Agenda item

Report CSD21027

 

Councillor Graham Arthur, seconded by Councillor Colin Smith, moved acceptance of the final recommendations made by the Executive.

 

The following amendments were moved by Councillor Angela Wilkins and seconded by Councillor Ian Dunn -

 

After allowing for the report from the Director of Finance the following amendments are proposed to the recommendations of the Executive set out in the Blue Book on pages 57-118.

 

The following changes be made to the recommended budget for 2021/22:

 

Additional Recommendation (2.1):

 

(k) Utilise total one off funding of £13.827m from the Collection Fund Set Aside Earmarked Reserve (page 86) to be invested in services over the years 2021/22 to 2024/25 summarised by year as follows:

 

	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	2024/25	Total
See appendix 1	£7.220m	£4.241m	£1.781m	£0.585m	£13.827m

 

(l) Amend the council tax support scheme for 2021/22 to allow an increase in the maximum support provided by the Council from 75% to £100 band A to D properties. The 2021/22 scheme for Band E and above properties would remain unchanged. This will be for 2021/22 only at a net loss of income of £3.2m to be funded from the Collection Fund Set Aside earmarked reserve.

 

Further details of (k) and (l) are provided in Appendix 1.

Appendix 1

 

Recommendation (k)	2021/22 £’000	2022/23 £’000	2023/24 £’000	2024/25 £’000	Total £’000
Strategy	100	75	50	Nil	225
Adult and Health	1,470	550	50	50	2,120
Children	1,180	250	Nil	Nil	1,430
Environment	1,180	1,721	936	40	3,877
Public Protection	340	115	115	115	685
Resources	1,000	125	Nil	Nil	1,125
RR&H	1,950	1,405	630	380	4,365
Total	7,220	4,241	1,781	585	13,827

 

(1) The above costs which fall out from 2025/26, totalling £13.827m, will be funded from the Collection Fund Set Aside earmarked reserve;

 

(2) The detailed proposals relating to the utilisation of £13.827m will be reported at the meeting;

 

(3) The further proposal of increasing council tax support to 100% of council tax would apply to Band A to D properties with no changes to the scheme for other properties (Band E and above). This proposal would result in a net loss of income of £3.2m, assuming a further increase in caseload 5% in 2021/22;

 

(4) The combined proposals in (1) and (3) above would require one off funding of £16.987m from the Collection Fund Set Aside earmarked reserve.

 

Amended Recommendation (2.3)

 

On the basis of the proposal above the following amounts be calculated for the year 2021/22 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the Act):

 

(a) £593,240k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.

 

(b) £417,928k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates or the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

 

The following Members voted in favour of the amendment -

 

Councillors Vanessa Allen, Kevin Brooks, Ian Dunn, Simon Jeal, Josh King and Angela Wilkins. (6)

 

The following Members voted against the amendment -

 

Councillors Gareth Allatt, Graham Arthur, Yvonne Bear, Julian Benington, Nicholas Bennett, Kim Botting, Mike Botting, Katy Boughey, Mark Brock, David Cartwright, Mary Cooke, Aisha Cuthbert, Peter Dean, Nicky Dykes, Judi Ellis, Robert Evans, Simon Fawthrop, Peter Fortune, Kira Gabbert, Will Harmer, Christine Harris, Colin Hitchins, Samaris Huntington-Thresher, William Huntington-Thresher, David Jefferys, Charles Joel, Kate Lymer, Christopher Marlow, Robert Mcilveen, Russell Mellor, Alexa Michael, Peter Morgan, Keith Onslow, Tony Owen, Angela Page, Chris Pierce, Neil Reddin, Will Rowlands, Michael Rutherford, Richard Scoates, Colin Smith, Diane Smith, Gary Stevens, Harry Stranger, Kieran Terry, Michael Tickner, Pauline Tunnicliffe, Michael Turner and Stephen Wells. (49)

 

The Mayor, Councillor Hannah Gray, abstained, and no vote could be recorded for Councillors Marina Ahmad, Suraj Sharma and Melanie Stevens.

 

The amendment was LOST.

