Issue - meetings

Recommendation 1

That Council approve the revision to the Budget for 2016/2017 as set out in the report.

Recommendation 2

That Council reaffirm the Policy on Earmarked Reserves and General Fund Working Balance and the maximum balances set for the reserves as noted in the report.  

Recommendation 3

That Council :

1)     Approves the budget of £17,754,730 for 2017/2018 and notes the projections for 2018/2019, 2019/2020 and 2020/2021.

2)     Approves the level of Special Expenses for the Town/Parish Councils as detailed in the report.

3)     Approves the Fees and Charges 2017/2018 detailed in Appendix 4.

4)     Approves a Band D council tax of £116.87 for 2017/2018

Recommendation 4

That Council approve a minimum requirement of the General Fund balance for 2017/2018 of £887,737

Reason for Decision

The Council is obliged to set a Budget Requirement and level of council tax before the beginning of a financial year commencing on 1 April.

The Assistant  Director – Finance presented the Council’s Financial Plan for 2016-21. As part of the council tax setting process the Council updates its longer term Financial Plan to take account of any changes in financial settlements, inflation on service costs and revised priorities of the administration.

In February 2016 the Council set out a Financial Plan for 2015/2020.  The Plan reflected the significant financial challenges faced by the Council including the phasing out of Revenue Support Grant (RSG) over the course of this parliamentary term, changes to the distribution of New Homes Bonus, the impact of the Business Rates revaluation from 2017 and a 100% Business Rates Retention Scheme from 2020.

The Plan showed that the Council could present a balanced budget for the period 2016-2021 although there was still uncertainty in funding which was estimated to be received from New Homes Bonus and business rates growth in the period to 2020.  The significant risk was from 2020/2021.  The impact of the implementation of the new 100% Business Rates Retention scheme and the Fair Funding Review from 2020/2021 were unknown, but there was considerable downside risk.  Whilst a substantial amount of work had already been undertaken to reduce costs and generate additional income future reiterations of the cost reduction programme would require income generating options previously not supported to be re-considered.

In last year’s Spending Review the Government provided some financial certainty by offering councils the option to take up a four year settlement offer 2016-2020 subject to publishing an ‘efficiency plan’.    The Council took up the Government offer. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced as part of his statement on the provisional local government finance settlement delivered on 15 December 2016 that ‘97% of councils have taken up the offer and met our expectations of reform by publishing a long term efficiency plan’. 

The provisional local government finance settlement announced by Government on 15 December 2016 confirmed the second year of the 4 year offer.  It should be noted that the 4 year offer only included RSG and Rural Services Delivery Grant (RSDG). The ending of RSG had been clearly signaled and it was assumed that the Council would receive no RSG from 2020/2021. As with RSG it was also assumed that the Council would receive no RSDG from 2020/2021.

The report explained that the Government focus was on Councils’ ‘core spending power’ inclusive of locally generated resources.  The core spending power analysis tables published by the Government for each Council assumed that Councils in the lowest quartile of Council Tax levels (which included the Borough Council) would introduce the full £5 per annum per Band D dwelling Council Tax increase now permitted under the Council Tax Referendum Principles.  The additional Council Tax generated was included in the Government’s calculation of a 0.4% increase in core spending power over the Spending Review period.

The baseline business rates funding allocation also announced on 15 December 2016 included the impact of the Business Rates Revaluation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 119