Agenda item

Recommendations from the Cabinet

To consider the recommendations from the meetings of the Cabinet held on 26^th October and 23^rd November 2022.

Minutes:

The Chairman advised that one recommendation had been made at the meeting of the Cabinet held on 26^th October 2022 and three recommendations had been made at the meeting held on 23^rd November 2022, which had been highlighted for Council’s consideration.

Fees and Charges 2023/24

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance presented a report on the subject of the Fees and Charges 2023/24. Members were advised that the Medium Term Financial Plan was being prepared on the basis that additional income would be generated from Fees and Charges. It was clarified that the process being followed for the review of income to be realised from 1st April 2023 included an assessment of each fee to identify how it met the Council’s Strategic Purposes and the level of increase that was proposed as well as taking account of present economic conditions, including current inflation of over 10%. Council was informed that the levels of increase had been based on a robust estimate of the impact of cost increases and demand within the services and the Council’s overall financial position. This included assessing the affordability of any of these increases to our residents and customers.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance highlighted that Appendix 1 contained within the report detailed all the Fees and Charges for each area with a commentary against each block. Members were advised that the Council’s proposal was to increase all Fees and Charges by 10%. It was confirmed that the 10% had been applied to contributions and Fees and Charges budgets, however, had not been applied where charges were set statutorily i.e. for, Lifeline, SLA Income, or services that were charged across a number of Councils, such as Worcestershire Regulatory Services.

It was estimated that the increase in income generated from the proposed increases were:

Year	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26
Base Budget	3,820,000	3,899,000	3,904,000
10% Increase	382,000	389,000	390,000

If these Fees and Charges 2023/24 were agreed, it was confirmed that they would be included in the Medium-Term Financial Plan Tranche 1.

Following the presentation of the report it was confirmed by Members that there was no longer car parking at the Alvechurch Sports and Social Club.

Concerns were raised about the increases in Fees and Charges 2023/24 and although the level of inflation was currently over 10% this did not necessarily transfer to the increase in income for residents. It was queried by some Members whether the necessary level of scrutiny had been applied to the increases. Specific reference was made to the increase of 49% on allotment charges and it was confirmed that this proposed increase would bring Bromsgrove District Council more in line with charges made by other Councils across the County.

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor G. N Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. May.

RESOLVED that all of the proposed fees and charges for 2023/24 be approved.

Sherwood Road Footbridge, Aston Fields - Permanent Closure of the Footbridge, Removal of Bridge Deck and Transfer of Ownership to Severn Trent Water Ltd

The Portfolio Holder for Planning and Regulatory Services presented the report and in doing so highlighted that the footbridge was decaying and was not a public right of way and that the costs to repair the footbridge were high and it was thought to be more cost effective to transfer the ownership to Severn Trent Water as detailed within the report.

It was raised by some Members that there was no legal obligation to make these repairs and therefore the footbridge could remain in its current condition so that no costs would be incurred. It was, however, confirmed that should there be an injury on the footbridge the Council would be liable should any accidents occur and that the advice from the civil engineer involved was that the £10k worth of works must be carried out to in order to make the footbridge safe.

Some Members raised the procurement process that had been undertaken and it was confirmed that a procurement process would have had to be carried out within the appropriate framework.

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor P.L. Thomas and seconded by Councillor K. May.

RESOLVED that a budget of £10k be added to the 2022/2023 Capital Programme to be funded from internal resources.

Medium Term Financial Plan 2023/24 to 2025/26 - Update Report

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance presented the report and explained to Council that it had been hoped that more detail would have been available from the Chancellor’s Statement on 17^th November 2022 in readiness for this meeting. It was confirmed that information regarding the Local Government Financial Settlement (pLGFS) would not be available until the week commencing the 19^th December 2022, which, it was clarified, was a week later than expected. However, in a statement from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), it had been reported that in recognition of the Settlement being late in the year, an update on the pLGFS, including information on the measures that would be maintained into 2024/25, would be provided soon. It was clarified that it was the Government’s intention that support for Local Authorities’ budget setting processes, would be provided ahead of the publication of the pLGFS.”

Council was advised that the following information was currently known:

· An increase of 1% of Council Tax base from 2% to 3% at the 2023/4 base level of £9.243m was 92k.

· The Council no longer faced the additional pressure of increased employer National Insurance (NI) contributions. However, as a result of this, DLUHC were revising the additional grant funding for Councils. The 1.25% increase in NI rates was being checked against the 23/24 assumptions as it was announced as part of the previous year’s budget. It was clarified that this saving was potentially worth £139k on the Council’s £11.1m salary budgets.

· The Autumn Statement announced a £13.6 billion support package to protect ratepayers facing increases. This included a freezing of the Business Rates multipliers for 23/24, a Transitional Relief scheme to limit the rate at which bills could increase, a more generous Retail, Hospitality and Leisure relief, and the Supporting Small Business scheme to cap bill increases for businesses that lost relief due to the revaluation. It was confirmed that Local Authorities would be fully compensated for any loss of income as a result of these business rates measures and would receive new burdens funding for administrative and IT costs.

· An extension to the Household Support Fund over 2023-24, providing £1 billion additional funding.

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance explained that the update on the provisional settlement was greatly anticipated as it would hopefully provide some clarity around the Lower Tier Services Grant and hopefully the New Homes Bonus scheme. Planning was underway for the worst possible settlement, and it was highlighted that time would be very tight to produce the budget. This had also been acknowledged by the Government. Officers were working on reducing the present deficit level of an ongoing £1.3m gap and the strategic approach was included within the report.

It was also highlighted for Members’ attention that the updated fee schedule for WRS was included within the report as Environmental Health Charges had been omitted from the list presented to Members as part of the Tranche 1 budget. Council was informed that although the Council had made huge steps in delivering over £1.6m of savings in Tranche 1, there was still significant work to be done.

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor G. N Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. May.

RESOLVED that the Tranche 1 savings proposals, Fees and Charges increases including updated WRS charges, and the single Growth item in respect of the Climate Change Officer are approved for implementation to ensure maximum benefit as at 1^st April 2023.

Fees and Charges Update

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance informed Council that a report had been considered at the Cabinet meeting held on 26^th October 2022 as part of the suite of papers for the Tranche 1 Medium Term Financial Plan, around increases to Fees and Charges. It was recommended that the approach taken by the Council was to raise fees and charges generally by 10% with exceptions like WRS where increases would be 5%.

Members were advised that included in this Fees and Charges update

report were the exempt Fees and Charges where the Council was in direct competition with the Private Sector. These included Cesspool Emptying and Commercial Waste Collections. It was reported that a 10% increase, in line with other Council Services, would still ensure that the Council remained competitive in these areas.

The recommendation was proposed by Councillor G. N Denaro and seconded by Councillor K. May.

RESOLVED the approval of all exempt fees and charges.

Supporting documents: