Agenda item
Conservative Group proposed amendment to Budget
The Conservative Group would like to propose the amendments within the enclosed document.
Minutes:
Shadow Cabinet Member (Finance, Shared Services and Governance), Councillor Sam Chapman expressed his thanks to the Conservative group and officers for their contribution to the proposed amendment.
Councillor Chapman highlighted that the Administration’s proposed 1.99% increase to Council Tax would generate an additional £140,000 in revenue to the council in 2023/24, and in each subsequent year thereafter. Similarly, the proposed 1.99% increase to Special Expenses would generate an additional £21,135 in revenue.
Therefore, the Conservative Group proposed:
1. a freeze on Council Tax in 2023/24,
2. a freeze on Special Expenses in 2023/24,
with the loss in revenue offset in 2023/4 by reducing the Climate Change Reserve by the same amount, and with the future loss in revenue addressed by the same means as the identified funding gap for those years in the Medium Term Financial Strategy i.e. through savings identified in the development and delivery of the Transformation Strategy and Savings Programme.
The Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Alan Cullens, seconded and supported the amendments, particularly regarding the freeze on Council Tax and Special Expenses.
Amendment
The adoption of the Alternative Budget as set out in the report, was moved as an amendment by the Shadow Cabinet Member (Finance, Shared Services and Governance), Councillor Sam Chapman and seconded by the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Alan Cullens.
In line with the legal requirement for all budget decisions to be recorded, this proposal was put to the vote and recorded as follows:
For: Councillors Martin Boardman, Sam Chapman, Alan Cullens, Magda Cullens, Keith Iddon, Alan Platt, Debra Platt, Aidy Riggott, and John Walker.
Against: Councillors Sarah Ainsworth, Aaron Beaver, Julia Berry (Mayor), Alistair Bradley, Mark Clifford, Karen Derbyshire, Gordon France, Margaret France, Danny Gee, Tom Gray (Deputy Mayor), Terry Howarth, Hasina Khan, Samir Khan, Zara Khan, Roy Lees, Adrian Lowe, Michelle Le Marinel, June Molyneaux, Alistair Morwood, Dedrah Moss, Beverley Murray, James Nevett, Jean Sherwood, Arjun Singh, Kim Snape, Ryan Towers, Jenny Whiffen, Neville Whitham, Alan Whittaker and Peter Wilson.
The vote was lost (9:30:0).
Substantive motion
The substantive motion, as indicated in Agenda Item 5 was proposed by the Deputy Executive Leader, Councillor Peter Wilson, and seconded by the Executive Leader, Councillor Alistair Bradley, was then put to the vote.
In line with the legal requirement for all budget decisions to be recorded, this proposal was put to the vote and recorded as follows:
For: Councillors Sarah Ainsworth, Aaron Beaver, Julia Berry (Mayor), Alistair Bradley, Mark Clifford, Karen Derbyshire, Gordon France, Margaret France, Danny Gee, Tom Gray (Deputy Mayor), Terry Howarth, Hasina Khan, Samir Khan, Zara Khan, Roy Lees, Adrian Lowe, Michelle Le Marinel, June Molyneaux, Alistair Morwood, Dedrah Moss, Beverley Murray, James Nevett, Jean Sherwood, Arjun Singh, Kim Snape, Ryan Towers, Jenny Whiffen, Neville Whitham, Alan Whittaker and Peter Wilson.
Against: Councillors Martin Boardman, Sam Chapman, Alan Cullens, Magda Cullens, Keith Iddon, Alan Platt, Debra Platt, Aidy Riggott, and John Walker.
The vote was carried by majority (30:9:0), and it was therefore a Decision
That the budget and proposals as set out in the report in item 5 and supporting appendices be approved to include:
a) Approve the budget and proposals set out in this report, including the level of Council Tax as set out in the Formal Council Tax Resolution, including Special Expenses & Parish Precepts 2023/24, at Appendix A;
b) Note the advice of the Chief Finance Officer in relation to the robustness of the estimates within the overall budget, including the risks contained within it and the adequacy of the proposed level of financial reserves, as set out in the Statutory Report at Appendices B1 – B3;
c) Approve the council’s Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) at Appendix C;
d) Note the council’s forecast Cumulative Budget Deficit and Budget Strategy 2023-24 to 2025-26 at Appendix D;
e) Note the analysis of the movement in the 2023/24 Budget from the position approved by Council in February 2022 at Appendix E;
f) Approve the capital programme for 2023/24 to 2025/26 (Appendices F1, F2 & F3);
g) Approve the Capital Strategy at Appendix G;
h) Approve the Treasury Management Strategy at Appendix H and note the advice of the treasury management consultants at Appendix H1;
i) Approve the council’s Pay Policy at Appendix I for publication on the council’s website from April 2023 (including Appendix I (i) – the payscales for Chorley Council and Appendix I (ii) – the payscales for Shared Services);
j) Note the budget consultation 2023/24 Report at Appendix J;
k) Note the Assessing the Impact of Budget Proposals 2023/24 Report at Appendix K
FORMAL COUNCIL TAX RESOLUTION
Draft resolution on setting of the 2023/24 Council Tax for the Borough to be passed in approving the Executive Cabinet’s recommendations for the Council’s Budget.
