Agenda item

To receive the minutes and consider the recommendations from the following meetings of the Executive Committee:

 

2^nd February 2016 – report enclosed with this agenda;

 

22^nd February 2016, immediately prior to this meeting – the report is to follow..

 

Note that under the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, the Council is required to take a named vote when a decision is made on the budget calculation or Council tax at a budget decision meeting of the Council.

 

Under Section 106 of the Local Government Act 1992, any Councillor who is 2 or more months in arrears with their Council tax payments cannot participate in any item at the Council meeting concerning the budget.

 

The Council considered the minutes of the meeting of the Executive Committee held on 2nd February 2016, together with the recommendations of the Executive Committee meeting of 22nd February which had taken place immediately preceding the meeting of the Council, in respect of the Medium Term Financial Plan and Council Tax Resolutions.  An updated Medium Term Financial Plan report and the Council Tax Setting details appeared in Additional Papers 1 and 2 respectively to the 22nd February Executive Committee papers.  An amalgamated/updated set of recommendations from the Executive on 2nd February (page 53 of the Council agenda) and Executive on 22nd February (recommendations from the report in Additional Papers 1) were tabled for Members’ reference/assistance.

 

Further to the Officer presentation of the Medium Term Financial Plan which had taken place earlier in the evening at Executive Committee, opposing views were expressed by the controlling and opposition groups in relation to the budget. 

 

During the course of the debate a number of issues were raised on both sides of the divide, including:

 

·       the significant negative financial impact to the authority of the local government finance settlement 2016/17, which had included a 43% cut in Revenue Support Grant in the proposed settlement and Council payback of monies to the Government from 2019/20;

·       changes to the final finance settlement in light of issues raised by local authorities following consultation on the proposed settlement, together with an appeal by the Leader of the Council, some of which it was noted were of a transitional nature only;

·       delays with the Leisure Services review and the consequential financial impact of this;

·       government restrictions on rent increases; and

·       differing approaches which were being taken by local authorities in relation to how budgets, expenditure and savings plans were being addressed. 

 

Thanks were expressed to the s151 Officer and Finance Team for their work in producing the updated budget following unprecedented changes as a consequence of the local government finance settlement.

 

In accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, the recommendations on the budget calculation and Council Tax setting were the subject of the following named vote:

 

Members voting FOR the resolutions below:

 

Councillors Joe Baker, Natalie Brookes, Greg Chance, John Fisher, Andrew Fry, Bill Hartnett, Pattie Hill, Wanda King, Mark Shurmer, Rachael Smith, Yvonne Smith, Paul Swansborough, Debbie Taylor, Jennifer Wheeler, Pat Witherspoon and Nina Wood-Ford.

 

Members voting AGAINST the resolutions below:

 

Councillors Roger Bennett, Juliet Brunner, David Bush, Michael Chalk, Anita Clayton, Brandon Clayton, Matthew Dormer, Gay Hopkins, Jane Potter, Gareth Prosser, Antonia Pulsford and David Thain.

 

Accordingly, the motions were approved, and it was consequently

 

RESOLVED that

 

1)          the savings and additional income for 2016/17 of £654K as set out in Appendix 1 to these minutes be approved;

 

2)          the revenue bid for 2016/17 of £10k for Planning – Redditch Town Centre be approved;

 

3)          the capital bids of £1.220m as set out in Appendix 2 to these minutes be approved;

 

4)          the unavoidable pressures for 2016/17 of £305k as set out in Appendix 3 to these minutes be approved;

 

5)          the transfer from balances of £479k in 2016/17 be approved;

 

6)          the increase in Council Tax by £5 (2.2%) per band D equivalent be approved;

 

7)          it be noted that at its meeting on 12th January 2016, the Executive Committee calculated the Council Tax Base 2016/17 as follows:

 

(a)    for the whole Council area as 25,144.49 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance 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 365.88;

 

