Agenda item

Councillor Longley submitted a report which sought approval for the final budget 2022-23 and Medium-Term Financial Plan for West Northamptonshire Council. The report incorporated feedback from the budget consultation, relevant public consultations, and the scrutiny process. He gave his thanks to staff who had contributed to the budget and highlighted the salient points within the report:

·       The first year of West Northamptonshire Council had been a year of discovery. The latest forecast for 2021-22 suggested there would be a small underspend.

·       The £5m contingency would be maintained.

·       He believed the budget setting process had been as open as it could be.

·       The Council was mandated to harmonise Council Tax within three years.

·       The next budget for the Council was £342.32m (excluding Dedicated Schools Grant).

·       This included allowance for increased demand on service and payment of all staff above the foundation living wage to £10 per hour.

·       Capital investment would be available for proposals that could reduce revenue expenditure.

·       He summarised the key points of the budget for each council service.

 

Councillor Rumens seconded the report and commented that the Council was in a difficult position, but it was working on generating additional funds through transformation; this was the best thing to be done to improve the lives of residents.

 

Councillor Stone proposed and amendment to the budget, which had been tabled prior to the meeting. She noted that CIPFA, FSA and the LGA recommended reserves of 5%; 10% was prudent given the current circumstances. The amendments proposed by the Labour Group would alleviate hardship, grow community resilience and provide the Council with a platform for growth and ensure the wellbeing of communities.

 

Councillor Barrett seconded the amendment and highlighted the prevalence of food bank use both nationally and locally. He noted that the Council had the resources to end the need for food banks in the town and lamented the reliance of the voluntary sector to help those most in need.

 

Members debated the amendments. At the conclusion of the debate, there voted for the amendments:

 

Councillors Alwahabi, Ashraf, Baker, Barrett, Beardsworth, Harris, Holland-Delamere, Humphreys, Jolley, Meredith, Purser, Randall, E Roberts, J Roberts, Sharps, Z Smith, Stone, Tarasiewicz.

 

There voted against the amendments:

 

Councillors Bagot-Webb, Bambridge, Barter, Bignell, Bowen, Breese, A Brown, Chantler, Chauhan, Clarke, Clubley, Connolly, Cooper, Cribbin, Dyball, Eastwood, Fowler, Frost, J Gilford, T Gilford, Golby, Grant, Hallam, Harrington-Carter, Hawes, Hibbert, Hinch, Hughes, Irving-Swift, James, Kilbride, King, Lane, Larratt, Lister, Longley, Lunn, Matten, McCord, Morton, Nunn, Parker, Patel, Pritchard, Rumens, Russell, Shephard, D Smith, Solesbury-Timms, Stevenson, Sturges-Alex, Warren.

 

There abstained:

 

The Chairman Councillor Addison, Councillor Manners.

 

The amendment was lost.

 

Councillor Harris proposed and an amendment to the budget, which had been tabled prior to the meeting. Proposed were increased investment to Children’s Services, funds for proper development of early action around climate initiatives, and for climate standards training. Reorganisation of the Transformation Team was also proposed. The amendment also included the proposal that the Council become an accredited White Ribbon Organisation and to further develop community-based programmes in the prevention of violence against women and girls, funded by requesting that HS2 pay for at least 50% of the cost of the proposed HS2 Warden. Also included was the freezing of country park charging for 12 months to pilot the effects of shorter-term parking terms.

 

Councillor Beardsworth seconded the amendment and highlighted the importance of increased spending on Children’s Services. Extra spending and training around climate change were also essential.

 

Members debated the amendments. At the conclusion of the debate, there voted for the amendment:

 

Councillors Alwahabi, Ashraf, Barrett, Beardsworth, Harris, Holland-Delamere, Humphreys, Jolley, Meredith, Purser, Randall, E Roberts, Russell, Sharps, Z Smith, Stone, Tarasiewicz.

 

There voted against the amendment:

 

Councillors Bagot-Webb, Baker, Bambridge, Barter, Bignell, Bowen, Breese, A Brown, Chantler, Chauhan, Chowdhury, Clark, Clarke, Clubley, Connolly, Cooper, Cribbin, Dyball, Eastwood, Fowler, Frost, J Gilford, T Gilford, Golby, Grant, Hallam, Harrington-Carter, Hawes, Hibbert, Hinch, Hughes, Irving-Swift, James, Kilbride, King, Lane, Larratt, Lister, Longley, Manners, Matten, Morton, Nunn, Parker, Patel, Pritchard, J Roberts, Rumens, Sargeant, Shephard, D Smith, Solesbury-Timms, Stevenson, Sturges-Alex, Warren.

 

There abstained:

 

The Chairman Councillor Addison, Councillor McCord.

 

The amendment was lost.

 

Councillor McCord proposed and an amendment to the budget, which had been tabled prior to the meeting. He stated that getting rid of the charge for garden waste collection was the right thing to do; there was no need to double-charge residents for what was a core service.

 

Councillor Sharps seconded the amendment.

 

Members debated the amendments. At the conclusion of the debate, there voted for the amendments:

 

Councillors Alwahabi, Ashraf, Barrett, Beardsworth, Cooper, Harrington-Carter, Harris, Holland-Delamere, Humphreys, Jolley, McCord, Meredith, Pritchard, Purser, Randall, E Roberts, Russell, Sharps, Z Smith, Tarasiewicz

 

There voted against the amendments:

 

Councillors Bagot-Webb, Baker, Barter, Bignell, Bowen, Breese, A Brown, Chantler, Chauhan, Chowdhury, Clark, Clarke, Connolly, Dyball, Eastwood, J Gilford, T Gilford, Golby, Grant, Hallam, Haque, Hawes, Hibbert, Hinch, Hughes, Irving-Swift, James, Kilbride, King, Lane, Larratt, Lister, Longley, Lunn, Manners, Matten, Morton, Nunn, Parker, Patel, J Roberts, Rumens, Sargeant, Shephard, D Smith, Solesbury-Timms, Stevenson Stone, Warren.

 

There abstained:

 

The Chairman Councillor Addison, Councillors Bambridge, Clubley, Fowler, Frost.

 

The amendment was lost.

 

Council debated the recommendations contained within the report. The following points were raised during the debate:

·       The Council should not increase council tax without improving services and meeting the needs of residents.

·       The Council should be better funded by the Government.

·       The budget should align with the ambition to be an excellent council, including its ambition to tackle poverty and climate change.

·       Residents were being affected by the rising cost of living and found it difficult to access the hardship fund.

·       The Council should not maintain reserves at such high levels if those funds could be used for service provision.

·       Commitments to tackle the Council’s carbon footprint would cost tens of millions of pounds.

·       Further investment in housing, homelessness prevention and staff was welcomed.

 

There voted for the recommendations:

 

The Chairman Councillor Addison, Councillors Bagot-Webb, Baker, Bambridge, Barter, Bignell, Bowen, Breese, A Brown, Chantler, Chauhan, Chowdhury, Clark, Clarke, Clubley, Connolly, Cooper, Cribbin, Dyball, Eastwood, Fowler, Frost, J Gilford, T Gilford, Golby, Grant, Hallam, Harrington-Carter, Hawes, Hibbert, Hinch, Hughes Irving-Swift, D James, Kilbride, King, Lane, Larratt, Lister, Longley, Lunn, Manners, Morton, Nunn Parker, Patel, Pritchard, J Roberts, Rumens, Sargeant, Sharps, Shephard, D Smith, Solesbury-Timms, Stevenson, Sturges-Alex, Warren.

 

There voted against the recommendations:

 

Councillors Alwahabi, Ashraf, Barrett, Beardsworth, Harris, Holland-Delamere, Humphreys, Jolley, McCord, Meredith, Purser, Randall, E Roberts, Russell, Z Smith, Stone, Tarasiewicz.

 

There abstained:

 

Councillor McCord.

 

RESOLVED:

 

Council:

 

a)    Approved the 2022-23 Budget for West Northamptonshire set out in the report, as recommended by Cabinet at the meeting held on 15 February 2022, including

i.                 an estimated net revenue budget of £753.490m (£342.318m excluding Dedicated Schools Grant) as set out in Appendix A.

ii.                an average Band D Council tax of £1,613.23 for West Northamptonshire Council, which represents an increase of 2.99%. (1.99% increase in ‘core’ Council Tax and 1% Adult Social Care Precept).

iii.              Noting the Council Tax rebate of £150.00 for all Band A-D Council Tax payers and a further discretionary amount of funding for properties in Bands E-H. The details of this scheme are yet to emerge and more information will be provided once it is available.

iv.              Noting the balance of the WNC Council Tax hardship fund and encouraging residents to apply for such funding if they are facing financial hardship.

v.               Fees and Charges schedule as detailed in Appendix D

vi.              dedicated schools grant budget of £411.2m as detailed in Appendix E

vii.            the Capital Strategy as set out at paragraphs 6.118-6.136 and Appendix F1, and Capital Programme as set out in Appendix F2.

viii.           adoption of the changes to the 2021-22 capital strategy and MRP policy as outlined in paragraph 6.127

ix.              the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy set out in Appendix G

x.               the Treasury Management Strategy set out in Appendix J

xi.              setting the authorised limits for borrowing as set out in the table at paragraph 6.143

 

b)    Approved the following further recommendations from the Cabinet to Full Council on 24 February 2022, to ensure that the revenue and capital budget and all associated financial policies can be delivered in a safe and legal manner from 1 April 2022 and also to ensure there is flexibility to manage the overall budget in the year:

i)                 Delegated authority to the Executive Director - Finance to manage any variation in budget prior to the start of 2022-23 as a result of any unforeseen commitments; in consultation with the Finance Portfolio Holder.

ii)               Delegated authority to the Executive Director - Finance in consultation with the portfolio holder for Finance to amend the capital programme for 2022-23 going forward so that it accurately reflects issues such as slippage on current year projects that will need to be added to the programme, any amendments made to existing capital programmes, adjustments to accommodate any future use of capital receipts policy and for any other reason where the capital programme needs to be adjusted.

iii)              Approved the review of reserves as summarised in the table contained at paragraph 6.105

iv)             Delegated authority to the Executive Director - Finance to employ earmarked reserves for the purposes they were set up for including the release of the risk reserve if required.

v)               Delegated authority to the Executive Director – Finance in consultation with the portfolio holder for finance to release the general contingency fund of £9.8m if required in the year.

vi)             Delegated authority to the Executive Director – Finance in consultation with the portfolio holder for Finance to amend Fees and Charges if required in 2022-23

vii)            Delegated authority to the Executive Director – Finance to finalise and agree all outstanding financial policies and strategies in order to ensure that the Council has the policies in place by 1 April 2022

c)     For the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG):

i)      Noted the allocations and planned usage of the DSG for 2022-23, and

ii)    Following consultation with the Schools Forum, delegated authority to the Executive Director for Children’s Services to determine the DSG 2022-23 schools funding formula, high needs funding arrangements and the Early Years Funding Formula in line with Department for Education guidance.

d)    Considered the Section 25 statement of the Chief Finance Officer detailed at paragraphs 7.1-7.42 of the report.

e)    Noted the consultation feedback on the budget in Appendix H

f)      Noted the feedback from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee in Appendix I

g)    Included provision in the budget for the minimum hourly rate to be increased above the Foundation Living Wage of £9.90 to £10.00 per hour for all Council staff recognising that the final award is subject to the collective bargaining with the recognised trade union representatives. It is recommended that the additional costs are funded through the base budget contingency contained within the final budget proposals contained within this report.