 2022/23, Capital Strategy and Investment Strategy.

·         Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Revenue Budget and Rent Setting 2022/23 and HRA Capital Programme 2021-25

 

Please note: that 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, this to include votes on any amendments and substantive motions.

Councillor Holt moved and Councillor Tutt seconded the recommendations set out in the agenda, in relation to the Council Budget and setting of the Council Tax for 2022/23.  This incorporate recommendations from Cabinet on 9 February 2022 in respect of the General Fund Budget 2022/23 and Capital Programme, Treasury Management and Prudential Indicators 2022/23, Capital Strategy and Investment Strategy, Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Revenue Budget and Rent Setting 2022/23 and HRA Capital Programme 2021-25.

 

Councillor Smart moved and Councillor Shore seconded the following amendment which had been circulated at the meeting:

 

“That the budget and council tax recommendations for 2022/23 are as set out in the report subject to the following amendment:

 

To increase the capital expenditure allocation to the ‘Bandstand and Promenade Renovations’ from £750k to at least the previous estimate of £3m, to allow for as much work as possible to be completed whilst the Bandstand is closed this summer, and to adequately reflect estimates of capital receipts in the capital strategy arising from the Council’s External Finance Review.”

 

Gaynor Sedgwick (Save Eastbourne Bandstand Campaign Group) spoke as a public speaker on this item in respect of the Capital Programme.

 

Councillor Holt as Cabinet Member for Finance presented the budget.  He highlighted that this was a balanced budget and was a budget of recovery following the pandemic and reductions in funding, and that this budget was not without exceptional pressures.  The budget included an increase of 1.99% in Council Tax.  He thanked the Chief Finance Officer and her team for all their work and staff for achieving savings through the recovery and reset programme, and for all those who had enabled the town to attract cultural and levelling up funding.

 

Councillor Holt advised that the Council had a capitalisation direction in place from the Government, which enabled it to borrow money or sell assets to make up shortfall on income and pay for the running cost of services.  As part of the external assurance review, the Council must limit its capital expenditure over the next few years to key and specific areas such as housing, essential maintenance and health and safety.  For this reason, he advised he could not support the opposition amendment to increase the funding for the bandstand to £3m to a full renovation, from the £750k budgeted, as this was outside these parameters.  In relation to the Motcombe Pool, he advised that the Council could not fund it directly under the current restrictions, but that it would be working with residents to secure funding via a Community Investment Company (CIC), in order to retain the facility for the community. 

 

Councillor Smart spoke to the amendment and spoke on behalf of the opposition group in relation to the budget.   He recognised that the last two years had been overshadowed by Covid, and he applauded the response from the Council and the savings that had been achieved.  He advised that he considered that it was appropriate to fund the full cost of £3m to renovate the bandstand now and protect the asset, not simply doing enough for it to be reopened, or waiting for the Environment Agency to complete its sea defence proposals. He recognised the support that the local MP had provided in enabling the Council to achieve additional levelling up and cultural funding.

 

The Council then debated the budget in full, including the recommendations and the amendment, and Councillor Smart and Councillor Holt had the opportunity to sum up as the proposers of the amendment and the original motion.

 

The amendment was put to a named vote in accordance with legislation and was declared lost by 9 votes to 17:

For: Councillors Belsey, di Cara, Freebody, Lamb, Metcalfe, Murdoch, Shore, Smart and Taylor

Against: Councillors Babarinde, Bannister, Burton, Choudhury, Diplock, Holt, Maxted, Miah, Morris, Murray, Rodohan, Shuttleworth, Tutt, Vaughan, Wallis and Whippy.

 

The original recommendations were put to a named vote in accordance with legislation and were declared carried by 17 votes to 9:

 

For: Councillors Babarinde, Bannister, Burton, Choudhury, Diplock, Holt, Maxted, Miah, Morris, Murray, Rodohan, Shuttleworth, Tutt, Vaughan, Wallis and Whippy.

Against: Councillors Belsey, di Cara, Freebody, Lamb, Metcalfe, Murdoch, Shore, Smart and Taylor

 

RESOLVED (17 votes to 9):

 

1.        That the recommendations as detailed in the reports from the Chief Finance Officer to Cabinet on 9 February 2022 be agreed including:

 

(i)        To approve the General Fund budget for 2021/22 (Revised) and 2022/23 (original).

