Agenda item

REPORT OF THE SERVICE DIRECTOR – RESOURCES

 

Cabinet recommends a budget for 2025/26 to Council for their consideration and approval.

RESOLVED: That Council:

 

(1)   Noted the position on the Collection Fund and how it would be funded.

 

(2)   Noted the position relating to the General Fund balance and that due to the risks identified a minimum balance of £2.6 million was recommended.

 

(3)   Noted the revenue savings that were likely to be required in future years, combined with the Chief Finance Officer’s section 25 report (Appendix D) which provided a commentary on the risks and reliability of estimates contained in the budget.

 

(4)   Approved the revenue savings and investments as detailed in Addendum Appendix B, as amended by additional proposals.

 

(5)   Approved the capital programme as detailed in Appendix C.

 

(6)   Approved a net expenditure budget of £22.914m, as detailed in Appendix E as amended.

 

(7)   Approved a Council Tax increase of 2.99%, which was in line with the provisions in the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

 

(8)   Approved the Investment Strategy as detailed in Appendix F.

 

(9)   Approved the adoption of the four clauses in relation to the Code of Practice on Treasury Management (as detailed in paragraphs 8.32 to 8.35).

 

(10) Approved to increase Grant funding for Community Forums by £30,000 for 2025/26 only, in the light of the continued reduced support to local organisations from County Council Member Locality Budgets.

 

(11) Approved to set aside a contingency budget of £40k in 2025/26 that will allow cost effective feasibility work to be carried out to further assess whether there are viable options for a Learner pool at Royston Leisure Centre.

 

(12) Approved that once having spoken with residents, particularly in the rural communities, to add an additional Community Safety Officer post at a cost of £52,000 per year from 2025/26 onwards.

 

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

 

(1)   To ensure that all relevant factors are considered in arriving at a budget (revenue and capital) and Council Tax level for 2025/26. To ensure that the budget is aligned to Council priorities for 2024-28 as set out in the Council Plan.

 

(2)   The Council’s Investment Strategy is set to comply with relevant statutory guidance, including the CIPFA Prudential Code. The Strategy also sets out the Council’s approach to risks in relation to the investment of surplus cash.

Audio recording 1 hour 56 minutes 30 seconds

 

N.B. Cllr Paul Ward declared an interest in this item due to his employment and left the Chamber for the duration of consideration of recommendation 2.8.

 

N.B. During the break Councillor Dominic Griffiths left the meeting and did not return.

 

The Chair advised that recommendation 2.8 would be taken ahead of recommendations 2.1-2.7 and 2.9 and the debate and vote on these would be taken separately.

 

The Chair invited Councillor Daniel Allen, as Leader of the Council, to introduce the referral from Cabinet.

 

N.B. Councillor Ruth Clifton left the Chamber at 21.29 and did not return.

 

Councillor Ian Albert, as the Executive Member for Finance and IT, presented recommendation 2.8 of the report entitled ‘Budget 2025/26 (Revenue Budget and Investment Strategy) and advised that:

 

·       The Investment Strategy highlighted where the Council could invest surplus funds and included the prudential and treasury indicators.

·       Capital spend implications meant that the Council would need to borrow to fund the capital programme and this meant that capital investment came with an increased cost.

·       The Council would need to borrow externally in the longer term with a premium.

·       Borrowing whether internally or externally resulted in a Minimum Revenue Position charge that was spread over the life of the asset it was used to fund.

 

Councillor Ian Albert proposed and Councillor Daniel Allen seconded and, the outcome of the recorded vote was:

 

VOTE TOTALS:

 

YES                 :           40

ABSTAIN        :           0

NO                   :           2

TOTAL            :           42

 

THE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS

Cllr Ian Albert                                      YES

Cllr Amy Allen                                     YES

Cllr Daniel Allen                                  YES

Cllr David Barnard                              NO

Cllr Matt Barnes                                  YES

Cllr Tina Bhartwas                              YES

Cllr Clare Billing                                  YES

Cllr Sadie Billing                                 YES

Cllr Ruth Brown                                  YES

Cllr Val Bryant                                     YES

Cllr Rhona Cameron                           YES

Cllr David  Chalmers                           YES

Cllr Jon Clayden                                 YES

Cllr Mick Debenham                           YES

Cllr Elizabeth Dennis                          YES

Cllr Emma Fernandes                         YES

Cllr Joe Graziano                                  

Cllr Dominic Griffiths                           YES

Cllr Sarah Lucas                                 YES

Cllr Keith Hoskins                               YES

Cllr Steve Jarvis                                  YES

Cllr Tim Johnson                                 YES

Cllr Chris Lucas                                  YES

Cllr Ian Mantle                                     YES

Cllr Nigel Mason                                 YES

Cllr Bryony May                                  YES

Cllr Caroline McDonnell                      YES

Cllr Ralph Muncer                               NO

Cllr Sean Nolan                                   YES

Cllr Louise Peace                               YES

Cllr Vijaiya Poopalasingham               YES

Cllr Sean Prendergast                        YES

Cllr Martin Prescott                             YES

Cllr Emma Rowe                                 YES

Cllr Claire Strong                                 

Cllr Tamsin Thomas                            YES

Cllr Tom Tyson                                   YES

Cllr Laura Williams                              YES

Cllr Alistair Willoughby                        YES

Cllr Stewart Willoughby                      YES

Cllr Claire Winchester                         YES

Cllr Dave Winstanley                          YES

Cllr Donna Wright                               YES

Cllr Daniel Wright-Mason                    YES

 

RESOLVED: That Council:

 

(1)            Approved the Investment Strategy as detailed in Appendix F.

 

REASON FOR DECISION: The Council’s Investment Strategy is set to comply with relevant statutory guidance, including the CIPFA Prudential Code. The Strategy also sets out the Council’s approach to risks in relation to the investment of surplus cash.

 

N.B. Following the conclusion of the vote on recommendation 2.8, Cllr Paul Ward returned to the Chamber for the rest of the item.

 

The Chair invited Councillor Ian Albert, as the Executive Member for Finance and IT, presented recommendations 2.1-2.7 and 2.9 of the report entitled ‘Budget 2025/26 (Revenue Budget and Investment Strategy). The Chair advised the Councillor Albert had been granted permission to speak for fifteen minutes on this item to deliver the budget speech. Councillor Albert advised that:

 

·       The LGA Corporate Peer Challenge review had reported that prudent financial management had put the Council in a strong position with good reserves.

·       This year the budget report had been combined into one which reflected that any capital spend would have revenue implications.

·       There was an addendum version of the main report and Appendix B.

·       The Council was required to set a balanced budget which could include using some reserves in the short term.

·       The General Fund reserves were well above the minimum recommended by the Section 151 Officer.

·       Funding growth for 2025/26 would come from the guaranteed Extended Producer Responsibility funding of £1.435 million.

·       2026/27 would be the first year since 2016 that the Council would have a multi-year settlement.

·       Scenarios for future funding were considered in the Section 25 report at Appendix D.

·       Consideration of the recommended minimum General Fund balances were detailed in paragraphs 8.16-8.18 of the report and the conclusions were in paragraphs 8.37-8.41.

·       It was proposed to increase Council Tax for 2025/26 by 2.99% which was the maximum amount allowed without holding a referendum.

·       Details of new savings and investments were identified at Appendix B (addendum version).

·       There were three additional amendments be added to the recommendations. £30K for 2025/26 only, increase grant funding for Community Forums; contingency budget of £40K in 2025/26 for feasibility work to be carried out for viable options for a Learner Pool at Royston Leisure Centre; additional Community Safety Officer at a cost of £52K per year from 2025/2026 onwards .

·       Details of the new capital investments were detailed at Appendix C.

·       The Council wished to be able to deliver the project of installation of the Learner Pool at Royston Leisure Centre as set out in paragraph 8.2 of the report.

 

Following a question from Councillor Claire Strong, the Executive Member for Finance and IT advised that he believed the amount of £4 million quoted in the budget for the Museum Storage Option was the correct figure and should not be altered at this point.

 

N.B. Councillor Sean Nolan left the Chamber at 21.57 and did not return.

 

Councillor Ralph Muncer proposed amendments to the budget which would be debated and voted on separately. It was noted that Councillor Muncer had been granted an extension of ten minutes to speak. Councillor David Barnard seconded the amendments to R4, R5, R7, R8, R17, R19, R23, R28, R29, R30, R31, R32, R36.

