Issue - meetings

Caroline Ryba, Head of Finance

 

Key decision

 

 

This report presents the GF draft budget for 2023/24 and a summary of the responses to the associated public consultation. The draft budget is balanced using £2.9m of reserves and reduces the overall five-year savings requirement by £0.4m.

 

A briefing note covering the provisional local government finance settlement, council tax and business rates calculations and other proposed updates to the draft budget is included at Appendix B.

 

Following scrutiny, a final GF budget setting report (BSR) will be produced for presentation to The Executive on 9 February 2023, for recommendation to Council on 23 February 2023. Comments from the Scrutiny Committee will be reported to the Executive and Full Council.

 

Decision of the Executive Councillor for Finance, Resources and Transformation and Non-Statutory Deputy Leader recommended to Council:

 

·       That this report, including the estimated Prudential and Treasury Indicators for 2023/24 to 2026/27 (inclusive) as set out in Appendix C, be approved.

Reason for the Decision

As set out in the Officer’s report.

 

Any Alternative Options Considered and Rejected

Not applicable.

 

Scrutiny Considerations

 

The Scrutiny Committee received an introduction from the Head of Finance, who updated on the final Local Government Settlement being more than expected which in turn will result in less use of Reserves than forecast dependent on consideration by the Executive on 9 February of the final position.  The Section 25 report from the Head of Finance will accompany the updated Budget Setting Report to the Executive.

 

Cllr Bick proposed an amendment:

 

“Add new recommendation (3):

 

“Invite the Executive to reconsider the following budget items:

 

·      S5118 - Closing some Public Conveniences

Until the council has agreed an overall public toilet strategy, identifying logical locations where needs should be met, necessary investment in ongoing facilities and future coinless access options

 

·      S5143 - Environmental Services – reductions In staffing

On the basis that this would reduce capacity for one of the council’s primary activities at a point when the need is for more, rather than less coverage across the city to support increasing regulation and increasing population

 

·      S5102 – Cancel Big Weekend City Event

Until alternative models for funding and mounting this or a similar event have been examined

 

·      S5110 – Remove remaining subsidy for last 3 bus routes (from 2024/25)

And revisit when the budget for 2023/24 is considered, when we know what the GCP strategy would be and how this would affect bus services”

 

The Chair proposed that the amendment be passported to the Executive for consideration with no debate.  This was agreed by the Scrutiny Committee.

 

There was then some debate on whether the amendment had in fact been supported by the Scrutiny Committee. The meeting was adjourned whilst advice was sought from the Monitoring Officer on the process for presenting the amendment to the Executive.

 

Once re-convened the Chair proposed the amendment be altered to refer to invite the Executive to consider (ie. not re-consider).  Cllr Bick requested the amendment be voted on as submitted.

 

The amendment was lost by 3 votes to 5.

 

The Chair then proposed the amendment be altered as above which was approved by 5 votes to 0.

 

Scrutiny Committee unanimously supported the recommendations for the Executive Councillor for Finance, Resources and Transformation:

 

-Agree the proposed updates to the draft budget set out in Appendix B

-Note and consider the outcomes of the public consultation presented in Appendix C

-That the Executive is requested to consider the budget items listed above.

 

The Executive Councillor for Finance, Resources and Transformation approved the recommendations and re-iterated that a review of the new budget process should be undertaken by the scrutiny committee at the conclusion of this year’s process.

 

Conflicts of interest declared by the Executive Councillor (and any dispensation granted)

 

No conflicts of interest were declared by the Executive Councillor.