Agenda item

Report of the Head of Finance

Presented by the Corporate Portfolio Holder

Councillor N J Rushton presented the report to members.  He highlighted the recommendation to freeze the council tax for the ninth consecutive year giving an average saving of £5 in 2018/19 to council tax payers and a total saving of over £150 since the freeze was first introduced in 2010.  He drew members’ attention to the Councillor N J Rushton presented the report to members.  He highlighted the recommendation to freeze the council tax for the ninth consecutive year giving an average saving of £5 in 2018/19 to council tax payers and a total saving of over £150 since the freeze was first introduced in 2010.  He drew members’ attention to the projected surplus in the general fund budget of £299,000, the favourable movement in the council tax base and the significant increase in business rates income due to the high level of growth in the district.  He advised that nearly £3 million would be received in new homes bones due to the planning permissions granted.  He explained the proposal to start a self-sufficiency reserve, transferring £9,000 of existing general fund balances and committing to transfer surpluses arising from 2017/18 and 2018/19.  He added that the fair funding review would take place in 2021 and establishing a self-sufficiency reserve was a prudent measure in preparation for this.  He explained that council house rents would reduce by 1% in line with the government’s four-year rent reduction strategy.  He referred members to the draft budget summary at appendix 4a with a projected balance of £2.9 million being paid into the loan redemption reserve.  Council were asked to approve the Capital Programmes for 2019/20 – 2022/23 for indicative purposes only. 

 

Councillor N J Rushton moved the recommendations as set out in the report.  The motion was seconded by Councillor R Blunt who reserved his comments.

 

The Chairman referred to the amendments to the motion which had been circulated in the additional papers.  He invited Councillor A C Saffell to put forward his amendment.

 

Councillor A C Saffell spoke to his amendment and stated that as the staff budget was such a large proportion of the total budget, you would imagine that this would have reduced, however the council was employing more staff than ever before.  He felt that this was a shocking state of affairs and something needed to be done.  He added that his proposal was good practice in many private sector businesses and it invigorated the whole organisation.  He felt that it was time to implement similar measures with a new Chief Executive in post.  He expressed shock at the amount of money spent on staff and highlighted that reducing that figure by 20% would save £4 million.  He moved the recommendation as set out in the additional papers.

 

Councillor R Canny seconded the motion, expressing concerns about the amount and cost of agency staffing.   

 

Councillor S Sheahan commented that this was a disgraceful amendment and felt that it would be one of the worst business practices to put such pressure on staff in an organisation that as struggling to provide services.  He stated that the amendment should be treated with the contempt it deserved. 

 

Councillor N J Rushton exercised his right of reply and stated that he could not accept this amendment as this was a service based industry and a 20% cut could not be made without due consideration.  He stated that the principle of looking into this issue was valid, particularly in respect of agency staffing. He advised that the Chairman of Policy Development Group had given an undertaking to consider this matter further at a future meeting.  He invited Councillor A C Saffell to withdraw his amendment. 

 

Councillor M Specht reiterated that as Chairman of Policy Development Group he was more than happy for the committee to give this issue further consideration.

 

The Chairman then put the motion to the vote.  A recorded vote being required, the voting was as follows:

 

Amendment to the Budget submitted by Councillor A C Saffell
Councillor Ron Adams	Against
Councillor Graham Allman	Against
Councillor Robert Ashman	Against
Councillor Roger Bayliss	Against
Councillor Richard Blunt	Against
Councillor Russell Boam	Against
Councillor John Bridges	Against
Councillor Rachel Canny	For
Councillor John Clarke	Against
Councillor Nick Clarke	Against
Councillor John Cotterill	Against
Councillor John Coxon	Against
Councillor David Everitt	Against
Councillor Dr Terri Eynon	Against
Councillor Felix Fenning	Against
Councillor John Geary	Against
Councillor Stuart Gillard	Against
Councillor Tony Gillard	Against
Councillor Louise Goacher	Against
Councillor Dan Harrison	Against
Councillor Gill Hoult	Against
Councillor Jim Hoult	Against
Councillor Russell Johnson	Against
Councillor Geraint Jones	Against
Councillor John Legrys	Against
Councillor Susan McKendrick	Against
Councillor Trevor Pendleton	Against
Councillor Paula Purver	Against
Councillor Virge Richichi	Against
Councillor Nicholas Rushton	Against
Councillor Tony Saffell	For
Councillor Sean Sheahan	Against
Councillor Nigel Smith	Against
Councillor Alison Smith MBE	Against
Councillor Michael Specht	Against
Councillor David Stevenson	Against
Councillor Michael Wyatt	Abstain
Rejected

 

The motion was declared LOST.

