Agenda item

Purpose of report

 

The Council was required to set a balanced budget and agree the level of Council Tax for 2022/23 and this report contained a summary of the proposals that had been considered for inclusion.

 

Decision

 

That Full Council be recommended to:

 

·         Set a General Fund budget requirement of £14.407m for 2022/23 detailed at section 2 of this report and shown in detail at Appendix A of the report (inclusive of special expenses).

 

·         Propose a Council Tax level of £173.59 for 2022/23 (Band D property) after taking into consideration the consultation findings.

 

·         Note the indicative base estimates for 2023/24 and 2024/25 as detailed in the summary at Appendix A of the report.

 

·         Approve Housing Revenue Account dwelling rent increases of 4.1% (CPI + 1%) in accordance with Government guideline rent providing an average rent of £84.06 (an average rental increase of £3.28 per week).

 

·         Approve an increase in Housing Revenue Account garage rents of 3%.

 

·         Approve an average increase of 3% in Housing Revenue Account service charges for communal facilities and communal rooms.

 

·         Approve an increase in shared ownership rents by 4.1% (CPI + 1%).

 

·         Approve the Housing Revenue Account Revenue Summary for the year 2022/23 and to note the indicative budgets for 2023/24 and 2024/25 shown in Appendix A of the report.

 

·         Approve the fees and charges detailed at section 4 of the report and shown in Appendix B.

 

·         Approve the General Fund Capital Programme for 2022/23 to 2024/25 detailed in section 5 of the report and shown at Appendix C.

 

·         Approve the General Fund Capital Financing Statement detailed at Appendix C of the report.

 

·         Approve General Fund Capital Programme budget carry forward of £1.296m from 2021/22 shown at Appendix G of the report.

 

·         Approve the Housing Capital Investment Programme for 2022/23 to 2023/24 detailed at section 5 of the report and as shown at Appendix C.

 

·         Approve the Housing Revenue Account Capital Financing Statement detailed at Appendix C of the report.

 

·         Approve the Housing Revenue Account Capital Investment Programme budget carry forward of £2.173m from 2021/22 shown at Appendix C of the report.

 

·         Approve the movements in the General Fund Revenue and Capital reserves and balanced detailed at section 7 of the report and shown at Appendix D.

 

·         Approve the movements in Housing Revenue Account Revenue and Capital reserves and balances detailed at section 7 of the report and shown at Appendix D.

 

·         Approve the Treasury Management Strategy Statement detailed at section 9 of the report and shown at Appendix G.

 

·         Include the acceptance of the Sustainable Warmth Competition (Homes Upgrade Grant phase 1 and Local Authority Delivery phase 3) Grant within these budget proposals for 2022/23.

 

·         Delegate authority to the Assistant Director for Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Waste Services, to undertake procurement, award contracts and to ensure compliance with the grant conditions.

 

Alternative options considered and rejected

 

A number of options were presented for consideration in the body of the report.

 

Reason for decision

 

The Council had approved a Corporate Plan that set out a clear vision and key actions over the period of the Plan 2000-2003. The budget proposals have been formulated within the context of the Corporate Plan’s ambitions and alignment to the five priorities comprising it. This was underpinned by the Council vision ‘to be the best place in which to live, work and visit’.

         

The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report and explained the context in relation to the following aspects:

 

·         The General Fund budget estimates and Council Tax proposals

·         The Housing Revenue Account position

·         Fees and Charges

·         The Capital proposals 2021/22 to 2023/24 including financing

·         Reserves and balances

·         Treasury Management Strategy

·         Collection Fund

·         Statement of Financial Robustness

 

The proposals contained within the report had been considered and scrutinised robustly by the Budget Joint Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 12 January 2022 where the budget proposals were supported without any amendment.

 

Two additions were proposed as part of the budget proposals in relation to the East Midlands Energy Hub which had confirmed that South Kesteven District Council had been allocated up to a maximum of £396,500 to deliver a scheme of energy upgrades as part of the next phase of the national Sustainable Warmth Competition. These were noted as follows:

 

·         To include the acceptance of the Sustainable Warmth Competition (Homes Upgrade Grant phase 1 and Local Authority Delivery phase 3) Grant within these budget proposals for 2022/23.

 

·         To delegate authority to the Assistant Director for Housing, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Waste Services, to undertake procurement, award contracts and to ensure compliance with the grant conditions.

 

A number of points were made during discussion of the budget proposals, which included:

 

·         Local Authorities across the country were beginning to feel the financial strain following the difficulties of the previous two years, with the whole Local Government sector experiencing significant financial challenge

·         The budget proposals reflected the Council’s commitment to meet the funding challenge in a way that maximised its existing revenue but would also limit the burden on taxpayers, with a commitment to protecting the services it provided

·         South Kesteven was still one of the lowest charging Councils in the country

 

The extremely hard work of the Council’s Finance Team and Cabinet Member for Finance in presenting the report, the process for which had commenced in September, was commended.