Agenda and minutes

There were no apologies for absence.

To invite Councillors to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests and / or Other Disclosable Interests they may have in items on the agenda, and to confirm the nature of those interests.

There were no declarations of interest.

The Leader announced that a copy of the Council Tax Resolutions had been tabled for Members’ consideration that evening.  Alongside this an additional recommendation had been tabled by Officers for Members’ consideration in respect of the Council Tax Resolutions.

Members were also asked to note that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee had agreed a recommendation in respect of the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2018/19 to 2021/22 at a meeting on 13^th February 2018.  An extract from the minutes of this meeting had been provided for Members’ consideration in an additional papers pack and the recommendation would be debated alongside the MTFP.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 6^th February 2018 be approved as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Resources presented the Pay Policy 2018/19 and in so doing explained that the report was produced in line with statutory requirements.  The Council paid every Member of staff at least the foundation living wage or above.  All roles were assessed via the Council’s job evaluation process and more complex positions could receive a Hay grade, which was often awarded for senior roles covering shared services.

The report outlined the proportion of funding contributed by the Council in respect of the most senior officers.  In the majority of cases, as these were primarily shared roles, the Council contributed 50 per cent of the costs.  However, for the Head of Housing the full costs were met by the authority as Redditch Borough Council was the only local authority to retain its housing stock in Worcestershire.

The Council’s pay levels meant that the multiple between the lowest paid full-time equivalent member of staff and the Chief Executive was 1:8.5.  This compared well with other local authorities in the country.

RECOMMENDED that

the Pay Policy as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report be approved.

To consider updated information relating to the plan for 2018/19 to 2021/22.

Following this to recommend to Council the Council Tax for 2018/19.

The Executive Director of Finance and Corporate Resources presented the Medium Term Financial Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22.  During the presentation of this report the following matters were highlighted for Members’ consideration:

·                The Council Tax resolutions had to be tabled as the Council could not publish these until information had been received from all of the preceptors.

·                The Council had lost over £1.7 million in Revenue Support Grant funding from the Government over the last four years.

·                In 2018/19 the Council would receive only £35,000 in Revenue Support Grant.

·                From 2019/20 the Council would be required to pay the Government a Negative Support Grant.

·                This repayment to the Government was the subject of a review which could result in changes to local government funding in the long-term.

·                There had been a reduction in New Homes Bonus (NHB) funding following changes to the length of time for payments from six to four years and the introduction of a deadweight.

·                The deadweight required growth of 0.4 per cent of Band D equivalent properties in order for the Council to receive significant NHB funding.

·                Unfortunately the Council had not met this deadweight as many of the properties built in the Borough were classified as Bands A – C.

·                Officers had been advised that the Council would receive £22,000 in NHB funding in 2018/19 which was far lower than had been anticipated.  The expected figures had been based on previous years’ growth in the Borough.

·                The Government had advised that the baseline for business rates would be reset from 2021.  This could have negative financial implications for the Council in future years.

·                Unfortunately the Worcestershire bid to participate in a Business Rates Pool had not been successful.  The Government had advised that the business case had been robust but the bid had not succeeded due to the volume of bids that had been submitted around the country.

·                The Government was permitting local authorities to increase Council Tax by up to 3 per cent before triggering a referendum for the next two years.

·                In this context Officers were proposing that Council Tax be increased by 2.99 per cent in 2018/19 and 2019/20 and then increase by £5 each year in 2020/21 and 2021/22.

·                Whilst Redditch Borough Council collected Council Tax the majority of the Council Tax that was collected was allocated to Worcestershire County Council.

·                The Council had improved collection rates, with the authority receiving more in Council Tax than had been anticipated.

·                The report had been structured to present figures in-year within tables in the report, in line with a request that had been received from Members some years ago.

·                The Overview and Scrutiny Committee had suggested that this presentation format could be confusing and Officers indicated that it would be relatively easy to return to reporting figures on a cumulative basis within budget reports in future years.

·                For 2018/19 a balanced budget had been achieved, in line with legal requirements.

·                For the subsequent three years of the MTFP the budget did not yet balance,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 109.

Members noted that the recommendation that had been made at the meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 13^th February 2018 in respect of the Medium Term Financial Plan 2018/19 to 2021/22 had been considered and approved under Minute Item No. 109.