 

Accordingly, the recommendations of the Executive, as moved by Councillor Graham Arthur and seconded by Councillor Colin Smith were CARRIED as follows -

 

That Council -

 

(1) (a) Approves the schools budget of £79.506m which matches the estimated level of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) after academy recruitment

 

(b)  Approves the draft revenue budgets (as in Appendix 2) for 2021/22 to include the following updated changes in (d) and (e):

 

(c)  Agrees that the Chief Officers identify alternative savings/mitigation within their departmental budgets where it is not possible to realise any savings/mitigation within their departmental budgets where it is not possible to release any savings/mitigation reported to the previous meeting of the Executive held on 13^th January 2021;

 

(d)  Approves a revised Central Contingency sum of £14,944k to reflect the

  changes in (e);

 

(e)  Approves the following provisions for levies for inclusion in the budget for 2021/22:

 

	£’000
London Pensions Fund Authority	451
London Boroughs Grant Committee	247
Environment Agency (flood defence etc.)	259
Lee Valley Regional Park	318
Total	1,275

(f)  Notes the final position on the GLA precept, as accepted by the London Assembly on 25^th February 2021;

 

(g)  Sets a 4.99% increase in Bromley’s council tax for 2021/22 compared with 2020/21 (1.99% general increase plus 3% Adult Social Care Precept) and a 9.5% increase in the GLA precept.

 

(h)  Approves the revised draft 2021/22 revenue budgets to reflect the changes detailed above;

 

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

 

(2) Council Tax 2021/22 – Statutory Calculations and Resolutions (as amended by the Localism Act 2011).

 

Subject to 2.1 (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:

 

	2020/21 £	2021/22 £	Increase £	Increase % (note #)
Bromley (general)	1,153.00	1,178.15	25.15	1.99
Bromley (ASC precept)	111.77	149.71	37.94	3.00
Bromley (total)	1,264.77	1,327.86	63.09	4.99
GLA	332.07	363.66	31.59	9.51
Total	1,596.84	1,691.52	94.68	5.93

 

(#)  in line with the 2021/22 Council Tax Referendum Principles, the % increase applied is based on an authority’s “relevant basic amount of Council Tax” (£1,264.77 for Bromley) – see paragraph 6 below. 

 

(3)  (1) It is noted that the Council Tax Base for 2021/22 is 132,026 “Band D” equivalent properties

 

(2) Calculate that the Council tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2021/2022 is £175,312k.

 

(3)That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2021/22 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the Act):

 

(a)  £586,018k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.

 

(b)  £410,706k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates or the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

 

(c)  £175,312k 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)  £137.86 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)  Notes 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.

 

(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 2021/22 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

 

Valuation Bands	London Borough of Bromley £	Greater London Authority £	Aggregate of Council Tax Requirements £
A	885.24	242.44	1,127.68
B	1,032.78	282.85	1,315.63
C	1,180.32	323.25	1,503.57
D	1,327.86	363.66	1,691.52
E	1,622.94	444.47	2,067.41
F	1,918.02	525.29	2,443.31
G	2,213.10	606.10	2,819.20
H	2,655.72	727.32	3,383.04

 

(6)  That the Council hereby determines that its relevant basic amount of council tax for the financial year 2021/22, which reflects a 4.99% increase (including Adult Social Care Precept of 3%), is not excessive.  The Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increases (Principles) (England) Report 2021/22 sets out the principles which the Secretary of State has determined will apply to local authorities in England in 2021/22.  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.

 

The following Members voted in favour of the motion -

 

Councillors Gareth Allatt, Graham Arthur, Yvonne Bear, Julian Benington, Nicholas Bennett, Kim Botting, Mike Botting, Katy Boughey, Mark Brock, David Cartwright, Mary Cooke, Aisha Cuthbert, Peter Dean, Nicky Dykes, Judi Ellis, Robert Evans, Simon Fawthrop, Peter Fortune, Kira Gabbert, Will Harmer, Christine Harris, Colin Hitchins, Samaris Huntington-Thresher, William Huntington-Thresher, David Jefferys, Charles Joel, Kate Lymer, Christopher Marlow, Robert Mcilveen, Russell Mellor, Alexa Michael, Peter Morgan, Keith Onslow, Tony Owen, Angela Page, Chris Pierce, Neil Reddin, Will Rowlands, Michael Rutherford, Richard Scoates, Suraj Sharma, Colin Smith, Diane Smith, Gary Stevens, Melanie Stevens, Harry Stranger, Kieran Terry, Michael Tickner, Pauline Tunnicliffe, Michael Turner and Stephen Wells. (51)

 

No Members voted against the motion.

 

The following Members abstained -

 

The Mayor, Councillor Hannah Gray, and Councillors Vanessa Allen, Kevin Brooks, Ian Dunn, Simon Jeal, Josh King and Angela Wilkins. (7)

 

No vote could be recorded for Cllr Marina Ahmad.