 

The Chairman invited Councillor S Sheahan to put forward his amendment.

 

Councillor S Sheahan spoke to his amendment and stated that the £25,000 for the Citizens advice Bureau would fund an advice worker for universal credit issues.  He added that since the universal credit had been introduced the Citizens Advice Bureau had seen increased hardship, eviction rates and increased workloads.  He commented that the proposal would avoid unnecessary hardship for our tenants and reduce pressure on other serviced.  He added that the workload could be reviewed after 6 months.  In respect of the air quality action plan, the funding could be utilised to support additional research or targeted monitoring depending upon what would give the greatest benefit. 

 

Councillor F Fenning seconded the motion and reserved his comments.

 

Councillor T Eynon stated that this money was sitting in a small corner of the budget and needed to be utilised for something useful.  She added that according to the money advice service, this council employed bailiffs for 3000 cases, representing an increase of 120%.  She reiterated that some tenants would struggle with the introduction of the universal credit.  She explained that the use of bailiffs added 7.5% onto the debtor’s bill, and resulted in the council having to spend more on people that were already struggling.  She felt that eliminating the use of bailiffs seemed an eminently sensible and compassionate measure, and would not the council anything.

 

Councillor F Fenning declared a non-pecuniary interest as a voluntary debt counsellor.  He stated that in supporting this amendment he was saddened that a significant amount of support had not been allocated to the Citizens Advice Bureau.  He added that anyone who had attended a tribunal would realise the significant funding required.  He felt that the proposals would give an indication of a desire to take a softer approach and to develop our communities.  He also felt that an air quality action plan was vitally needed.  He expressed support for the amendment. 

 

Councillor N J Rushton advised that budget provision had been made to undertake an air quality action plan next year and he assured members that if additional funding was required it would be found.  In respect of support to the Citizens Advice Bureau he felt the current level of support with 2 members of staff was adequate and it was recognised that the district was receiving a good level of service from the Citizens Advice Bureau.  He explained that it was the council’s duty to seek to collect debts and he assured member that bailiffs were only used as a last resort.  He urged members to vote against the amendment. 

 

The Chairman then put the motion to the vote.  A recorded vote being required, the voting was as follows:

 

Amendment to the Budget submitted by Councillor S Sheahan
Councillor Ron Adams	For
Councillor Graham Allman	Against
Councillor Robert Ashman	Against
Councillor Roger Bayliss	Against
Councillor Richard Blunt	Against
Councillor Russell Boam	Against
Councillor John Bridges	Against
Councillor Rachel Canny	Abstain
Councillor John Clarke	Against
Councillor Nick Clarke	For
Councillor John Cotterill	Against
Councillor John Coxon	Against
Councillor David Everitt	For
Councillor Dr Terri Eynon	For
Councillor Felix Fenning	For
Councillor John Geary	For
Councillor Stuart Gillard	Against
Councillor Tony Gillard	Against
Councillor Louise Goacher	Against
Councillor Dan Harrison	Against
Councillor Gill Hoult	Against
Councillor Jim Hoult	Against
Councillor Russell Johnson	For
Councillor Geraint Jones	Against
Councillor John Legrys	For
Councillor Susan McKendrick	For
Councillor Trevor Pendleton	Against
Councillor Paula Purver	Against
Councillor Virge Richichi	Against
Councillor Nicholas Rushton	Against
Councillor Tony Saffell	Abstain
Councillor Sean Sheahan	For
Councillor Nigel Smith	Against
Councillor Alison Smith MBE	Against
Councillor Michael Specht	Against
Councillor David Stevenson	Against
Councillor Michael Wyatt	Against
Rejected

 

The motion was declared LOST.

