Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Finance

Forward Plan Ref: 2020/117

Contact: Hannah Doney, Head of Corporate Finance Tel: 07584 174654

Report by Director of Finance (CA7). REPORT TO FOLLOW

This report is the culmination of the Budget & Business Planning process for 2021/22 to 2025/26 and sets out the Cabinet’s proposed Corporate Plan and supporting budget, medium term financial strategy, capital programme and supporting strategies.

The report is set out in three sections; the Corporate Plan; the revenue budget including the draft council tax precept for 2021/22 and the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to 2025/26; and the Capital & Investment Strategy and Capital Programme including the Treasury Management Strategy.  Information outstanding at the time of the Cabinet meeting will be reported to Council when it considers the budget on 9 February 2021.

Cabinet’s budget proposals take into consideration the latest information on the council’s financial position outlined in this report; comments from the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting on 18 December 2020 as well as 14 January 2021; and comments from the public consultation on the budget which closes on Wednesday13 February. The report will therefore be published on Friday 15 February.

As final notification of some funding streams is awaited, some further changes may be made to the budget proposals ahead of full Council on 9 February 2021. 

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to RECOMMEND Council to:

(a)           approve the Corporate Plan (Section 2.1).

In relation to the Revenue Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy (Section 4);

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(b)           approve the Review of Charges for 2021/22 and in relation to the Registration Service, charges also for 2022/23 (Annex A);

(c)           approve the final funding formula for schools for 2021/22 subject to the decision by the Secretary of State for Education (Annex B);

(d)           approve the Financial Strategy for 2021/22 (Section 4.5);

(e)           approve the Earmarked Reserves and General Balances Policy Statement 2020/21 (Section 4.6), including the creation of a new COVID-19 Reserve; and

(f)            to note that the Leader of the Council will, following consultation with the Director of Finance and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property, make any appropriate changes to the proposed budget.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to RECOMMEND Council to:

(g)           a Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2021/22 to 2025/26 as set out in Section 4.1 (which incorporates changes to the existing Medium Term Financial Strategy as set out in Section 4.2);

(h)           the council tax and precept calculations for 2021/22 set out in Section 4.3 and in particular:

(i)             a precept of £407,954,239;

(ii)           a council tax for band D equivalent properties of £1,573.11.

(iii)         approve a budget for 2021/22 as set out in Section 4.4

In relation to the Capital and Investment Strategy and Capital Programme (Section 5);

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to recommend Council to:

(i)             approve the Capital and Investment Strategy for 2021/22 - 2030/31 (Section 5.1) including;

(i)             the Minimum Revenue Provision Methodology Statement (Section 5.1 Annex 1);

(ii)           the Prudential Indicators (Section 5.1 Annex 2) and

(j)             approve the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Annual Investment Strategy for 2021/22 (Section 5.2); and

(i)             approve that any further changes required to the 2021/22 Treasury Management Strategy be delegated to the Director of Finance in consultation with the Leader of the Council and the Cabinet Member for Finance and Property;

(ii)           approve the Treasury Management Prudential Indicators; and

(k)           approve the Investment Strategy (Section 5.3);

(l)             approve the Property Strategy (Section 5.4);

approve the new capital proposals for inclusion in the Capital Programme as set out in Section 5.6.

Cabinet had before it a report which was the culmination of the Budget & Business Planning process for 2021/22 to 2025/26 and set out the Cabinet’s proposed Corporate Plan and supporting budget, medium term financial strategy, capital programme and supporting strategies.

The report was set out in three sections; the Corporate Plan; the revenue budget including the draft council tax precept for 2021/22 and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) to 2025/26; and the Capital & Investment Strategy and Capital Programme including the Treasury Management Strategy.  Information outstanding at the time of the Cabinet meeting would be reported to Council when it considered the budget on 9 February 2021.

Cabinet’s budget proposals took into consideration the latest information on the council’s financial position outlined in the report; comments from the Performance Scrutiny Committee meeting on 18 December 2020 as well as 14 January 2021; and comments from the public consultation on the budget which closed on Wednesday13 February.

As final notification of some funding streams was awaited, some further changes may be made to the budget proposals ahead of full Council on 9 February 2021. 

Councillor Liz Brighouse, Chairman of the Performance Scrutiny Committee read out the statement by the Performance Scrutiny Committee included in the papers at Section 4.   She added that Members of the Committee had also been concerned that local members should have been better engaged at an early stage when some of the proposals were being worked up.

Councillor Glynis Phillips, Shadow Cabinet Member for Finance noted that Cabinet was being asked to approve a complex set of papers which should support each other in achieving financial balance in 2021/2022 and provide valued services in efficient and effective ways.

The Labour Group were mindful of the amount of time and effort that officers had devoted to this suite of documents. There was a tangible change to the strategic direction being taken in relation to the property and investment strategies. She further noted the renewed energy to revisit the property and investment strategies as a way of maximising assets to fund services, meet climate emergency targets and as well as considering the implications for staff and residents.

She expressed the importance of member involvement in discussions about changes to building use and this was a clear concern from members of the Performance Scrutiny Committee. Members not only knew about issues in their division, but also needed to be able to discuss any proposals with local residents, community groups and town and parish councils. One line in the Corporate Plan was ‘to listen to residents and improving what we do’ and this needed to be extended to listening to local councillors as well.

She noted that the Treasury Management Strategy and Annual Investment Strategy had been discussed at Audit & Governance as well as Performance Scrutiny and there was broad support for the decision to increase long term lending as well as seeing a reduction in cash balances to £185m by 2024/2025 to meet the Capital Programme.

She noted that the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 5