Agenda item

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2016/086

Contact: Katy Jurczyszyn, Strategic Finance Manager (Finance, Strategy & Monitoring) Tel: 07584 909518

Report by Chief Finance Officer (CA7).

This report is the final report to Cabinet in the series on the service & resource planning process for 2017/18 to 2020/21, providing councillors with information on budget issues for 2017/18 and the medium term. It sets out the proposed 2017/18 budget, the draft 2017/18 – 2020/21 Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and 2016/17 – 2020/21 Capital Programme. Information outstanding at the time of the Cabinet meeting will be reported to Council when it considers the budget on 14 February 2017.

The budget and draft 2017/18 – 2020/21 MTFP include the Cabinet’s budget proposals which take into consideration the latest information on the council’s financial position outlined in this report plus comments from the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting on 5 January 2017 and comments from the public consultation on the budget.  As final notification of some funding streams is awaited, some further changes may be made to the budget proposals ahead of Council on 14 February 2017.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to RECOMMEND Council to approve:
 

·         in respect of revenue:

(1)      a budget for 2017/18 and a medium term plan to 2020/21, based on the proposals set out in Section 4.2;

(2)      a council tax requirement (precept) for 2017/18;

(3)      a council tax for band D equivalent properties;

(4)      virement arrangements to operate within the approved budget;

·         in respect of treasury management:

(1)      the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for 2017/18;

(2)      to continue to delegate the authority to withdraw or advance additional funds to/from external fund managers to the Treasury Management Strategy Team;

(3)      that any further changes required to the 2017/18 strategy be delegated to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Finance;

(4)      the Prudential Indicators as set out in Appendix A of Section 4.5;

(5)      Minimum Revenue Provision Methodology Statement as set out in Appendix B of Section 4.5;

(6)      The Specified Investment and Non Specified Investment instruments as set out in Appendix C and D of Section 4.5;

(7)      The Treasury Management Policy Statement as set out in Appendix E of Section 4.5;

·         In respect of capital:

(1)      Approve a Capital Programme for 2016/17 to 2020/21 as set out in Section 4.9 including:

(i)            the new capital proposals as set out in Section 4.9.1 (Appendix 3);

(ii)          the Highways Structural Maintenance Programme 2017/18 and 2018/19 as set out in Section 4.9.2;

(2)       Approve the Strategic Asset Management Plan at Section 4.9.3;

·           to delegate authority to the Leader of the Council, following consultation with the Director of Financeand the Cabinet Member for Finance, to make appropriate changes to the proposed budget.

2.            The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve:

(1)      the Review of Charges as set out in Annex 1.

Cabinet had before them the final report in the series on the service & resource planning process for 2017/18 to 2020/21, providing councillors with information on budget issues for 2017/18 and the medium term. It set out the proposed 2017/18 budget, the draft 2017/18 – 2020/21 Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and 2016/17 – 2020/21 Capital Programme.

The budget and draft 2017/18 – 2020/21 MTFP included the Cabinet’s budget proposals which take into consideration the latest information on the council’s financial position outlined in the report plus comments from the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting on 5 January 2017 and comments from the public consultation on the budget.  As final notification of some funding streams is awaited, some further changes may be made to the budget proposals ahead of Council on 14 February 2017.

Councillor Webber, Liberal Democrat Group Leader highlighted paragraph 8 of the report that outlined the amount of provisional information the figures were based on. He commented that the delays from government created very great difficulties for officers and made it difficult for them to act as a responsible opposition. He felt that this was damaging to local democracy and asked that the Leader do what he could to ask government to address this in future. Having said this he commended the Council for managing austerity well.

Councillor Hards, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance commented on a number of specific areas: on revaluation of commercial property and business rates he would treat the figures with some caution as it was not clear how many would pay; Councillor Hards expressed interest in the saving on inflationary expectations and suggested that rather than it going straight to contingency the labour Group may like to see it spent elsewhere; he felt that in relation to the council tax rise that even though government had not yet produced the rules for the additional social care elements of it there would be no difficulty in justifying it to government when required; on the Schools Funding Formula he was at a loss to understand how so many of Oxfordshire’s schools could end up worse off; It was important to find the money for highways asset management.

Councillor Stratford in introducing the report and moving the recommendations referred to the list of known unknowns at paragraph 8 and referred to by both speakers. What could provide a greater problem was the unknown unknowns and he commended officers for their work in difficult circumstances. He emphasised that this was the second year of a 4 year plan that gave some stability. He referred to the new homes bonus and stressed that this was not new money. Likewise the additional money from the 3% increase in the Council tax was not new money in the MTP but by taking it earlier it would enable the Council to carry out some much needed initiatives.

Lorna Baxter, Director of Finance, detailed the suite of reports and drew attention to the addenda.

RESOLVED: to RECOMMEND Council to approve:

·         in respect of revenue:

(1)       a budget for 2017/18 and a medium term plan to 2020/21, based on the proposals set out in Section 4.2;

(2)       a council tax requirement (precept) for 2017/18;

(3)       a council tax for band D equivalent properties;

(4)       virement arrangements to operate within the approved budget;

·         in respect of treasury management:

(1)       the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for 2017/18;

(2)       to continue to delegate the authority to withdraw or advance additional funds to/from external fund managers to the Treasury Management Strategy Team;

(3)       that any further changes required to the 2017/18 strategy be delegated to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Finance;

(4)       the Prudential Indicators as set out in Appendix A of Section 4.5;

(5)       Minimum Revenue Provision Methodology Statement as set out in Appendix B of Section 4.5;

(6)       The Specified Investment and Non Specified Investment instruments as set out in Appendix C and D of Section 4.5;

(7)       The Treasury Management Policy Statement as set out in Appendix E of Section 4.5;

·         In respect of capital:

(1)       Approve a Capital Programme for 2016/17 to 2020/21 as set out in Section 4.9 including:

(i)            the new capital proposals as set out in Section 4.9.1 (Appendix 3);

(ii)          the Highways Structural Maintenance Programme 2017/18 and 2018/19 as set out in Section 4.9.2;

(2)       Approve the Strategic Asset Management Plan at Section 4.9.3;

·         to delegate authority to the Leader of the Council, following consultation with the Director of Finance and the Cabinet Member for Finance, to make appropriate changes to the proposed budget.

2.  The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to approve:

(1)       the Review of Charges as set out in Annex 1A and as revised in the addenda.