Agenda and minutes
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Comments from members of the public
To receive comments or views from members of the public at the Committee’s discretion. Minutes: There were none. |
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Apologies for absence
Minutes: Apologies for absence were received from Councillor Rosemary Trollope – Bellew, Councillor Susan Sandall, Councillor Charmaine Morgan, Councillor Amanda Wheeler, Councillor Penny Robins, Councillor Hannah Westropp, Councillor Rosemary Kaberry-Brown and Councillor Judy Smith.
Councillor Virginia Moran had been appointed as Substitute for Councillor Amanda Wheeler.
Councillor Helen Crawford had been appointed as Substitute for Councillor Judy Smith.
Councillor Jacky Smith had been appointed as Substitute for Councillor Rosemary Kaberry-Brown. |
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Election of Vice-Chairman
Minutes: The Chairman highlighted that the Vice-Chairman of Finance, Economic Development and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee had historically acted as Vice-Chairman for Joint Budget Scrutiny.
Councillor Mark Whittington was therefore appointed as Vice-Chairman for this meeting. |
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Disclosure of interests
Members are asked to disclose any interests in matters for consideration at the meeting. Minutes: There were none. |
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Action notes from the meeting held on 13 January 2021
Minutes: Members AGREED the Action Notes of the meeting held on 13 January 2021, as a true and correct record. |
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Updates from the previous meeting
Minutes: Members raised the Actions noted in the minutes of the previous meeting and sought clarification on the outcomes of respective Actions.
The Cabinet Member for Finance and Waste Services highlighted that Actions had been taken to the relevant Committees due to Joint Budget Scrutiny taking place on an annual basis.
A query was raised regarding the joint meeting of the Culture and Visitor Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Finance, Economic Development and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee and whether the actions and minutes from that meeting would be taken to future meetings of the respective Committees for consideration.
The Chief Executive clarified that the Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee referred to was an extraordinary meeting in respect of Deepings Leisure Centre and not an annual scheduled meeting such as this meeting which considered the budget each year. The draft minutes from the meeting had been reported in an information pack through Full Council on the 14 December 2021. It was agreed that the actions and notes would be referred to the relevant Overview and Scrutiny Committees in due course.
One Member confirmed that he had met with the Cabinet Member for Commercial and Operations to explore options for improved street cleaning in Bourne, which was one of the actions from the previous Joint Budget Overview and Scrutiny Committee. He confirmed that vague assurance was provided, however, no further actions had been taken and it had not been included in the budget for this year.
ACTION:
1. For a written report to be provided at the next Joint Budget Scrutiny meeting of outcomes of the actions from the previous meeting.
2. For the Committee Members to receive a summary of the actions in a table before the budgets are set.
3. For the actions and notes from the Joint meeting of the Culture and Visitor Economy Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Finance, Economic Development and Corporate Services Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee in respect of the Deepings Leisure Centre be referred to the next meeting of the respective Committees for consideration. |
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Budget Proposals for 2022/23 and indicative budgets for 2023/24 and 2024/25
This report presents to Cabinet the draft Budget estimates for 2022/23, Revenue and Capital, for both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account and provides the details that have been included in the budget proposals. Additional documents: Minutes: The Chairman requested the Joint Budget Overview and Scrutiny Committee follow the order of items for discussion to effectively scrutinise each area of the report:
1. Funding Position 2. General Fund budget proposals: · bids · savings · fees and charges · company levels of funding 3. Housing Revenue Account 4. Capital Programme including financing 5. Reserves and Balances 6. Any other matters
Funding Position
The Deputy Leader of the Council presented the report that set out the draft proposals for both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account for the 2022/23 financial year. The report covered both the revenue, capital reserves and fees and charges proposals. A two-week consultation was due to take place with the Council’s businesses and residents in respect of the Council Tax setting proposals to gain feedback.
The Deputy Leader of the Council outlined important information included in the report pack:
Table 3 – unbalanced position beyond 2022/23 due to two key factors: unexpected changes to the government funding formula and from 2024/25 the borrowing impact following the decision to invest in Deepings Leisure Centre.
Table 4 and 5 – proposed changes to the budget proposals that would be necessary to continue to deliver quality services and the ambitions of the corporate plan. Savings that were proposed to ensure a balanced position could be achieved for 2022.
Table 6 – summary of fees and charges proposals for 2022. Details at the service level (appendix B).
The Assistant Director for Finance and Section 151 Officer covered the main elements of the report. Regarding overall funding and general fund revenue, the Government had announced provisional figures on a one-year settlement. Elements within the report reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to support Councils through the current period and this was reflected in a one-year lower tier services grant. Within the settlement, it reaffirmed the Government’s financial support to rural areas with the continuation of the Rural Services Delivery Grant.
The Assistant Director for Finance and Section 151 Officer highlighted the proposal for the Council to remain a key partner in the Business Rates Pool. One Member raised a query regarding the table relating to the proposed Council Tax charge increase and the wording of the Special Expense Areas. It was confirmed that the Government included the costs of the special expense areas as part of the overall Council Tax for the authority. The movement from the special expense area for Bourne had been taken out and replaced by the South Kesteven element being increased.
Another Member sought further clarification about the business rate pool and how the share would be distributed.
It was clarified that each authority had a baseline assessment, which was what the Government anticipated they would require and collect for the general fund cost. Anything above the baseline would be classed as business rate growth which is shared between the Government and pool members.
It was highlighted that if an authority had concerns over appeals relevant to their business rate base, they could seek to remove themselves from the ... view the full minutes text for item 33. |
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Any other business which the Chairman, by reason of special circumstances, decides is urgent
Minutes: There were none. |
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Close of meeting
Minutes: The Chairman closed the meeting at 16:33. |