Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive to be considered by the Executive Cabinet on 17 January 2013 (enclosed)

The Committee received a report of the Chief Executive that had been presented to Executive Cabinet on 17 January 2013 setting out the budget position for 2013/14 and forecast for the following two years to 2015/16. The report also presented relevant proposals in respect of potential investment in the Council’s Corporate Strategy priorities in 2013/14, increasing budget resilience in the longer term and budget Consultation.

The information provided on the budget consultation was more detailed than in previous years. The proposals aimed to provide a budget that was more sustainable and took a longer term view to take into account the uncertainty facing local government finance settlements. The proposals also delivered projects to achieve the priorities of the administration, in the Town Centre, within neighbourhoods and relating to jobs and investment.

The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) had been updated as there had been a number of significant changes locally and also within the public sector nationally during 2012/13. The main changes had been the election of a new administration in May 2012 and the first updated Local Government Finance Settlement since the Comprehensive Spending Review 2010 which published confirmation of actual core funding levels for 2013/14 and 2014/15. In addition there had been wide ranging changes to fundamental public finance funding regimes, namely Council Tax Support and Business Rates Retention.

The recent Local Government Finance Settlement reductions had resulted in an anticipated increased budget deficit over the next three years (summarised in the report) despite the fact that early preparation for further funding reduction had realised budgetary savings totalling £0.816m during this year. The latest budget position was based on key assumptions set out within the report.

It was clarified that the future years New Homes Bonus had not been included in the base budget. This income was dependant on the number of houses built each year and it was not possible to forecast this. It was also not known how long the New Homes Bonus would remain as a funding stream. The New Homes Bonus was a one off payment per property but resulted in year on year service delivery financial implications for the Council.

The Executive Leader stressed the importance of generating funding streams independently of grants from the Government, given the uncertainty regarding the future of local government finance. Other local authorities had become reliant on funding streams and were now struggling as the Government had withdrawn these streams. It was also important to create job opportunities for people and enable them to be finically independent and contribute to the local economy.

Members asked for more transparency around the savings that were being achieved so they could fully understand and explain to residents the impact of tough budget decisions. The Leader understood these concerns and commented that they were targeting training for members that was more specific to help understand the Councils Medium Term Financial Strategy.

More detail would be available about the specific projects within the report to be submitted to the Council on 28 February, although some projects had already started. This included the purchase of key Town Centre sites. The aim of this project was to have influence over the nature of the business to widen the variety of shops on offer. This would also be an opportunity for the Council to generate revenue income.

Part of the consultation would include a demonstration of how services could be improved for a small cost. Consultation would invite responses from residents, partners, parish groups and other stakeholders through a variety of different methods including a short survey (available both in hard copy and online) and events in the community such as the Flat Iron market. Feedback received from the consultation would inform the budget proposals put forward to Council in February.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.