Issue - meetings

Report of the Interim Director of Resources

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

Councillor N J Rushton presented the report to members, drawing their attention to Section 2 of the report which set out the General Fund and Special Expenses budget proposals for 2016/17.  In particular he asked members to note that the provisional 2016/17 New Homes Bonus had been set at just under £2.8m, which was £350k higher than assumed in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, reflecting the excellent work that had been done in bringing empty homes back into use and ensuring that new homes qualified for the Bonus at the earliest opportunity.  He felt that with unknowns such as the Business Rates Retention Income and the New Homes Bonus Consultation Exercise, this was a prudent budget that held higher than historic levels of reserves.

Councillor N J Rushton highlighted that it was recommended to freeze the district’s Council Tax for the seventh year running, and North West Leicestershire was the only other local authority he was aware of, apart from Mansfield District Council, to have done so.  He added that this was something to be proud of as this represented a saving to our residents of £23.45 per annum on a Band D Council Tax bill.  He stated that he was also pleased to be able to continue to provide over £100,000 in localisation of Council Tax support grant to parishes.  He added that he would endeavour to maintain this support for as long as possible, however parish councils should be aware that there were particularly challenging times ahead.

Councillor N J Rushton made reference to Section 2.6 of the report which detailed the Projected Outturn for 2015/16 and explained the forecast under spend of £1.6 million. He advised that it was recommended to transfer this surplus to a special projects reserve, as both the end of year position and projected budget for 2016/17 relied heavily on the projected business rates income.  He added that it was therefore prudent to wait until the business rates were finalised in May prior to making any commitments to how the budgets may be allocated, and Cabinet would receive further reports in due course.

Councillor N J Rushton drew members’ attention to Section 3 of the report which set out the Housing Revenue Account proposals. Members were asked to note that the Government had changed its position regarding the rent decrease and this was explained in the addendum to the Cabinet report which had been circulated to members.  He advised that the balance on the Housing Revenue Account at 31 March 2016 was estimated at £5.3 million, which significantly exceeded the agreed minimum working balance of £1m.  He added that the HRA budget for 2016/17 would produce an estimated surplus of £2.5 million which would increase the HRA balance to just under £7.8 million, which would provide a healthy provision for the repayment of loans within the HRA Business Plan.  He congratulated the Housing department on doing an exceedingly good job in managing this.  With regard to rents, he advised that changing the core  ...  view the full minutes text for item 63