Agenda item

2023/24 Council Tax

Minutes:

Report CSD23033

Before the start of this item Councillor Nicholas Bennett declared an interest as a member of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

It was moved by Councillor Nicholas Bennett and seconded by Cllr Colin Smith that Council Procedure Rules be varied at this meeting to allow for one debate on each report covering the original motion, any amendments and where necessary the substantive motion. This was accepted by the Members present.

The Director of Finance reported that there were no changes to the final Mayoral precept accepted by the London Assembly on 23^th February 2023.

Since the last meeting of the Executive, there had been further changes on levies and the final position was shown in recommendation 2.1 (e) below.

Members were requested to note that the 2023/24 budget included the impact of the recommended 2023/24 pay award, the supplementary 2022/23 award to meet inflationary pressures and the proposed increase for merited rewards that was reported to Executive on 18^th January 2023 and was subject to full Council approval (agenda item 10).

It was important to note that the 2023/24 Central Contingency sum included costs not yet allocated to Portfolio budgets at this stage. Therefore, there would be further changes to the Central Contingency to reflect allocations to individual Portfolio budgets prior to publication of the Financial Control Budget.

The above changes would require the following proposed amendments to be made to the recommendations of the Executive:

“Amended Recommendation (2.1)

(b) Approves the draft revenue budgets (as in Appendix 2) for 2023/24 to include the following updated changes in (d) and (e):

(d) Approves a revised Central Contingency sum of £17,560k to reflect the

changes in (e);

(e) Approves the following provisions for levies for inclusion in the budget for 2023/24:

	£’000
London Pensions Fund Authority	448
London Boroughs Grant Committee	246
Environment Agency (flood defence etc.)	266
Lee Valley Regional Park	341
Total	1,301

(f) Notes the final position on the GLA precept, as accepted by the London Assembly on 23^rd February 2023;

(g) Sets a 4.99% increase in Bromley’s council tax for 2023/24 compared with 2022/23 (2.99% general increase plus 2% Adult Social Care Precept) and a 9.7% increase in the GLA precept.

Amended Recommendation (2.2)

Council Tax 2023/24 – 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:

	2022/23 £	2023/24 £	Increase £	Increase % (note #)
Bromley (general)	1,178.15	1,218.25	40.10	2.99
Bromley (ASC precept)	162.98	189.80	26.82	2.00
Bromley (total)	1,341.13	1,408.05	66.92	4.99
GLA *	395.59	434.14	38.55	9.7
Total	1,736.72	1,842.19	105.47	6.07

(#) in line with the 2022/23 Council Tax Referendum Principles, the % increase applied is based on an authority’s “relevant basic amount of Council Tax” (£1,341.13 for Bromley) – see paragraph 6 below.

Amended Recommendation (2.3):

(3) That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2023/24 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the Act):

(a) £617,683k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.

(b) £429,053k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates or the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

(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.

(6) That the Council hereby determines that its relevant basic amount of council tax for the financial year 2023/24, which reflects a 4.99% increase (including Adult Social Care Precept of 2%), is not excessive. The Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increases (Principles) (England) Report 2023/24 sets out the principles which the Secretary of State has determined will apply to local authorities in England in 2023/24. 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 recommendations as altered above were moved by Councillor Christopher Marlow and seconded by Councillor Colin Smith.

The following amendments were moved by Councillor Simon Jeal and seconded by Councillor Jeremy Adams.

“The following changes be made to the recommended budget for 2023/24:

Additional Recommendation (2.1):

(k) Utilise total funding of £5.075m (as set out in Appendix 1) to be invested in services over the years 2023/24 to 2026/27 summarised by year as set out below.

	2023/24	2024/25	2025/26	2026/27	Total
See Appendix 1	£1.160m	£1.148m	£978k	£1.788m	£5.075m

(l) To reflect the additional utilisation of the Central Contingency by an amount totalling £300,000, approving a revised Central Contingency sum of £17,236k, noting that over the 4-year period there will be a cumulative saving of £21k. All other amounts will be funded from Earmarked Reserves

(m) Amend the council tax support scheme for 2023/24 to allow an increase in the maximum support provided by the Council from 70% to 75% for Band A to D properties. The 2022/23 scheme for Band E and above properties would remain unchanged. This will be for 2023/24 only at a net loss of income of £366k to be funded from earmarked reserves.

(n) Reducing the merited pay award from £400k to £220k. The £180k saved will then be utilised as a payment for the lowest paid staff below the median.

(o) Agree that ongoing costs beyond 2026/27 relating to the utilisation of Earmarked Reserves will need to be reviewed as part of any final 2027/28 budget proposal for 2027/28. Further details of (k), (l) and (m) are provided in Appendix 1 on the following page.”

The following members voted in favour of the amendment:

Councillors Jeremy Adams, Jessica Arnold, Kathy Bance, Alisa Igoe, Simon Jeal, Kevin Kennedy-Brooks, Josh King, Ruth McGregor, Tony McPartlan, Chris Price, Ryan Thomson and Rebecca Wiffen (12).

The following members voted against the amendment:

Councillors Jonathan Andrews, Felicity Bainbridge, Yvonne Bear, Nicholas Bennett, Kim Botting, Mike Botting, Mark Brock, David Cartwright, Aisha Cuthbert, Peter Dean, Sophie Dunbar, Robert Evans, Simon Fawthrop, Kira Gabbert, Adam Grant, Sunil Gupta, Christine Harris, Mike Jack, David Jefferys, Charles Joel, Jonathan Laidlaw, Andrew Lee, Kate Lymer, Christopher Marlow, Alexa Michael, Keith Onslow, Tony Owen, Angela Page, Will Rowlands, Shaun Slator, Colin Smith, Diane Smith, Mark Smith, Alison Stammers, Melanie Stevens, Harry Stranger, Michael Tickner, Pauline Tunnicliffe and Thomas Turrell (39)

The following members abstained:

Councillors Graeme Casey, Will Connolly, Hannah Gray, Julie Ireland, Chloe-Jane Ross and Sam Webber (6).

The amendment was LOST.

The following amendments were moved by Councillor Julie Ireland and seconded by Councillor Chloe-Jane Ross.

“The following changes be made to the recommended budget for 2023/24:

Additional Recommendation (2.1):

(a) On the basis of potential costs of £140k relating to the legal challenge for ULEZ which would need to be funded from the Central Contingency, it is recommended not to proceed with legal challenge and use the potential monies released as follows;

· Funding for Air Quality Nodes (£20k)

· Funding for School Streets (£50k)

· Additional Funding for Road Safety Projects (£70k).

(b) With the expectation of increased revenue as a result of increased interest rates and lower than expected inflation rates, it is recommended to set aside £500k for a Community Resilience Fund. The full £500k would be met from the inflation provision in the Central Contingency sum.

· Develop and implement a Digital Inclusion Strategy (£50k)

· Support for Youth Services (up to £75k)

· Install parking meters that take card payments at key locations (£50k)”

The following members voted in favour of the amendment:

Councillors Graeme Casey, Will Connolly, Julie Ireland, Chloe-Jane Ross and Sam Webber (5).

The following members voted against the amendment:

The following members abstained:

Councillors Jeremy Adams, Jessica Arnold, Kathy Bance, Hannah Gray, Alisa Igoe, Simon Jeal, Kevin Kennedy-Brooks, Josh King, Ruth McGregor, Tony McPartlan, Chris Price, Ryan Thomson and Rebecca Wiffen (13).

The amendment was LOST.

Accordingly, the following recommendations of the Executive, with the changes proposed by the Director of Finance as moved by Councillor Christopher Marlow and seconded by Councillor Colin Smith were considered.