 

The Chairman referred members to the substantive motion as set out in the agenda. 

 

Councillor S Sheahan stated that the Labour group would abstain from voting due to the flaws in the budget.  He felt there was an overreliance on unsustainable funding streams and he did not believe opportunities to put pressure on government to provide suitable funding were being maximised. 

 

Councillor J Legrys expressed concern that constituents were questioning value for money.  He felt that the council should return to providing services to people within its remit.

 

Councillor R Johnson welcomed the employment of a compliance and enforcement officer as suggested in the Labour Group’s amendment to the previous year’s budget. 

 

Councillor F Fenning thanked the officers who had been preparing budgets from last September in order to reach a sensible financial settlement.  He appreciated all the work which had been undertaken and he looked forward to possibly a more open budget process in future.  He expressed concern that the council was not able to budget effectively to ensure that expenditure was spent.  He added that this vital process was unfortunately misunderstood by the general public.

 

Councillor T Eynon stated that in setting the precept, it was necessary to be aware of the needs of our community and how much they can afford to pay and she felt this council did have that in mind.  She referred all members to the Stop the Knock website ad highlighted that this council was sending out bailiffs to over 3000 households, whilst Chester Borough Council had sent bailiffs to 2 households.  She advised that evidence on good practice had been provided to the LGA on cost cutting and she hoped this could be part of the transformation. 

 

Councillor R Blunt commented that he had no optimism regarding funding from central government.  He highlighted the improvements that were being made for residents, including a new car park in Ashby de la Zouch, a reinvigorated Coalville, a bypass for Kegworth, new social housing and a new leisure centre.  He believed that this was a budget all members could be proud of and he urged all members to support it. 

 

Councillor N J Rushton highlight that one council had increased its council tax by 49%.  He added that this was the ninth year our council tax had been frozen and members should be proud of this.  He explained that this was possible due to the massive growth in the region, the increases in business rates, sustainable good growth and an extra £3 million in new homes bonus.  He added that a contingency fund was being set up.  He highlighted the losses that had been sustained this year in particular, including the loss of recycling income and the increase in staff wages.

 

The Chairman then put the motion to the vote.

 

A recorded vote having been requested, the voting was as follows: 

 

Substantive motion (Motion)
Councillor Ron Adams	Abstain
Councillor Graham Allman	For
Councillor Robert Ashman	For
Councillor Roger Bayliss	For
Councillor Richard Blunt	For
Councillor Russell Boam	For
Councillor John Bridges	For
Councillor Rachel Canny	Abstain
Councillor John Clarke	For
Councillor Nick Clarke	Abstain
Councillor John Cotterill	For
Councillor John Coxon	For
Councillor David Everitt	Abstain
Councillor Dr Terri Eynon	Abstain
Councillor Felix Fenning	Abstain
Councillor John Geary	Abstain
Councillor Stuart Gillard	For
Councillor Tony Gillard	For
Councillor Louise Goacher	For
Councillor Dan Harrison	For
Councillor Gill Hoult	For
Councillor Jim Hoult	For
Councillor Russell Johnson	Abstain
Councillor Geraint Jones	Abstain
Councillor John Legrys	Abstain
Councillor Susan McKendrick	Abstain
Councillor Trevor Pendleton	For
Councillor Paula Purver	For
Councillor Virge Richichi	For
Councillor Nicholas Rushton	For
Councillor Tony Saffell	Against
Councillor Sean Sheahan	Abstain
Councillor Nigel Smith	For
Councillor Alison Smith MBE	For
Councillor Michael Specht	For
Councillor David Stevenson	For
Councillor Michael Wyatt	For
Carried

 

The motion was declared CARRIED. 

 

It was therefore

 

RESOLVED THAT:

 

1.       The Medium Term Financial Strategy approved by Cabinet on 6 February 2018 be approved.

 

2.       The Section 151 Officer’s comments on the robustness of the estimates and adequacy of reserves be noted.

 

3.       The General Fund Revenue Budget for 2018/19 be approved.

 

4.       The Special Expenses Revenue Budget for 2018/19 be approved.

 

5.       The district council tax in 2018/19 be frozen.

 

6.       The creation of a new self-sufficiency reserve be approved.

 

7.       The transfer of £900k of General Fund reserves and the forecasted surplus income over expenditure (currently projected at £1.86m) in 2017/18 to the self-sufficiency reserve be approved.

