Agenda item - General Fund Revenue Budget, Council Tax and Capital Investment Programme 2018/19

Extract from the proceedings of the Policy, Resources & Growth Committee meeting held on the 8^th February, 2018; together with a report of the Executive Director for Finance & Resources (copies attached).

77.1      The Mayor noted that the principal budget items listed as Items 77 and 79 on the agenda would be debated together, along with Item 78 Supplementary Financial Information, once the proposed budget and the various amendments had been moved and seconded.  She therefore invited Councillor Morgan to propose the budget for 2018/19.

 

77.2      Councillor Morgan thanked the Mayor and stated that he wished to thank finance officers and all the officers across the council involved in the budget process.  He also wished to thank his colleagues in enabling the budget papers to be brought to the council meeting.  He acknowledged that the council continued to face unprecedented demands and pressures and stated that it was a time to reflect on the past 12 months.  He welcomed the achievements that had been made across the council and noted the recent announcements regarding the King Alfred and Preston Barracks which would lead to the provision of much needed housing in the city as well as the regeneration of the areas.

 

77.3      He stated that the aim to ensure that three key priorities to get the basics right, protect the most vulnerable and grow the economy, was being achieved.  He noted that this was despite having to face further reductions in revenue from the government which had committed billions to Brexit and failed to address issues such as homelessness.  It had left councils across the country with little choice other than to increase council tax and include the full pre-cept for adult social care.  However, the Council was committed to providing services for its residents and local businesses e.g. the planning process had seen improvements, the new field officer roles were being introduced, libraries were open across the city, front-line services were being protected and customer satisfaction rates were up.  He also noted that additional resources were being made available for young people.

 

77.4      Councillor Morgan stated that for 2019 it was intended to pursue the community enterprise model for local government as championed by Preston.  The aim being to encourage benefits for growth and to deliver a strong economic future.  The work in this regard had already started in terms of having good working relations with local businesses and the Greater Brighton Economic Board.

 

77.5      Councillor Morgan stated that the overall budget proposals aimed to enable the council to deliver its services and meet the needs of residents.  He believed that the Council had achieved a great deal and was delivering across all its services, he was proud to be able to lead an excellent team and commended the budget to the council.

 

77.6      Councillor Hamilton formally seconded the budget proposals and stated that was grateful for all the work undertaken by officers and his colleagues in securing a balanced budget for 2018/19.  There were significant pressures that still needed to be addressed in certain areas and stated that the proposed amendments from the Green Group only added to that level of pressure on future expenditure.

 

77.7      Councillor Wealls stated that he wished to thank the Executive Director for Finance & Resources and finance officers who had assisted with the budget process.  He also welcomed the constructive approach to budget discussions taken by the Labour Administration and wished to thank the Members of the Conservative Group for their contributions.  He stated that whilst the Conservative Group intended to vote for the budget, the Group did not necessarily support the proposals contained within it or the overall increase in council tax of 6%.

 

77.8      Councillor Wealls accepted that there were budgetary pressures but noted that funding had been made available by the government and whilst he recognised the need to support areas such County Lines, he questioned the intention to spend a further £200k on facility time for trade unions.  He noted that the recent peer review had expressed a question mark over the relations with the trade unions and the need for external facilitation that had not been taken up.  He also noted that customer satisfaction in street cleaning and waste collection had gone down.

 

77.9      Councillor Wealls also noted the need to provide more support for young people and to address the failure to obtain the new homes bonus.  He also noted that although there were elements within the Green Group’s amendments that could be taken forward, the failure to enter in to a meaningful dialogue meant that it would be difficult to support them.  He hoped that there would be more positive discussions during the budget process for next year. Councillor Janio stated that he wished to thank the staff involved in the budget process and Councillor Wealls for all his hard work in budget discussions.  Although the Conservative Group would be voting in favour of the budget, he was concerned about the future positon of the council and felt that things had to change.  There were still too many management positions across the council and matters that had to be addressed if the council was going to remain economically viable.  He anticipated that this would be achieved with a Conservative Administration in 2019.

 

77.10   Councillor Sykes moved the Green Group’s six amendments, five relating to the General Fund and one to the Housing Revenue Account.  He stated that also wished to thank the Finance Officers for their support during the budget process.  He stated that there was a real need to consider how the proposed increase in council tax could be afforded by those who were in vulnerable positions.  He noted that the previous Green Administration had consulted fully on its budget proposals, something that the current Administration had chosen not to do.  He suggested that there were areas where improvements could be made that would help the budget position such improving food recycling rates.  The six amendments all sort to enable further expenditure and service provision and he therefore hoped that they could be supported.

