Issue - meetings

Report of the Strategic Director of Finance and Customer Services.

Recommendations:-

That Cabinet recommends to Council

1.      Approval of the Budget and Financial Strategy for 2021/22 as set out in the report and appendices, including the proposed budget adjustments and investments, a basic Council Tax increase of 1.99% and an  ...  view the full agenda text for item 117

Consideration was given to a report on the Council’s proposed Budget and Council Tax for 2021/22, based on the Council’s Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2021/22, budget consultation and the consideration of Directorate budget proposals through the Council’s formal Budget process alongside a review of the financial planning assumptions  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117

Cabinet Portfolio: - Corporate Services and Finance  

Strategic Directorate: - Finance and Customer Services

Consideration was given to a report that was submitted for pre-decision scrutiny ahead of the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 15 February 2021 in respect of the Budget and Council Tax 2021/22 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy. The Leader of the Council, the Chief Executive, the Strategic Director – Finance and Customer Services, the Assistant Director - Financial Services and the Head of Corporate Finance attended the meeting to present the report.

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, the Cabinet Member for Adult Social Care and Health, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services and Finance, the Cabinet Member for Corporate Services for Cleaner, Greener Communities, the Cabinet Member for Housing, the Assistant Chief Executive, the Strategic Director - Children and Young People, and the Strategic Director - Regeneration and Environment were also in attendance at the meeting.

The report provided information on the Council’s Budget and Council Tax for 2021/22 based on the Council’s Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement for 2021/21, budget consultation and the consideration of Directorate budget proposals through the Council’s formal Budget process, alongside a review of the financial planning assumptions contained within the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy. 

In setting the proposed 2021/22 budget, increases of 1.99% in the Council’s basic Council Tax and of 1.0% in the Adult Social Care precept were being recommended. The report also detailed the proposed revenue budget for 2021/22, an updated capital programme to 2023/24 and the updated Medium-Term Financial Strategy to 2022/23.

The report stated that the Council had faced considerable challenges during 2020/21 in its response to the global pandemic, with the impact of COVID-19 seeing a significant shift in how the Council had been able to function and provide services to residents. The impact of the COVID-19 emergency had seen significant financial pressures for the Council due to additional expenditure and lost income and the delayed delivery of planned savings and cost reductions. The report stated that whilst these financial pressures would largely be covered in year by financial support grants from Government, the long-term financial impact of COVID19 and financial support available to the Council remained uncertain.

The report stated that since the introduction of austerity measures in 2010, the Council had had to make savings in excess of £200million in response to the significant reductions in Central Government funding. The two-year budget for 2019/20 and 2020/21 that had been set at Council in February 2019 and reviewed during 2020/21 had required £34million of budget savings and cost reductions to be delivered to meet estimated funding gaps over the two years, including savings that had been agreed in previous years for delivery across this timescale. It was noted that over £16million of these savings and cost reductions would have been completed by the end of the current financial year, however £18million of agreed budget savings were still required to be delivered during 2021/22.

The Leader in introducing the report advised that while there would be no cuts to services during 2021/22 it  ...  view the full minutes text for item 301