1. It be noted that on 31st January 2023 the Director of Finance as Statutory Finance Officer calculated the Council Tax Base 2023/24
(a) for the whole Council area as 38,342.53 [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 a Parish precept relates (as in the attached Table 2).
2. Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2023/24 (excluding Parish precepts) is £7,807,800
3. That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2023/24 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:
(a) £58,579,500 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) £49,925,923 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.
(c) £8,615,281 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) £224.69 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) £1,644,127 being the aggregate amount of all special items (Special Expenses and Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (as in the attached Table 1).
(f) £181.81 being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by 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 Parish precept relates.
4. To note that the County Council, the Police Authority 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.
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 2023/24 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.
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VALUATION BANDS |
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CHORLEY BOROUGH COUNCIL |
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A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
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121.21 |
141.41 |
161.61 |
181.81 |
222.21 |
262.61 |
303.02 |
363.62 |
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LANCASHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL |
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A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
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1,049.81 |
1,224.77 |
1,399.74 |
1,574.71 |
1,924.65 |
2,274.58 |
2,624.52 |
3,149.42 |
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POLICE & CRIME COMMISSIONER FOR LANCASHIRE |
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A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
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167.63 |
195.57 |
223.51 |
251.45 |
307.33 |
363.21 |
419.08 |
502.90 |
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LANCASHIRE COMBINED FIRE AUTHORITY |
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A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
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54.85 |
63.99 |
73.13 |
82.27 |
100.55 |
118.83 |
137.12 |
164.54 |
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AGGREGATE OF COUNCIL TAX REQUIREMENTS |
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A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
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1,393.50 |
1,625.74 |
1,857.99 |
2,090.24 |
2,554.74 |
3,019.23 |
3,483.74 |
4,180.48 |
6. That the Statutory Finance Officer and his officers be authorised to take any action necessary to ensure collection and recovery of the Council Tax and Non-Domestic Rates.
7. As the Council’s basic amount of Council Tax has increased by 1.99% for 2023/24, it is considered not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB Local Government Finance Act 1992.
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EXPLANATION OF COUNCIL TAX SETTING RESOLUTION
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RESOLUTION 1 |
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(a) Before we can calculate the Council Tax to be charged, we first have to calculate the Council Tax base. The Council Tax base is the amount which a Band D Council Tax of £1.00 would raise. For 2023/24 we estimate that a £1.00 Council Tax at Band D would raise £38,342.53 in the Chorley area. |
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(b) This shows the “base” figure for each Parish in the area. For example, a £1.00 Band D Council Tax in Adlington would raise £2,105.11. |
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RESOLUTION 2 |
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This shows the Council’s net spending for 2023/24 excluding the cost of Parish precepts. |
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RESOLUTION 3 |
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(a) This is the grand total of money which the Council estimates it will spend on all services in 2023/2. It also includes £807,481 which Parish Councils need to run their services. |
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(b) This is the grand total of money which the Council estimates it will receive from various sources in the year. This includes Central Government and business rates, car park charges, investment income, government grants in respect of benefits, etc. |
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(c) This is the difference between 2(a) and 2(b) and is in effect the Council’s and Parishes net spending on services. |
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(d) The difference between 2(a) and 2(b) is £8,615,281 and this is the amount we need to charge Council Taxpayers. This is divided by the base (see 1(a) above) and the resulting figure of £224.69 is the average Band D Council Tax for all Borough and Parish services. |
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(e) The total of all the amounts needed from Council Taxpayers by the Parish Councils in the area and for Chorley Borough Special Expenses. |
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(f) This is the Band D Council Tax for Chorley Borough Council’s own services, ie. excluding Parish Council spending and Special Expenses |
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RESOLUTION 4 |
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Lancashire County Council, Lancashire Fire Authority and the Police & Crime Commissioner for Lancashire are separate bodies who have worked out their own estimates of spending and income for 2023/24 and have set taxes in a similar way to Chorley Borough Council. This resolution notes their final decision. |
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RESOLUTION 5 |
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This pulls together the Council Taxes for Chorley Borough Council, Lancashire County Council, the Police & Crime Commissioner for Lancashire and Lancashire Fire Authority. For example, the aggregate amount for Band D is £2,090.24 made up as follows:
The rate for each property Band is calculated by reference to the Band D charge. The following ratios apply: |
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Band A Band B Band C Band D Band E Band F Band G Band H |
6/9ths of Band D 79 ths of Band D 89 ths of Band D 99 ths of Band D 11/9ths of Band D 13/9ths of Band D 15/9ths of Band D 18/9ths of Band D |
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The aggregate charge for Band A, for example, the charge is £2,090.24 x 6 ÷ 9 = £1,393.50; for Band B it is £2,090.24 x 7 ÷ 9 = £1,625.74. |
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RESOLUTION 6 |
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Formally authorise the necessary staff to take legal action to collect arrears as and when this is necessary. For the vast majority of taxpayers, this is not needed |
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Supporting documents:
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