Agenda item

Final Budget Report 2020-2021

[To consider and determine the Council’s budgetary provisions for the forthcoming municipal year:

 

·                Capital Programme 2019-2020 to 2023-2024 quarter three review and 2020-  2021 to 2024-2025 budget strategy

·                Treasury Management Strategy 2020-2021 

·                Final Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2020-2021 to 2023-2024

·                Council Tax Formal Resolutions.]

Decision:

1.     That the revised medium term General Revenue Account capital programme of £368.4 million, an increase of £41.3 million from the previously approved programme, and the change in associated resources be approved.

 

2.     That the authorised borrowing limit for 2020-2021 to support the capital strategy as required under Section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 be set at £1,136.6 million (PI3, Appendix 3 to the Cabinet report); the forecast borrowing is below the authorised borrowing limit.

 

3.     That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2020-2021 as set out in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

4.     That the Annual Investment Strategy 2020-2021 as set out in Appendix 2 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

5.     That the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators as set out in Appendix 3 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

6.     That the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement setting out the method used to calculate MRP for 2020-2021 as set out in Appendix 4 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

7.     That the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Treasury Management Practices as set out in Appendix 6 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

8.     That that authority continues to be delegated to the Director of Finance to amend the Treasury Management Policy and Practices and any corresponding changes required to the Treasury Management Strategy, the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, the Investment Strategy and the Annual MRP Statement to ensure they remain aligned. Any amendments would be reported to the Cabinet Member for Resources and Cabinet (Resources) Panel as appropriate.

 

9.     That the net budget requirement for 2020-2021 of £248.2 million for General Fund services as set out in paragraph 19.1 of the Cabinet report be approved.

 

10.  That the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2020-2021 to 2023-2024 as detailed in Table 7 and the budget preparation parameters underpinning the MTFS as detailed in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

11.  That a Council Tax for Council services in 2020-2021 of £1,681.58 for a Band D property, being an increase of 3.99% on 2019-2020 levels, which incorporates the 2% increase in relation to Adult Social Care (paragraph 9.6 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

12.  That work starts on developing budget reductions and income generation proposals for 2021-2022 onwards in line with the Five Year Financial Strategy (paragraph 19.5 of the Cabinet report).

 

13.  That revisions to the local council tax support scheme to introduce a disregard of any compensatory payments that are similarly disregarded in the prescribed scheme, and any transitional payments made to compensate for the loss of the severe disability premium in Universal Credit (paragraph 10.5 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

14.  That it be noted that the Council Tax base for the year 2020-2021 is calculated at 64,726.80 (Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”), as reported to Cabinet on 22 January 2020.

 

15.  Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2020-2021 is £108,843,000.

 

16.  That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2020-2021 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended:

 

(a)      £629,915,000      being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.

 

(b)      £521,072,000      being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

 

(c)       £108,843,000      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)       £1,681.58             being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (section 1 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)      £0                          being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.

 

(f)        £1,681.58             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.

 

17.  That it be noted that that West Midlands Police and Fire Authorities 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.

 

 

 

 

 

18.  That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the tables as the amounts of Council Tax for 2020-2021 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

 

 

19.  That, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at (3) (f) and (4) above, the City Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of the Council Tax for the year 2020-2021 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

 

20.  That a notice of the amounts payable in respect of chargeable dwellings in each valuation band for the year commencing on 1 April 2020 be published in at least one local newspaper and that in accordance with Section 3(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, this notice shall also make reference to the National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier set by the Secretary of State, and specify that the Council Tax and the non-domestic rate demands are annual demands which cover the full financial year.

 

21.  That the Council has determined that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2020-2021 is not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB Local Government Finance Act 1992.

 

22.  That as the billing authority, the Council has not been notified by a major precepting authority that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2020-2021 is excessive and that the billing authority is not required to hold a referendum in accordance with Section 52ZK Local Government Finance Act 1992.

 

23.  That it be noted that the authorised borrowing limit recommended in the report includes an increase of £5.0 million which has arisen due to changes in accounting treatment of leases.

 

24.  That it be noted that the MRP charge for the financial year 2020-2021 would be £17.9 million; it is forecast to increase to £20.9 million in 2021-2022 (paragraph 2.13 of the Cabinet report).

 

25.  That it be noted that Cabinet or Cabinet (Resources) Panel and Council would receive regular Treasury Management reports during 2020-2021 on performance against the key targets and Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators in the Treasury Management Strategy and Investment Strategy as set out in paragraph 2.11 and Appendices 2 and 3 to the Cabinet report.

Minutes:

Councillor Louise Miles presented the Final Budget Report 2020 – 2021 which encompassed the Capital Programme 2019-2020 to 2023-2024 quarter three review and 2020-2021 to 2024-2025 budget strategy, Treasury Management Strategy 2020-2021, Final Budget and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2020-2021 to 2023-2024 and Council Tax Formal Resolutions for approval.

 

Councillor Louise Miles outlined the recommendations of the report, drawing Councillors attention to the challenges that the Council faced. She advised the proposed budget was balanced and that resources were aligned to key policies of the Council.

