Agenda item

The Council is requested to consider the Cabinet's recommendations on the Financial Plan, Medium Term Plan for 2009/13, the 2008/09 Budget, related Prudential Indicators and the Treasury Management Strategy (see also Item Nos. 61 and 62 of the Report of the meeting of the Cabinet) and in accordance with Section 30 (2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 draft resolutions as to the levels of Council Tax in 2008/09 for the various parts of Huntingdonshire District.

 

A report by the Head of Financial Services is enclosed.

 

(Members are requested to note that the information contained in Appendix B  should be treated as provisional at this stage.)

In conjunction with a report by the Head of Financial Services (a copy of which is appended in the Minute Book) and Item Nos. 61 and 62 of the Report of the Cabinet, the Executive Councillor for Finance, Councillor T V Rogers, addressed the Council on the Financial Plan, Medium Term Plan for 2009/2013, 2008/09 budget and related Prudential Indicators contained in the Treasury Management strategy.  In accordance with Section 30 (2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, the Council also considered proposals as to the levels of Council Tax in 2008/09 for the various parts of the Huntingdonshire District. 

 

In opening the debate, Councillor Rogers reminded Members that the Council continued to balance expenditure on service priorities against the requirement to set a Council Tax.  He made reference to the implications on the budget of variations in interest rates and inflation and acknowledged the contributions made by the Overview and Scrutiny Panels and members of the business community to the budgetary process which had originally commenced in September 2007.

 

In drawing Members’ attention to the Council’s decision at its meeting in December (Minute No. 47 (a) refers) to support a policy of limiting the increase in the budget requirement to 4.99%, Councillor Rogers explained that since then, alternative financial strategies had been considered.  Given ministerial advice and to avoid the risk of capping, the Overview and Scrutiny Panels and the Cabinet had recommended the adoption of Option B contained in Section 4.10 of Appendix A to the report now submitted which, in their view, offered the best balance between minimising the level of spending adjustment required and the risk of capping in 2008/09.  Councillor Rogers acknowledged that the adoption of this strategy would require further efficiency savings.  He also referred Members to a letter that he and the Leader of the Council had sent to the Minister for Local Government seeking an indication of the principles which the Government would apply when exercising capping powers but to which a reply had yet to be received.

 

Although suggesting that he thought it unlikely that the Council would be threatened by capping, Councillor Rogers indicated that he foresaw a situation where services would need to be curtailed as the Council’s reserves became depleted.  He urged Members to recognise that the Council had to do all it could to raise revenue by other means such as the imposition of charges for services.  Given that the acceptance of Option B would balance expenditure levels on the wide range of services offered by the Council against the desire to retain an affordable council tax, Councillor Rogers commended the recommendations by the Cabinet to Council as set out in the report of the Head of Financial Services.

 

In response to a question by Councillor Mrs M Banerjee, Councillor Rogers explained that the proposal to remove the general contingency of £144,000 from the budget would reduce still further the need to identify future spending adjustments, that the contingency provision had not been used for several years and that any unavoidable items of expenditure which might arise could be funded from the revenue reserves. 

 

Councillor J D Fell expressed his disappointment at the level of under-funding provided by the Government, particularly in view of the performance and efficiency that the Council had demonstrated in recent years and Councillor A Hansard drew the Member’s attention to the fact that only 8.4% of total council tax revenue was retained for expenditure by the District Council with the Council having no control over the remainder. 

 

Having highlighted the variations in the precepts set by Parish Councils, Councillor J A Gray congratulated the Cabinet for their hard work in presenting a balanced and reasonable budget capable of meeting the significant financial challenges which lay ahead.  The Leader of the Council, Councillor I C Bates expressed the view that Cambridgeshire authorities should jointly make representations to Central Government to strongly underline how poorly funded local government was in the County.

 

In response to Councillor Rogers’ address, Councillor P J Downes, on behalf of the Liberal Democrat Group, expressed his gratitude to Officers for the clarity of the budget documents and suggested that reforms were needed to the local government finance system if the Council was to receive the scale of Central Government funding to which it should be entitled.  Councillor Downes indicated his support for Option B, welcomed the opportunity given to the Overview and Scrutiny Panels to contribute to the debate and envisaged that difficulties would increase for the Council over the next 4/5 years as the level of reserves continued to fall. 

 

Councillor P J Downes also moved an amendment to the Motion and it was duly seconded -

 

  “that the following words be added after the word “excluded” at the end of the first bullet point of the recommendation contained in paragraph 3.1 of the report of the Head of Financial Services – ‘subject to an increase in the budget for recycling sites on page 36 of the Council agenda to £57,000 with consequential adjustments to the Council’s final budget requirement and the additional expenditure met from reserves, in order to investigate potential retention of Buckden Household Waste Recycling Centre as a weekend amenity and a report submitted to Cabinet in due course when investigations have been completed’.” 

 

Upon being put to the vote, the amendment was declared to be LOST. 

 

Councillor Downes further moved and it was duly seconded –

 

  “that in Annex D to Appendix A of the report of the Head of Financial Services, the following words/figure be added in columns two and three after Bid No. 363 in the Transportation Section – ‘Road Safety Scheme:  A141, Huntingdon (column 2) and £150,000 in 2008/09 (column 3)’.”

 

The Leader of the Council, Councillor I C Bates, explained that this matter had been discussed at a meeting of Cambridgeshire County Council on the previous day when Councillor Downes had been advised that the matter was the subject of ongoing discussions.  Councillor Bates suggested that it would be inappropriate for this matter to be discussed at this point in the proceedings and in accordance with Standing Order 11.10 (d), he moved and it was duly seconded -

 

  “that the question be now put”. 

 

On being put to the vote, the Motion was declared to be CARRIED. 

 

Accordingly, the amendment proposed by Councillor Downes was put to the vote and declared to be LOST. 

 

Whereupon, it was

 

RESOLVED

 

  (a)  that the proposed budget for 2008/09, Medium Term Plan for 2009/2013 and Financial Plan, as set out in Annexes C, D, E and F to the report now submitted be approved;

 

  (b)  that the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators, as set out in Appendix A to the report of the Cabinet now submitted be approved;

 

  (c)  that a Council Tax increase of 4.99% representing a Council Tax of £115.39 for a Band D property in 2008/09 be approved;

 

(d)  that the following amounts be calculated by the Council for 2008/09 in accordance with Sections 32 and 36 of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992 (the Act):-

 

    £

(i)  the aggregate of the  71,005,662

  amounts which the Council

  estimates for the items set

  out in Section 32(2) (a) to

  (e) of the Act

  Gross revenue expenditure

  including benefits and

  Town/Parish Precepts 

 

(ii)  the aggregate of the   48,470,515

  amounts which the

  Council estimates for

  the items set out in Section

  32 (3) (a) to (c) of the Act 

  Gross revenue income

  including reimbursement

  of benefits and   use of

  reserves 

 

(iii)  the amount by which the  22,535,147

  aggregate at (b) (i) above

  exceeds the aggregate

  at (b) (ii) above in

  accordance with

  Section 32 (4) of the Act

  Budget requirement plus

  Parish/Town Precepts

  (item i minus item ii)

 

(iv)  the aggregate of the  12,156,971

  amounts payable  

  into the General Fund

  for the items set

  out in Section 33 (1)

  of the Act.

  Government support

 

(v)  the aggregate of the    27,881

  amounts payable 

  to the General Fund

  for the items set

  out in Section 33 (3)

  of the Act

  Collection Fund deficit 

 

(vi)  the basic amount of    180.07

  Council  

  Tax for 2007/08 in

  accordance

  with Section 33 (1) 

  District plus average

  Town/Parish

  Council Tax

 

(vii)  the aggregate of special    3,737,487

  items referred

  to in Section 34 (1)

  TotalTown and

  Parish Council precepts 

 

(viii)  the basic amount of    115.39

  Council Tax for   per band

  2007/08 for those   D property

  parts of the District

  to which no special

  item relates

  District Council Tax

 

(ix)  the basic amounts of Council Tax for 2008/09 for those parts of the District to which one or more special items relate in accordance with Section 34 (3) of the Act are shown by adding the Huntingdonshire District Council amount to the appropriate Parish Council amount in column "band D" set out in table 1 attached to the Agenda.

 

  (x)  the amounts to be taken into account for 2008/09 in respect of categories of dwellings listed in the different valuation bands in accordance with Section 36 (1) of the Act are shown by adding the Huntingdonshire District Council amount to the appropriate Parish Council amount for each of the valuation bands in the columns "bands A to H" set out in table 1 attached to the Agenda.

 

  (e)  that the amounts of precept issued to the Council by Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire Police Authority and Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Fire Authority for each of the categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands in accordance with Section 40 of the Act shown in table 1 attached to the Agenda be noted; and

 

  (f)  that, having regard to the calculations above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30 (2) of the Local Government and Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the figures shown in table 2 as the amounts of Council Tax for 2008/09 for each of the categories of dwelling shown.