 

77.11   Councillor Mac Cafferty formally seconded the Green Group’s amendments and stated that it there was a need to protect front-line services.  He noted that the Housing directorate had failed to spend the available funding and yet claims were made about improving housing supply when more could be done.  He questioned whether the target to remove rough sleeping by 2020 would be achieved and believed the budget to be short-sighted, hence the need for the Green Group’s amendments.

 

77.12   The Mayor then opened the matter up to a general debate and the following Members of the Council spoke on the various amendments that had been put forward as well as the general prevailing budget proposals and position:

 

Councillors Daniel, Bell, West, Moonan, G. Theobald, Deane, Robins, Miller, Phillips, Bewick, Simson, Littman, Mitchell, Wares, Page, Penn, Brown, Gibson, Atkinson, Mears, Meadows, Druitt, Peltzer Dunn and Yates.

 

77.13   The Mayor noted that the meeting had been in progress for two and a half hours and stated that she felt a short adjournment should be held.  She therefore adjourned the meeting for a period of 15 minutes.

 

77.14   The meeting was adjourned at 7.00pm and the Mayor reconvened the meeting at 7.15pm.

 

77.15   The Mayor then continued the general debate on the budget and the following Members spoke on the various amendments that had been put forward as well as the general prevailing budget proposals and position:

 

Councillors Nemeth, Chapman, Taylor and Barford.

 

77.16   The Mayor noted that all Members wishing to speak during the debate had done so.  She then called on Councillor Mitchell to respond to the debate and the amendments.

 

77.17   Councillor Mitchell thanked the Mayor and all Members for their contributions during the debate.  She stated that during the budgetary process suggestions to improve the budget proposals had been taken on board and she wished to reiterate the thanks to the staff involved in preparing the overall budget.  She believed the Green amendments were too complex and therefore could not accept them.  In the meantime she recommended the budget proposals as outlined to the council for approval.

 

77.18   The Mayor stated that in view of the fact that the amendments related to either the General Fund or the Housing revenue Account, she intended to put each one to the vote.  However, she would call on the Executive Director for Finance & Resources to confirm the budgetary position should any amendment be carried and have an impact on the overall budget.  She would then put the substantive recommendations to the vote as outlined in the procedural rules.

 

77.19   The Mayor then asked for the electronic voting system to be activated and put the Green Group amendments No’s.1 to 6 to the vote as detailed below:

 

Green Amendment No.1

 

 

77.20   The Mayor confirmed that the amendment had been lost by 11 votes to 40 with no abstentions.

 

77.21   The Mayor confirmed that as a result of the Green amendment No.1 being lost, the Green amendment No.2 automatically fell. This then resulted in the Green Amendment No.3 also automatically falling as it relied on both the preceding amendments being carried.

 

Green Amendment No.4

 

 

 

77.22   The Mayor confirmed that the amendment had been lost by 11 votes to 40 with no abstentions.

 

Green Amendment No.5

 

 

 

77.23   The Mayor confirmed that the amendment had been lost by 11 votes to 40 with no abstentions.

 

Green Amendment No.6

 

 

 

77.24   The Mayor confirmed that the amendment had been lost by 11 votes to 40 with no abstentions.

 

77.25   The Mayor noted that all six amendments had been lost and therefore stated that she would put the proposed General Fund Revenue Budget based on a 5.99% council tax increase to the vote as detailed below:

 

 

 

77.26   The Mayor confirmed that the motion had been carried by 40 votes to 11 with no abstentions.

 

77.27   RESOLVED:

(1)       That the Council Tax increase in the Brighton & Hove element of the council tax be approved, comprising:

 

(i)           A general Council Tax increase of 2.99%;

 

(ii)          An Adult Social Care precept increase of 3.00%;

 

(iii)         The council’s net General Fund budget requirement for 2018/19 of £208.824m;

 

(iv)         The 2018/19 budget allocations to services as set out in Appendix 1 incorporating 2018/19 savings proposals contained in the 4-Year Integrated Service & Financial Plans;

 

(v)          The reserves allocations as set out in paragraph 3.21 and table 3;

 

(vi)         The Prudential Indicators as set out in Appendix 10 to this report.

 

(2)       That the Equalities Impact Assessments to cover all relevant budget options and their cumulative effect as set out in Appendices 11 and 12 to the report be noted;

 

(3)       That the authorised borrowing limit for the year commencing 1 April 2018 of £436m be approved;

 

(4)     That the annual Minimum Revenue Provision statement as set out in Appendix 9 to the report be approved;

 

(5)     That the 4-Year Integrated Service & Financial Plans proposals for 2019/20 at Appendix 6 to the report be noted;

 

(6)     That the updated Medium Term Financial Strategy at Appendix 4 to the report be noted;

 

(7)     That the strategy for funding the investment in change and flexible use of capital receipts set out in paragraph 6.10 of the report be approved;

 

(8)     That the Capital resources and proposed borrowing included in Appendix 7 to the report be noted;

 

(9)     That the Capital Investment Programme for 2018/19 included at Appendix 8 to the report and incorporating allocations to strategic funds detailed in paragraph 6.9 of the report be approved; and

 

(10) That it be noted that supplementary information needed to set the overall council tax will be provided for the budget setting Council meeting as listed in paragraph 11.3 of the report.

 

 

 

77.28   Formal Council Tax Resolution

 

1.      It be noted that on 25 January 2018 the council calculated the Council Tax Base 2018/19:

(a)       for the whole Council area as 88,976.4 (Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”)); and

(b)     for dwellings in those parts of its area to which special items relate:

Rottingdean Parish – 1,562.1

Hanover Crescent Enclosure – 40.7

Marine Square Enclosure – 72.6

Royal Crescent Enclosure – 31.0

2.      Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the council’s own purposes for 2018/19 (excluding Parish precepts) is £137,857,000.

3.      That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2018/19 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

(a)       £705,177,727     being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils;

(b)       £567,275,660     being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act;

(c)       £137,902,067     being  the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act);

(d)       £1,549.87           being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (1(a)  above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts);

(e)       £70,785   being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act;

(f)        £1,549.07           being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by the Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special items relates;

(g)       £1,577.92           Rottingdean Parish

£1,737.77           Hanover Crescent

£1,686.23           Marine Square

£1,809.72           Royal Crescent

being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 3(f) above the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council's area mentioned above divided in each case by the relevant amount at 1(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its council tax for the year for the dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

Valuation Band:	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
Parts of the Council's area	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Rottingdean Parish	876.62	1,051.95	1,227.27	1,402.60	1,577.92	1,928.57	2,279.22	2,629.87	3,155.84
Hanover Crescent	965.43	1,158.51	1,351.60	1,544.68	1,737.77	2,123.94	2,510.11	2,896.28	3,475.54
Marine Square	936.79	1,124.15	1,311.51	1,498.87	1,686.23	2,060.95	2,435.67	2,810.38	3,372.46
Royal Crescent	1,005.40	1,206.48	1,407.56	1,608.64	1,809.72	2,211.88	2,614.04	3,016.20	3,619.44
All other parts of the council’s area	860.59	1,032.71	1,204.83	1,376.95	1,549.07	1,893.31	2,237.55	2,581.78	3,098.14

* Entitled to disabled relief

4.      To note that the Police & Crime Commissioner and the Fire Authority have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated in the table below.

Valuation Band:	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner	92.17	110.61	129.04	147.48	165.91	202.78	239.65	276.52	331.82

* Entitled to disabled relief

 

Valuation Band:	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
East Sussex Fire Authority	50.56	60.67	70.78	80.89	91.00	111.22	131.44	151.67	182.00

* Entitled to disabled relief

5.      That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the tables below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2018/19 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

Valuation Band:	A*	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
Parts of the Council's area	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Rottingdean Parish	1,019.35	1,223.23	1,427.09	1,630.97	1,834.83	2,242.57	2,650.31	3,058.06	3,669.66
Hanover Crescent	1,108.16	1,329.79	1,551.42	1,773.05	1,994.68	2,437.94	2,881.20	3,324.47	3,989.36
Marine Square	1,079.52	1,295.43	1,511.33	1,727.24	1,943.14	2,374.95	2,806.76	3,238.57	3,886.28
Royal Crescent	1,148.13	1,377.76	1,607.38	1,837.01	2,066.63	2,525.88	2,985.13	3,444.39	4,133.26
All other parts of the councils area	1,003.32	1,203.99	1,404.65	1,605.32	1,805.98	2,207.31	2,608.64	3,009.97	3,611.96

* Entitled to disabled relief

6.      In accordance with Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 the Council determines its relevant basic amount of council tax for the financial year 2018/19 is not excessive.