 

8.       The transfer of any surplus income over expenditure in 2018/19 to the self-sufficiency reserve (currently budgeted as £299,000) be approved.

 

9.       The decrease in council house rents for 2018/19 by 1% (average of 79 pence per week) be approved.

 

10.     The increase of 3.9% (25 pence per week) in garage rents for 2018/19 be approved.

 

11.     Central heating charges for 2018/19 remaining at the same level as for 2017/18 be approved.

 

12.     The average increase of 0.40% (1.6 pence per week) in service charge for 2018/19 be approved.

 

13.     The ground rent increase at Appleby Magna caravan site of 3.9% (£2.04 per week) on the anniversary of each individual rent agreement in 2018/19 be approved.

 

14.     The Lifeline charges for private customers be maintained at the 2017/18 level and increased by 3.9% for registered provider customers from April 2018.

 

15.     The proposed General Fund, Special Expenses and Housing Revenue Account Capital Programmes for 2018/19 and planned financing be approved.

 

16.     The vehicle replacement programme for 2019/20 be approved.

 

17.     The Capital Programmes 2019/20 – 2022/23 be approved for indicative purposes only.

 

18.     The 2018/19 Capital Strategy be approved (in line with the prudential code).

 

19.     The following amounts for the year 2018/19 be approved in accordance with section 31b of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended:

 

(1)     32,852 being the amount calculated by the council, in accordance with regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, as its council tax base for the year.

 

(2)     the amounts specified in Appendix 6 Table A of this report being the amounts calculated by the council, in accordance with section 34 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the amounts of its council tax base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

 

20.     The following amounts be now calculated by the council for the year 2018/19 in accordance with sections 31a and 31b of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended:

 

(1)     district / parish gross expenditure

          £63,276,299 being the aggregate of the amounts which the council estimates for the items set out in section 31a (2) of the Act.

 

(2)     income

£55,575,013 being the aggregate of the amounts which the council estimates for the items set out in section 31a (3) of the Act.

 

(3)     district / parish net expenditure

£7,701,286 being the amount by which the aggregate at 20(1) above exceeds the aggregate at 20(2) above, calculated by the council in accordance with section 31a (4) of the Act as its council tax requirement for the year.

 

(4)     basic amount of tax (including average parish precepts)

          £234.42 being the amount at 20(3) above, divided by the amount stated as the council tax base in parts of the council’s area, calculated by the council in accordance with section 31 b of the Act as the basic amount of its council tax for the year.

 

(5)     parish precepts/special expenses

          £2,491,616 being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in section 35(1) of the Act.

 

(6)     basic amount of tax (basic council tax – district)

          £158.58 being the amount at 20(4) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 20(5) above by the amount as stated as the council tax base for the whole of the council area, calculated by the council in accordance with section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates.

 

(7)     basic amount of tax (parished areas)

          The amounts listed in column 5 of table b of Appendix 6 to this report, being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 20(6) above, the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the council’s area mentioned, divided in each case by the amount stated as the council tax base in parts of the council area, 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 dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

 

(8)     district /parish council tax rates

          The amounts set out in in Table C Appendix 6 to this report being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 20(6) and 20(7) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a

          particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band d, calculated by the council in accordance with section 36(1) of the Act as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwelling listed in different valuation bands.

 

21.     Major precepting authorities

          It be noted that the amounts set out in Table D Appendix 6 to this report are the amounts notified by Leicestershire County Council, Leicestershire Police and Crime Commissioner and the combined fire authority in accordance with section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as their precepts for 2018/19 for each of the categories of dwellings listed.

 

22.     council tax rates – all bands

          That, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 20(8) (Table C Appendix 6) and 21 (Table D Appendix 6) above, the council in accordance with section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 hereby sets the amounts of council tax for the council’s area for the year 2018/19 for each of the categories

          of dwellings as shown in Table E Appendix 6.

 

23.     Referendums relating to council tax increases

          It be noted that the relevant basic amount of council tax for 2018/19 is not excessive.