 

Councillor Louise Miles advised that the Council was committed to funding fire safety measures, investing in the city for regeneration projects, education, highways, climate change and young people. 

 

Councillor Louise Miles advised that Council Tax would be increased by 1.99% and adult social care by 2%.  She went on to outline the rationale for increasing these taxes.

 

Councillor Louise Miles commended the work of the Director of Finance and the Finance Team.

 

Councillor Louise Miles proposed the recommendations and the Leader of the Council, Councillor Ian Brookfield seconded the recommendations.

 

Councillor Wendy Thompson provided the principle speech in response to the budget report.

 

The report was debated by Council.

 

In accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 the votes were recorded as follows:

 

The motion was CARRIED by 40 votes. There were eight abstentions.  

 

Resolved:

 

1.       That the revised medium term General Revenue Account capital programme of £368.4 million, an increase of £41.3 million from the previously approved programme, and the change in associated resources be approved.

 

2.       That the authorised borrowing limit for 2020-2021 to support the capital strategy as required under Section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 be set at £1,136.6 million (PI3, Appendix 3 to the Cabinet report); the forecast borrowing is below the authorised borrowing limit.

 

3.       That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2020-2021 as set out in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

4.       That the Annual Investment Strategy 2020-2021 as set out in Appendix 2 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

5.       That the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators as set out in Appendix 3 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

6.       That the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement setting out the method used to calculate MRP for 2020-2021 as set out in Appendix 4 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

7.       That the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Treasury Management Practices as set out in Appendix 6 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

8.       That that authority continues to be delegated to the Director of Finance to amend the Treasury Management Policy and Practices and any corresponding changes required to the Treasury Management Strategy, the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, the Investment Strategy and the Annual MRP Statement to ensure they remain aligned. Any amendments would be reported to the Cabinet Member for Resources and Cabinet (Resources) Panel as appropriate.

 

9.       That the net budget requirement for 2020-2021 of £248.2 million for General Fund services as set out in paragraph 19.1 of the Cabinet report be approved.

 

10.   That the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2020-2021 to 2023-2024 as detailed in Table 7 and the budget preparation parameters underpinning the MTFS as detailed in Appendix 1 to the Cabinet report be approved.

 

11.   That a Council Tax for Council services in 2020-2021 of £1,681.58 for a Band D property, being an increase of 3.99% on 2019-2020 levels, which incorporates the 2% increase in relation to Adult Social Care (paragraph 9.6 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

12.   That work starts on developing budget reductions and income generation proposals for 2021-2022 onwards in line with the Five Year Financial Strategy (paragraph 19.5 of the Cabinet report).

 

13.   That revisions to the local council tax support scheme to introduce a disregard of any compensatory payments that are similarly disregarded in the prescribed scheme, and any transitional payments made to compensate for the loss of the severe disability premium in Universal Credit (paragraph 10.5 of the Cabinet report) be approved.

 

14.   That it be noted that the Council Tax base for the year 2020-2021 is calculated at 64,726.80 (Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”), as reported to Cabinet on 22 January 2020.

 

15.   Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2020-2021 is £108,843,000.

 

16.   That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2020-2021 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended:

 

(a)        £629,915,000     being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.

 

(b)        £521,072,000     being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

 

(c)        £108,843,000     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)         £1,681.58           being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (section 1 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)        £0                      being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.

 

(f)          £1,681.58           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.

 

17.   That it be noted that that West Midlands Police and Fire Authorities 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 detailed in the report.

 

18.   That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts as detailed in the report as the amounts of Council Tax for 2020-2021 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

 

19.   That, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at (3) (f) and (4) above, the City Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of the Council Tax for the year 2020-2021 for each of the categories of dwellings as detailed in the report.

 

20.   That a notice of the amounts payable in respect of chargeable dwellings in each valuation band for the year commencing on 1 April 2020 be published in at least one local newspaper and that in accordance with Section 3(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, this notice shall also make reference to the National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier set by the Secretary of State, and specify that the Council Tax and the non-domestic rate demands are annual demands which cover the full financial year.

 

21.   That the Council has determined that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2020-2021 is not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB Local Government Finance Act 1992.

 

22.   That as the billing authority, the Council has not been notified by a major precepting authority that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2020-2021 is excessive and that the billing authority is not required to hold a referendum in accordance with Section 52ZK Local Government Finance Act 1992.

 

23.   That it be noted that the authorised borrowing limit recommended in the report includes an increase of £5.0 million which has arisen due to changes in accounting treatment of leases.

 

24.   That it be noted that the MRP charge for the financial year 2020-2021 would be £17.9 million; it is forecast to increase to £20.9 million in 2021-2022 (paragraph 2.13 of the Cabinet report).

 

25.   That it be noted that Cabinet or Cabinet (Resources) Panel and Council would receive regular Treasury Management reports during 2020-2021 on performance against the key targets and Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators in the Treasury Management Strategy and Investment Strategy as set out in paragraph 2.11 and Appendices 2 and 3 to the Cabinet report.

Supporting documents: