Issue - meetings

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place)

The Cabinet considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive (Place) which set out a set of new revenue budget proposals for 2018/19 to 2020/21 and an overall Council Tax increase for 2018/19 of c4.9%, including 3% to reflect funding for Adult Social Care as allowed within Government guidelines, as a basis for consultation.

The Council remained committed to seeking to protect its most vulnerable citizens and to delivering a range of core services to everyone in the City at a time of recent large reductions in Government Funding.  In the 2017/18 budget setting process, the Council approved proposals to deliver a balanced three year position to 2019/20.  This was achieved through a combination of changes to the way that some services were delivered and efforts to increase the Council’s degree of self-sufficiency through increased tax revenues and commercial / technical approaches.

Moving forward into a new three year planning period, incorporating the 2020/21 financial year, an updated position was included within the report reflecting revised estimates and new areas of expenditure pressure and savings proposals.  It was noted that the Council was faced with new financial challenges stemming from the uncertainty around the Local Government finance environment, greater external pressures in some of its demand led services and continued challenges in driving through the most recent savings targets within its own budgets.  The Council’s projections of the overall position had worsened significantly in recent months and it was very unlikely that it would be in a position to present a balanced medium term budget in February 2018.  Based on the proposals within the report submitted, it was anticipated that there would be a budget gap over the next three years of £3m rising to £19m.

The financial proposals were based on the funding set out in the Local Government Finance Settlement announce in February 2016, an equivalent 2018/19 Settlement Funding Assessment reduction for the Council of £6.3m as part of the Government’s 4 year settlement.  This was not expected to be altered significantly in forthcoming Government announcements in December 2017 and February 2018.

It was acknowledged that work would be undertaken to address the 2018/19 budget gap outlined in the report submitted before the final budget report in February 2018.  Detail on individual spending and savings were provided within the report and on a line by line basis in Appendix 1.

RESOLVED that the Cabinet:-

1.  Approve the content of the report, the revenue spending and savings options in Section 2 and Appendix 1 and the broad Capital Programme proposals in Section 2.6 as the basis for the Council’s statutory budget consultation process.

2.  Approve the proposed approach on Council Tax in Section 2.7 of the report submitted.