8)          the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2016/17 (excluding Parish precepts) is calculated at £5,587,357;

 

9)          the following amounts be calculated for the year 2015/16 in accordance with sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

 

(a)    £59,466,364     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)    £53,870,707     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)    £5,595,657       being the amount by which the aggregate of 9(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 9(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)    £222.54            being the amount at 9(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (7(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)    £8,300             being the aggregate amount of all special items (Feckenham Parish precept) referred to in Section 34 (1) of the Act;

                               

(f)     £222.21            being the amount at 9(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 9(e) above by Item T (7(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)    £244.90            being the amount given by adding to the amount at 9(f), the amount of the special item relating to the Parish of Feckenham 9(e), divided by the amount in 7(b) above;

                                         

(h)    the amounts below given by multiplying the amounts at 9(f) and 9(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band, divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in B and D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwelling listed in different valuation band;

 

Valuation Band	Proportion of Band D tax paid	Parish of Feckenham	All other parts of the Council’s area
		£	£
A	6/9	163.27	148.14
B	7/9	190.48	172.83
C	8/9	217.69	197.52
D	1	244.90	222.21
E	11/9	299.32	271.59
F	13/9	353.74	320.97
G	15/9	408.17	370.35
H	18/9	489.80	444.42

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10.   it be noted that for the year 2016/17, Worcestershire County Council, Police & Crime Commissioner for West Mercia and Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of dwelling in the Council’s area as indicated below;

 

 

Valuation Band	Worcestershire County Council     £	Police & Crime Commissioner for West Mercia   £	Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Authority £
A	748.21	126.40	52.00
B	872.91	147.47	60.67
C	997.61	168.54	69.33
D	1,122.31	189.60	78.00
E	1,371.72	231.74	95.33
F	1,621.12	273.87	112.67
G	1,870.52	316.01	130.00
H	2,244.63	379.21	156.00

 

 

11)   Having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 9(h) and 10 above, that Redditch Borough Council in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 hereby sets the amounts shown below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2016/17 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings;

 

Valuation Band	Proportion of Band D tax paid	Parish of Feckenham	All other parts of the Council’s area
		£	£
A	6/9	1,089.88	1,074.75
B	7/9	1,271.53	1,253.88
C	8/9	1,453.17	1,433.00
D	1	1,634.81	1,612.12
E	11/9	1,998.11	1,970.38
F	13/9	2,361.40	2,328.63
G	15/9	2,724.70	2,686.88
H	18/9	3,269.64	3,224.26

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12)   that the Executive Director Finance & Resources be authorised to make payments under Section 90(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 from the Collection Fund by ten equal instalments between April 2016 to March 2017 as detailed below;

 

	Precept	Surplus on Collection Fund	Total to pay
	£	£	£
Worcestershire County Council	28,219,978	516,402	28,736,380
Police & Crime Commissioner for West Mercia	4,767,493	88,909	4,856,402
Hereford & Worcester Fire	1,961,249	36,585	1,997,834

 

 

13)   that the Executive Director Finance & Resources be authorised to make transfers under Section 97 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 from the Collection Fund to the General Fund the sum of £5,595,655 being the Council’s own demand on the Collection Fund (£5,587,355) and Parish Precept (£8,300) and the distribution of the Surplus on the Collection Fund (£104,039);

 

14)   that the Executive Director Finance & Resources be authorised to make payments from the General Fund to Feckenham Parish Council the sums listed above (£8,300) by instalment on 1 April 2016 in respect of the precept levied on the Council;

 

15)   that the above resolutions 9 to 11 be signed by the Chief Executive for use in legal proceedings in the Magistrates Court for the recovery of unpaid Council Taxes;

 

16)   notices of the making of the said Council Taxes signed by the Chief Executive are given by advertisement in the local press under Section 38(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992; and

 

17)   the Pay Policy Statement 2016/17 as set out at Appendix 2 to the report to the 22nd February Executive Committee be approved.