 

(ii)       To approve an increase in the Council Tax for Eastbourne Borough Council of 1.99% resulting in a Band D charge of £261.85 for 2022/23.

 

(iii)      To approve the revised General Fund capital programme 2022/23.

 

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

 

(v)       To approve the Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Strategy for 2022/23.

 

(vi)      To approve the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement 2022/23.

 

(vii)     To approve the Prudential and Treasury Indicators 2022/23 to 2024/25.

 

(viii)    To approve the Capital Strategy.

 

(ix)      To approve the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) income and expenditure proposals, including revised HRA budget for 2021/22 and the budget for 2022/23, rents and service charges and the arrangements for finalising Eastbourne Homes’ management fee, including:

 

·                   That social and affordable rents (including Shared Ownership) are increased by 4.1% in line with Government policy.

 

·                   That the average General Needs Housing Benefit (HB) Eligible service charge will be £5.04 per week.

 

·                   That the average HB Eligible service charge for Retirement Housing will be £35.85 per week.

 

·                   That the Support charge for Retirement Housing will be £5.44 per unit.

 

·                   That the average Non-HB Eligible heating charges will be £3.49 per week.

 

·                   That the average non-HB Eligible water charges will be £3.33.

 

·                   That garage rents are increased by 4.86% (September RPI).

 

(x)       To grant delegated authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Portfolio holders for Financial Services and Direct Assistance Service and the Chief Finance Officer to finalise Eastbourne Homes’ Management Fee and Delivery Plan.

 

2.       That delegated authority is given to the Chief Finance Officer to amend the budget for any presentational changes ensuring the Council Tax Requirement at 6 below remains unchanged.

 

3.       That it be noted, that since the Cabinet meeting on 9 February the Business Rates return to the Government (NNDR1) had been finalised with no changes to the previous net budget assumptions.

 

4.       That consequent upon a General Fund budget of £16,105,550 and other matters, the basic amount (Band D) of Council Tax for the Borough Council's functions will be £261.85 (representing an increase of 1.99%) calculated as follows:

 

 

	£'000	£'000
Gross Expenditure:
General Fund		90,256
HRA		19,452
Business Rates Tariff payable and deficit		12,974
		122,682
Less Income:
Service Income	(90,294)
Contribution form Reserves	(4,648)
Other Government Grants	(2,706)
Business Rates income	(15,672)
Collection Fund Surplus (Council Tax)	(262)	(113,582)
COUNCIL TAX REQUIREMENT		9,100
Band 'D' Council Tax		£261.85

 

The statutory resolutions relating to this matter are given at paragraphs 5 and 6 below.

 

5.        That it be noted that at its meeting on 1 December 2021 the Cabinet agreed the Council Tax Base of 34,754.0 for Band ‘D’ equivalent properties for the year 2022/23 (Item T in the formula in section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended).

 

6.        To calculate the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2022/23 as £9,100,335.

 

7.        That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2022/23 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended:

 

(a)	£122,681,850	being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.
(b)	£113,581,550	being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.
(c)	£9,100,300	being the amount by which the aggregate at 5(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 5(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act).
(d)	£261.85	being the amount at 5(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (4 above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year.

 

8.        To note that East Sussex County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex and the East Sussex Fire Authority 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 the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the table below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2022/23 for each of the categories of dwellings.

 

A B C D E F G H   6/9 7/9 8/9 9/9 11/9 13/9 15/9 2   £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Precepting Authorities   Eastbourne Borough Council 174.57 203.66 232.76 261.85 320.04 378.23 436.42 523.70 East Sussex County Council 1,075.56 1,254.82 1,434.08 1,613.34 1,971.86 2,330.38 2,688.90 3,226.68 Sussex Police Authority 155.19 181.06 206.92 224.91 284.52 336.25 387.98 465.58 East Sussex Fire Authority 66.25 77.29 88.33 99.37 121.45 143.53 165.62 198.74     Aggregate of Council Tax Requirements 1,471.57 1,716.83 1,962.09 2,199.47 2,697.87 3,188.39 3,678.92 4,414.70

 

10.      To determine that the Council’s basic amount of Council Tax for 2022/23 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 2022/23 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.

 

(Note – Following this item there was a 10-minute recess held at 8.50 pm).