Issue - meetings

To approve and adopt the revenue budget for 2016/17, impact on the budget proposals in 2017/18 and 2018/19, investment proposals, use of reserves, comment and advice of the Interim Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services in relation to reserves, the consultation feedback from the public and partners, the proposed use of Capital Receipts to fund the first £2m of severance costs and the increase in the basic amount of Council Tax.

Further to Minute No. 29 of the meeting of the Cabinet/Commissioners’ Decision Making Meeting held on 23^rd February, 2016, consideration was given to the report which proposed a Revenue Budget for 2016/17 based on the outcome of the Council’s Financial Settlement, budget consultation and the consideration of Directorate budget proposals through the Council’s formal Budget and Scrutiny process (Overview and Scrutiny Management Board).

The Leader of the Council spoke of cuts that totalled £116 million. Today the funding gap had risen to £138 million. Over the next two years it would rise to £164 million and the numbers were difficult to comprehend.

About 1,500 fewer people were employed by Rotherham Council than six years ago and by 2025, another 1,500 jobs could be gone.

This was the reality of Tory austerity. Not some quick shift of funding, some short term cuts to balance the books, but a radical and fundamental shrinking of the state and the biggest change to local government funding since the Second World War.

The task was to defend the most vulnerable, to be more efficient, and to face the reality of a future in which the Council would be almost entirely dependent on council tax and business rates generated locally.

The Leader paid tribute to his Labour Group colleagues who have battled through this conundrum over the last few months and outlined the budget which would:-

·             Demonstrate once again the commitment to ensuring Children’s Services met the standards that Rotherham families needed. The package today totalled a budget increase of £12 million: including funding the larger compliment of children’s social workers, meet the commitment to improve social worker pay moving towards a more permanent workforce - and increasing the amount of money available for long term support to survivors of child sexual exploitation.

·             Secondly, it responded to public priorities around the local environment; litter, grass cutting. The additional funding was being protected for Streetpride made last year – and across the capital and revenue budgets more than a quarter of a million pounds would be made available for local projects determined by Members and delivered through Area Assemblies.

The extra investment in road resurfacing had already seen something like 70 streets resurfaced this year. In the capital budget today, the Council would commit to spend an extra £10 million over the next four years. That commitment would mean that the amount of money the Council spent on road maintenance would have been maintained at double the 2014/15 level every year for five years.

·             Thirdly, because it was the right thing to do, and because it was known that the future of funding for Council services hinged on it, the Council would not reduce its commitment to deliver 10,000 more private sector jobs over the next ten years. The award winning RiDO team would be prevented from falling off the edge of the funding cliff as previous grant funding expired. In the capital budget an in-principle commitment was outlined to invest up to £17 million in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 144

To note the outcome of the final Local Government Settlement and recommends to Council approval of the revenue budget for 2016/17, impact on the budget proposals in 2017/18 and 2018/19, investment proposals, use of reserves, comment and advice of the Interim Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services in relation to reserves, the consultation feedback from the public and partners, the proposed use of Capital Receipts to fund the first £2m of severance costs and the increase in the basic amount of Council Tax.

Report of the Interim Strategic Director of Finance and Corporate Services

Cabinet Member – Councillor Alam

Commissioners:  Myers/Ney (in advisory role)

Recommended:-  That the Council be asked to:-

·             Approve as set out in this report the proposals for a balanced revenue budget for 2016/17 and the impact of the budget proposals in 2017/18 and 2018/19.

·             Approve the investment proposals as set out in the budget report (Appendix 2) noting that some of this investment is required to address inherent budget pressures and some is required to provide scope for growth and improvement.

·             Approve the proposed use of Reserves as set out in this report.

·             Note and accept the comments and advice of the interim Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services (Section 151 Officer), provided in compliance with Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003, as to the robustness of the estimates included in the Budget and the adequacy of reserves for which the Budget provides.

·             Note the consultation feedback from the public and partners following publication of Directorate budget savings proposals on the Council’s website for public comment through to 12^th February 2016 (Section 5 of this report and Appendix 3).

·             Approve the proposed use of Capital Receipts to fund the first £2m of severance costs arising from service reconfiguration to deliver efficiencies and improved outcomes for clients and residents. See Efficiency Strategy (Appendix 4).

·             Note the planned review of Habershon House Outdoor Education Centre which will report back to Cabinet in June 2016 (Paragraph 3.27).

·             Approve:-

o      An increase in the basic amount of Council Tax (i.e. the Borough’s element excluding precepts) of 3.95% - this being comprised of a 2% precept for Adult Social Care services (a new precept announced in the provisional settlement in December 2015 for Authorities with Adult Social Care responsibilities) and a 1.95% increase in  the Council’s own basic level of Council Tax.

oThat the precept figures from South Yorkshire Police Authority, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority and the various Parish Councils and Parish Meetings within the Borough be incorporated, when known, into the recommendation to the Council on 2^nd March, 2016.

Consideration was given to a report introduced by Councillor Read, Leader of the Council, which proposed a Revenue Budget for 2016/17 based on the outcome of the Council’s Financial Settlement, budget consultation and the consideration of Directorate budget proposals through the Council’s formal Budget and Scrutiny process (Overview and Scrutiny Management Board).

Although the report contained proposals to balance the revenue budget for 2016/17, significant further early work needed to be undertaken in the new financial year in order to bring forward further proposals for Member/Commissioner consideration to enable the Council to establish a clear and sustainable financial plan for addressing the estimated financial gap that remained over the next two years (2017 to 2019). It would also need to start longer term planning for the period up to 2020 given the Government’s four-year settlement offer and the proposed fundamental changes in Local Government finance thereafter.

This report also provided feedback from public and partners in relation to the budget proposals in the light of their recent publication on the Council’s website for consultation until 12th February, 2016, as well as the extensive programme of engagement on the public priorities for the Council during 2015 which informed the “Views from Rotherham” report.

In addition, the Leader referred to items which had also been considered as part of the budget process which included looking at the best financial arrangements to protect frontline services, changes to capital reprofiling, PFI debt and Council Tax increase of 1.95% in addition to the 2% Adult Social Care precept which would maximise spending.

As a result of public consultation there was to be a further look at two service areas, which included the town centre visitor centre and school crossing patrol wardens, both of which were deferred for a year.

In terms of budget process, as expected, funding to Children and Young People’s Services had increased by £12 million with a further £50k being added to long term support for child sexual exploitation. The R.i.D.O. budget had also been protected in order to match the objective in growing jobs and maximising business rates as had Streetpride budgets as a result of direct requests from the public.

Councillor Alam, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Finance, also recommended the report as this set out the estimated budget position for 2017/18 and 2018/19 and was read in conjunction with the HRA budget report (agreed at full Council on 27th January, 2016), the Capital Strategy and the Treasury Management Strategy.

As part of the budget setting process it was suggested that a review be undertaken of Habershon House Outdoor Education Centre due to the projected income not meeting the full cost of providing the facility. This review would be reported to Cabinet in June and a decision made on its future operation based on a Value for Money assessment.

Stuart Booth, Interim Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services, as Section 151 Officer, reported on the robustness of the estimates included in the budget and the adequacy of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 29