Agenda item

Members considered recommendations that had been agreed at the meetings of the Executive Committee held on 5^th December 2023 and 9^th January 2024.

Finance and Performance Quarter 2 Report 2023/24

Council considered bringing forward a capital sum to improve the resilience of the Council’s IT system for dealing with cyber security. 

Redditch Borough Council Planning Enforcement Policy

The Council’s Enforcement Policy had been updated in accordance with national guidance, best enforcement practice and to provide greater clarity and transparency on expectations, processes and limitations in relation to the Council’s role.  Members spoke in support of the new Policy and the Leader commended the flow chart in the Policy for setting out the process involved.

Council Tax Base and Non-Domestic Rates Yield

The Council considered details of the calculation of the tax base for council tax setting purposes. The calculation of the council tax base was required as part of the determination of the council tax for 2024/25.

Council Tax – Discretionary Council Tax Reduction Policy – Council Section 13A1(C) Policy

The Council had the power under The Local Government Finance Act 1992 (LGFA ’92) to reduce the amount of council tax that a person was liable to pay. The section 13A(1)(C) power could be exercised on a case-by-case basis or by determining a class of case in which the liability would be reduced.

Examples of where the Council exercised the discretionary power included providing a discount to Worcestershire County Council care leavers resident within the district and following a severe weather event such as flooding.

Council Tax Empty Homes Discounts and Premiums

Council Tax was introduced on 1st April 1993 and from this date until 1st April 2004 dwellings in England which were unoccupied were eligible for a council tax discount of 50%.

A series of amendments to council tax legislation, made since 2004, had given billing authorities the power to reduce or remove the discount for unoccupied dwellings and, in the case of long-term empty homes, to impose a council tax premium. The Levelling Up and Regeneration Act 2023 had introduced further changes to the discount and premiums for unoccupied homes, the main one being to reduce the length of time, from 2 years to 1 year, the period for which a dwelling must be vacant before it was classed as a long-term empty dwelling.  Billing authorities also had discretion to apply premiums up to 100%.

The amendment to the legislation meant that, from 1st April 2024, the premium would be applied to all dwellings that had been vacant for 12 months or more. Members spoke in favour of the approach as being a tool to encourage homes being brought back into use.

The meeting was adjourned at 21.06 and resumed at 21.18.

Final Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2024-25

The Council was required by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to make a council tax reduction scheme specifying the reductions in council tax that would be provided to people who were in financial need, or to classes of people who were in general in financial need. When a scheme had been made the Council must, for each tax year, consider whether to revise or replace its scheme.

The Council introduced a new income banded scheme for working age applicants with effect from 1st April 2021. The rationale for the new scheme was to ensure that it was future proofed, and it reduced the administrative burden placed on the Council by the introduction of universal credit.

The existing scheme included a provision for the uprating of income bands by an inflation factor decided by the Council. The autumn statement increased national welfare benefits by 6.7% and it was recommended that the income bands within the Council’s scheme were also adjusted by this amount.

Housing Revenue Account Rent Setting 2024/25

The Council considered a proposal to increase housing rent by an average of 7%, which was below the maximum allowed of 7.7%. 

Councillor Craig Warhurst, the Portfolio Holder for Housing and Procurement, reported that, given the pressures from the rising cost of living, the Council had tried to mitigate the level of increase in rents.  However, it was felt necessary to increase rents in order to continue to invest in improving the housing stock.  Inflation in the building sector had led to increased costs in the improvements being made.

Some Members spoke against the proposed increase in rent, referring to a surplus in the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) which had built up during the Covid pandemic.  The view was expressed that it was not an appropriate time to increase the rent as many people were struggling with the costs of living.  Whilst financial support was provided for certain tenants, not all were eligible for this.  It was also suggested that repairs still needed to be carried out and this undermined the case for increasing the rent.

However, it was suggested that for the majority of tenants the increase in rent would be met by Government support.

The Portfolio Holder for Housing and Procurement referred in his response to the Council building houses and improvements made to the existing stock as well as to efforts being made to achieve a balanced budget.

Medium Term Financial Plan 2024-25 to 2026-7 - Tranche 1 (following consultation)

The Council set its budget in two Tranches. The initial Tranche had been published in the Autumn of 2023.

The initial Tranche sought to close as much of the deficit as possible using information known as at the end of September 2023 and sought approval for those savings to be implemented.  Having a second Tranche after the Christmas break, for which approval would be sought in February, would take account of the Local Government Settlement.

During consideration of this item, a Member complimented the Finance team for their work on the budget and the Portfolio Holder for his constructive engagement with the Audit and Governance Committee.  However, it was suggested that the Council was at risk of having unaudited accounts at the end of the current financial year.  The view was also expressed that some of the fees and charges were proposed to increase disproportionately, especially for Dial a Ride.  It was suggested that it was unlikely the Council would benefit from the additional Government Grant that had recently been announced since this was aimed to support social care, which was not a Council function.  It was suggested that a task and finish group should be used to monitor the Council’s finances on a regular basis.

With reference to the Dial a Ride charges, the proposal to reduce the registration fee from £16.50 to £15 was highlighted.  Other schemes charged an administration fee per journey.  It was suggested that the service would still represent good value for money and supported tackling social isolation.  However, it was also argued that the benefit of the reduction in the administration fee would not be felt by users of the service beyond two journeys.

In response to a query from a member, the Section 151 Officer confirmed that the draft budget had been prepared with the background of the Council having 3 years of unaudited accounts.  For context, he reported that there were approximately two thirds of Councils across the country who had 2 years of unaudited accounts.

Planning and Environmental Enforcement Business Case

A business case had been prepared to consider the benefit in bringing together enforcement functions from Bromsgrove and Redditch Council services with those already within Worcestershire Regulatory Services to deliver a quality service to all customers. It aimed to identify where service delivery could be improved through prioritisation, standardisation and resilience.

Members spoke in support of the proposals and the view was expressed that a more robust approach would encourage people to go through the proper process. 

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meetings of the Executive Committee held on 5^th December 2023 and 9^th January 2024 be received and all recommendations adopted.