Agenda and minutes

An apology for absence was received on behalf of Councillor Gemma Monaco.

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 explained that there were two agenda packs for consideration at the meeting; the main agenda pack and a supplementary pack.  The supplementary pack contained the report in respect of the Council Tax Resolutions.  As the supplementary pack had been published close to the date of the meeting, the Leader had agreed that paper copies of the pack should be tabled at the meeting, although the report had been available for Members and the public to access electronically for a number of days.

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on Tuesday 8^th February 2022 be approved as a true and correct record and signed by the Chair.

The Head of Business Transformation, Organisational Development and Digital Strategy presented the Pay Policy Statement 2022/23 for Members’ consideration.  The Executive Committee was advised that there was a requirement for the Council to publish the Pay Policy Statement every year.  This document needed to detail the remuneration provided to both the lowest paid and the highest paid members of staff and outline the differences between the two.  Information was also provided in the report about how the Council calculated the salaries that were paid to staff and the consistent approach that the authority applied to this process.

RECOMMENDED that

the Pay Policy Statement 2022/23 be approved.

The Executive Director of Resources presented the 2022/23 Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2022/23 to 2024/25. The report detailed the proposals for the budget in the 2022/23 financial year together with the Council’s plans for the full three-year period of the MTFP.  The content of the report had been changed when compared to previous years, to help provide clarity regarding the figures provided and the factors influencing the content of the budget.  The report had been scrutinised by the Budget Scrutiny Working Group, although no recommendations had been made.

The 2022/23 budget was robust and balanced.  However, Members were asked to note that a balanced position had only been achieved by using funding from balances.  This approach could not be applied in subsequent years and balances were expected to fall below minimum levels considered acceptable by the Section 151 Officer from 2023/24 onwards unless action was taken.

The budget was being set in a challenging financial context for local government.  There was also unprecedented uncertainty in terms of future funding arrangements for local Councils.

There were a number of factors that had influenced the content of the budget and MTFP.  This included:

·            Inflation, which was anticipated to remain at a higher level than in recent years.

·            Pay inflation, which was anticipated at 2 per cent per annum for the full three-year period of the MTFP.

·            Budget bids, which placed pressures on the budget.

·            Proposed savings.

·            Additional income opportunities.

·            A release of funding from earmarked reserves.

·            An increase in Council Tax for the Council, at £5 per annum.

·            A contribution from the Government of £100,000 in the Lower Tier Settlement.

RECOMMENDED that Council approve

1)         the overall net general fund revenue budgets of:

2)         the unavoidable costs:

3)         the Revenue Bids:

4)         the Identified Savings:

5)         an increase of the Council Tax per Band D equivalent of £5 for 2022/23;

6)         the transfer from General Fund Balances of £0.282m for 2022/23;

7)         the planned reallocation of £0.238m from Earmarked reserves to General Fund Balances;

8)         the General Fund capital programme of:

9)          the Housing Revenue Account Budget of:

10)       the Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme of:

11)      the 2020/21 Capital Outturn be noted; and

12)      the Chief Financial Officer’s (CFO) Opinion on Estimates and Reserve Levels be noted.

The Executive Director of Resources presented the Council Tax Resolutions 2022/23 for the Executive Committee’s consideration.  Members were advised that this was a technical report which outlined the Council Tax contributions that would be made to all precepting authorities in the 2022/23 financial year.  The various partner organisations that were precepting authorities had agreed their Council Tax requirements in recent weeks and had notified the Council, which had incorporated the figures into the report.

RESOLVED to NOTE that at a meeting on 11th January 2022, the Executive Committee calculated the Council Tax Base 2022-23 as:

(a)    for the whole Council area as 26,546.63 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”)]; and

(b)   for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish precept relates; this being Feckenham Parish as 374.52.

RECOMMENDED that

1)         the calculation for the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2022-23 (excluding Parish precepts) be£6,746,772.92;

2)         the following amounts be calculated for the year 2022-23 in accordance with sections 31 to 36 of the Act: 

(a)    £46,984,027 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (2) of the Act (taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils) (i.e., Gross expenditure);    

(b)    £40,222,255 being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (3) of the Act. (i.e., Gross income);               

(c)    £6,761,772 being the amount by which the aggregate of 1.2.2(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 1.2.2(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A (4) of the Act, as its Council Tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act);                  

(d)    £254.71 being the amount at 1.2.2 (c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (1.1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts);           

(e)    £15,000 being the aggregate amount of all special items (Feckenham Parish precept) referred to in Section 34 (1) of the Act;

(f)     £254.15 being the amount at 1.2.2 (d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 1.2.2 (e) above by Item T (1.1 (a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34 (2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no Parish precept relates;

(g)    £294.20 being the amount given by adding to the amount at 1.2.2(f), the amount of the special item relating to the Parish of Feckenham 1.2.2(e), divided by the amount in 1.1(b) above;

(h)    the amounts below given by multiplying the amounts at 1.2.2(f) and 1.2.2(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 83.

To receive and consider any outstanding minutes or referrals from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, Executive Panels etc. since the last meeting of the Executive Committee, other than as detailed in the items above.

The Leader advised that there were no referrals from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee or the Executive Advisory Panels on this occasion.

Members are invited to provide verbal updates, if any, in respect of the following bodies:

a)    Climate Change Cross-Party Working Group – Chair, Councillor Anthony Lovell;

b)    Constitutional Review Working Panel – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer;

c)    Corporate Parenting Board – Council Representative, Councillor Nyear Nazir;

d)    Member Support Steering Group – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer; and

e)    Planning Advisory Panel – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer.

The following updates were provided with respect to the Executive Advisory Panels and other bodies.

a)         Climate Change Cross Party Working Group – Chair, Councillor Anthony Lovell

Councillor Lovell confirmed that there had been no meetings of the Climate Change Cross Party Working Group since the previous meeting of the Executive Committee.

b)         Constitutional Review Working Party – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer

Members were advised that a meeting of the Constitutional Review Working Party was due to take place on 3^rd March 2022.

c)          Corporate Parenting Board – Council Representative, Councillor Nyear Nazir

Councillor Nazir explained that there were no updates to report.

d)         Member Support Steering Group – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer

Councillor Dormer advised that a meeting of the Member Support Steering Group had taken place on 15^th February 2022.  During the meeting, Members had discussed the draft induction pack for Councillors due to be elected in May 2022.  The requirements for Members to attend training, including the circumstances under which training should be classified as mandatory, had also been considered. 

Members had given consideration to the need for Members’ safety training to be provided, following the death of Sir David Amess MP.  It was anticipated that this training would be delivered before the end of the municipal year.

e)         Planning Advisory Panel – Chair, Councillor Matthew Dormer

The Executive Committee was informed that there were no scheduled meetings of the Planning Advisory Panel due to take place.