2.1 Council resolves that -

(a) Note the Final Local Government Settlement 2023/24, announced by DLUHC on 6^th February, which included additional Services Grant funding of £61.5k and that these monies be set aside within the 2023/24 Central Contingency.

(b) Approve the schools budget of £98.674m which matches the estimated level of Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) after academy recoupment;

(c) Approves the draft revenue budgets (as in Appendix 2) for 2023/24 to include the following updated changes in (d) and (e).

(d) Approves a revised Central Contingency sum of £17,484k to mainly reflect the final changes in (e).

(e) Approves the following provisions for levies for inclusion in the budget for 2023/24:

	£’000
London Pensions Fund Authority	448
London Boroughs Grant Committee	246
Environment Agency (flood defence etc.)	266
Lee Valley Regional Park	341
Total	1,301

(f) Notes the final position on the GLA precept, as accepted by the London Assembly on 23^rd February 2023.

(g) Sets a 4.99% increase in Bromley’s council tax for 2023/24 compared with 2022/23 (2.99% general increase plus 2% Adult Social Care Precept) and a 9.7% increase in the GLA precept.

(h) Sets a 2% increase in Adult Social Care Precept with a 2.99% increase in Bromley’s General Council Tax, compared with 2022/23 (1% Adult Social Care Precept) and notes that, based upon their consultation exercise, the GLA are currently assuming a 9.7% increase in the GLA precept.

(i) Approve the revised draft 2023/24 revenue budgets to reflect the changes detailed above.

(j) Approve the approach to reserves outlined by the Director of Finance (see Appendix 4).

(k) Notes that the Executive agrees that the Director of Finance be authorised to report any further changes directly to Council on 27^th February 2023.

2.2 Council Tax 2023/24 – 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:

	2022/23 £	2023/24 £	Increase £	Increase % (note #)
Bromley (general)	1,178.15	1,218.25	40.10	2.99
Bromley (ASC precept)	162.98	189.80	26.82	2.00
Bromley (total)	1,341.13	1,408.05	66.92	4.99
GLA *	395.59	434.14	38.55	9.7
Total	1,736.72	1,842.19	105.47	6.07

2.3 Council resolves as follows -

1. It be noted that the Council Tax Base for 2023/24 is 134,093 ‘Band D’ equivalent properties.

2. Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2023/2024 is £188,810k.

3. That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2023/24 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the Act):

(a) £617,683k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.

(b) £429,053k being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates or the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

(c) £188,810k 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) £1,408.05 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 2023/24 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	938.70	289.43	1,228.13
B	1,095.15	337.66	1,432.81
C	1,251.60	385.90	1,637.50
D	1,408.05	434.14	1,842.19
E	1,720.95	530.62	2,251.57
F	2,033.85	627.09	2,660.94
G	2,346.75	723.57	3,070.32
H	2,816.10	868.28	3,684.38

6. That the Council hereby determines that its relevant basic amount of council tax for the financial year 2023/24, which reflects a 4.99% increase (including Adult Social Care Precept of 2%), is not excessive. The Referendums Relating to Council Tax Increases (Principles) (England) Report 2023/24 sets out the principles which the Secretary of State has determined will apply to local authorities in England in 2023/24. 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:

The following members voted against the motion:

Councillors Jeremy Adams, Jessica Arnold, Kathy Bance, Graham Casey, Will Connolly, Alisa Igoe, Julie Ireland, Simon Jeal, Kevin Kennedy-Brooks, Josh King, Ruth McGregor, Tony McPartlan, Chris Price, Chloe-Jane Ross, Ryan Thomson, Sam Webber and Rebecca Wiffen (17)

The following member abstained:

Councillor Hannah Gray (1)

The original motion as altered was CARRIED.

During consideration of this item the Mayor informed Members under Council Procedure Rule 8 that the meeting had been in progress for three hours. Members agreed to continue the meeting to deal with all the business on the agenda.

Supporting documents: