Agenda item

Report FSD17016

The report identified the final issues affecting the 2017/18 revenue budget and set out recommendations to the Council on the level of the Bromley element of the 2017/18 Council Tax and Adult Social Care precept. Confirmation of the final GLA precept would be reported to the Council meeting, which was now on 1^st March 2017 due to the delay in receiving details of the final settlement from the DCLG. The report also sought final approval of the “schools budget”. The approach reflected in the report was for the Council to not only achieve a legal and financially balanced budget in 2017/18 but to have measures in place to deal with the medium term financial position (2018/19 to 2020/21).

The Executive received the comments of all PDS committees on their respective portfolio budgets. Amended recommendations with a revised budget summary (appendix 2 in the report) were tabled.

A Member asked whether there was any indication of what would happen after the end of the three years when the social care precept was in place. The final outcome was not known at this stage and would need to be considered with the full devolution of business rates by 2019/20 or 2020/21. In relation to levies, it was clarified that the London Pension Partnership dealt with residual issues relating to the former GLC, and that the Council was required to contribute to some Environment Agency functions. Members also discussed Earmarked Reserves, and it was noted that due to some significant purchases of investment properties the Growth Fund had reduced from £29,483k at the start of the current financial year to an anticipated £14,779k by the end of the year. The Investment Fund was anticipated to end the year at £2,815k, but this sum excluded funding from capital resources. 

RESOLVED that

(1)  The Executive recommends to Council that it:

(a)  Approves the schools budget of £80.5 million which matches the estimated level of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) after academy recoupment;

(b)  Approves the draft revenue budgets (as in Appendix 2) for 2017/18 to include the following updated changes:

(i)  As reported in the Draft 2017/18 Budget Report to Executive on 11^th January 2017, dedicated resources will be required for the joint tendering of a number of Environmental Services contracts over the next two years and other commissioning projects particularly around Children’s Services.  The 2017/18 Central Contingency includes one-off funding of £500k towards these costs and it is requested that this be transferred to an earmarked reserve to ensure that the funding is available as and when the work is undertaken. 

(ii)  Members are requested to agree that the utilisation of this funding be delegated to the Director of Commissioning in consultation with the Resources Portfolio Holder.

(iii)  A report elsewhere on the agenda entitled “Care Home and Extra Care Quality Monitoring Report 2016” requests the drawdown of £1m from the Central Contingency Budget for 2017/18 to meet the impact of the National Living Wage and associated increase in ceiling rates. Members are requested to note that the figures detailed below assume that this request will be agreed.

  (c)  Agrees that Chief Officers identify alternative savings within their departmental budgets where it is not possible to realise any savings reported to the previous meeting of the Executive held on 11^th January 2017;

(d)  Approves the following provisions for levies for inclusion in the budget for 2017/18:

  *provisional estimate - awaiting final allocations 

  (e)  Approves a revised Central Contingency sum of £18,276k to reflect the changes in (b) and (d);

  (f)  Notes that the 2017/18 Central Contingency sum includes significant costs not yet allocated and there will therefore be further changes to reflect allocations to individual Portfolio budgets prior to publication of the Financial Control Budget;

  (g)  Approves the revised draft 2017/18 revenue budgets to reflect the changes detailed above;

  (h)    Sets a 3.99% increase in Bromley’s council tax for 2017/18 compared with 2016/17 (1.99% general increase plus 2% Adult Social Care Precept) and, based upon their consultation exercise, an assumed 1.5% increase in the GLA precept;

    (i)  Notes the latest position on the GLA precept, which will be finalised in the overall Council Tax figure to be reported to full Council (see section 11);

  (j)  Approves the approach to reserves outlined by the Director of Finance (see Appendix 4);

  (k)  Executive agree that the Director of Finance be authorised to report any further changes directly to Council on 1^st March 2017.

(2) Council Tax 2017/18 – Statutory Calculations and Resolutions (as amended by the Localism Act 2011).

  Subject to (1) (a) to (k) above, if the formal Council Tax Resolution as detailed below is approved, the total Band D Council Tax will be as follows:

* The GLA Precept may need to be amended once the actual GLA budget is set.

(#)  in line with the draft 2017/18 Council Tax Referendum Principles, the % increase applied is based on an authority’s “relevant basic amount of Council Tax” (£1,071.27 for Bromley) – see paragraph 6 below.  Any changes arising from the final Referendum Principles will be reported directly to Council on 1^st March 2017.

(3)  Council be recommended to formally resolve as follows:

1.  It be noted that the Council Tax Base for 2017/18 is 128,523 ‘Band D’ equivalent properties.

2.  Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2017/18 is £143,177k.

3.  That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2017/18 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the Act):

(a)  £530,406k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.

(b)  £387,229k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates or the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

(c)  £143,177k being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year.

(d)  £1,114.02 being the amount at 3(c) above, divided by (1) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year. 

(4)  To note that the Greater London Authority (GLA) has issued a precept to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated in the table below (NB. the GLA precept figure may need to be amended once the actual GLA budget is set).

(5)  That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the table below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2017/18 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

(6)  That the Council hereby determines that its relevant basic amount of council tax for the financial year 2017/18, which reflects a 3.99% increase (including Adult Social Care Precept of 2%), is not excessive.  The Draft Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increases (Principles) (England) Report 2017/18 sets out the principles which the Secretary of State has determined will apply to local authorities in England in 2017/18.  Any changes arising from the Final Referendums Report will be reported directly to Council on 1^st March 2017.  The Council is required to determine whether its relevant basic amount of Council Tax is excessive in accordance with the principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.