Issue - meetings

Recommendations from the Executive Cabinet

Meeting: 24/02/2021 - Council (Item 73)

73 Recommendations from the Cabinet 17th February 2020 (to follow) PDF 94 KB

To consider the recommendations from the meeting of the Cabinet held on 17^th February 2021 (to follow).

Members are asked to note that under the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, the Council is required to take a named vote when a decision is made on the budget calculation or Council tax at a budget decision meeting of the Council.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Medium Term Financial Plan 2021/22 to 2023/24

Councillor G. Denaro, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Enabling, introduced the Medium Term Financial Plan 2021/22 to 2023/24 and in so doing commented that the budget had been prepared at a challenging time, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Councillor Denaro thanked the Head of Financial and Customer Services and the Financial Services team for their hard work in preparing the budget under these circumstances.

Members were informed that the Council had only received a one-year settlement from the Government for 2021/22. There remained substantial gaps in the budget for 2022/23 and 2023/24 which would need to be addressed moving forward. The external auditors had recognised that the Council was in a sound financial position but had commented that the Council would be in a challenging position in future years. Anticipated savings and income generation schemes would need to be delivered in order for the Council to avoid using reserves to balance the budget in the long-term. However, the auditors had provided the Council with an unqualified opinion on the Council’s value for money arrangements.

An increase in Council Tax was proposed in order to help balance the budget in 2021/22. The Government had announced that District Councils could only increase Council Tax by a maximum rate of 1.99 per cent, or £5. In Bromsgrove, it was proposed that Council Tax should increase by £5 as this would result in a slightly higher rate of return to the authority. The Council Tax Base would be reducing for the first time in many years, as a consequence of changes to the Council Tax Support Scheme and as a result of fewer homes having been built than anticipated due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Additional pressures had been taken into account when preparing the budget. This included the loss of income from car parking during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, some of the losses in income had been offset by financial support that had been provided by the Government.

The Corporate Management Team (CMT) had reviewed the budget on a line-by-line basis and officers had identified a number of savings and income generation opportunities by doing so. Many of the savings were relatively small but cumulatively, they contributed to a balanced budget for 2021/22. These savings and income opportunities had been discussed in more detail at a recent meeting of the Finance and Budget Working Group.

Funding from the New Homes Bonus (NHB) had reduced, so that the Council was left with £12,000 to distribute within the community. An additional £68,000 from Covid grant funding had been combined with this figure to create a community grants budget for 2021/22. Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) groups would be able to bid for up to £5,000 grant funding each for community projects under this scheme.

A list of revenue bids had been provided in the report for Members’ consideration. This included a bid to fund a new Member Support Officer in respect of ICT services. Should this bid be successful, ... view the full minutes text for item 73