 

The following Members took part in the debate about the Block 1 amendments R5, R7, R8 and R36 removal:

 

·       Councillor Nigel Mason

·       Councillor Dave Winstanley

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·       Councillor Alistair Willoughby

·       Councillor Tina Bhartwas

 

Points raised during the debate included:

 

·       The budget proposals had been through levels of scrutiny and it was important to invest in statutory services.

·       This amendment would take away investment from areas that were in critical need.

·       The Council needed to raise local taxes to provide services to residents.

·       There was a significant amount of development planned within the district which were essential for the benefit of the local community.

·       Officers provided essential frontline services to all residents in the district.

 

In response to the amendment, the Executive Member for Finance and IT advised that these were sound recommendations and to remove them from the budget would remove key roles needed to improve statutory services.

 

Following a recorded vote, the amendment was LOST.

 

VOTE TOTALS:

 

YES                 :           16

ABSTAIN        :           1

NO                   :           24

TOTAL            :           41

 

THE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS:

 

Cllr Ian Albert                                      NO

Cllr Amy Allen                                     NO

Cllr Daniel Allen                                  NO

Cllr David Barnard                              YES

Cllr Matt Barnes                                  YES

Cllr Tina Bhartwas                              NO

Cllr Clare Billing                                  NO

Cllr Sadie Billing                                 NO

Cllr Ruth Brown                                  YES

Cllr Val Bryant                                     NO

Cllr Rhona Cameron                           NO

Cllr David Chalmers                            NO

Cllr Jon Clayden                                 YES

Cllr Mick Debenham                           NO

Cllr Elizabeth Dennis                          NO

Cllr Emma Fernandes                         NO

Cllr Joe Graziano                                YES

Cllr Sarah Lucas                                 NO

Cllr Keith Hoskins                                 

Cllr Steve Jarvis                                  YES

Cllr Tim Johnson                                 YES

Cllr Chris Lucas                                  YES

Cllr Ian Mantle                                     NO

Cllr Nigel Mason                                 NO

Cllr Bryony May                                  YES

Cllr Caroline McDonnell                      YES

Cllr Ralph Muncer                               YES

Cllr Louise Peace                                  

Cllr Vijaiya Poopalasingham               NO

Cllr Sean Prendergast                        YES

Cllr Martin Prescott                             YES

Cllr Emma Rowe                                 NO

Cllr Claire Strong                                YES

Cllr Tamsin Thomas                            NO

Cllr Tom Tyson                                   YES

Cllr Paul Ward                                     YES

Cllr Laura Williams                              NO

Cllr Alistair Willoughby                        NO

Cllr Stewart Willoughby                      NO

Cllr Claire Winchester                         ABSTAIN

Cllr Dave Winstanley                          NO

Cllr Donna Wright                               NO

Cllr Daniel Wright-Mason                    NO

 

The following Members took part in the debate about the Block 2 amendments (R4 to add the Air Quality Officer but not the other two posits, remove R17,R19, R26, R27, R28, R29 and R32, delay R23 and R30 to 2026/27 and limit R31 to £50K):

 

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

·       Councillor Amy Allen

·       Councillor Daniel Allen

·       Councillor Nigel Mason

·       Councillor Alistair Willoughby

·       Councillor David Barnard

 

Points raised during the debate included:

 

·       The comments regarding litters bins were negative. The removal of litter bins had been proven to reduce litter and not to increase it.

·       Public consultations had been carried out regarding the removal of litter bins.

·       There was a climate emergency and the provision of Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (HVO) fuel waste, recycling and street cleansing services vehicles was the best way to reduce CO2 emissions.

·       Fly tipping was a completely different issue to litter bins.

 

In response to the amendment, the Executive Member for Finance and IT advised that there would be no point to delaying the Ransoms Recreation maintenance project by one year and these amendments should be rejected.

 

Following a recorded vote, the amendment was LOST.

 

VOTE TOTALS:

 

YES                 :           5

ABSTAIN        :           0

NO                   :           38

TOTAL            :           43

 

THE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS:

 

Cllr Ian Albert                                      NO

Cllr Amy Allen                                     NO

Cllr Daniel Allen                                  NO

Cllr David Barnard                              YES

Cllr Matt Barnes                                  NO

Cllr Tina Bhartwas                              NO

Cllr Clare Billing                                  NO

Cllr Sadie Billing                                 NO

Cllr Ruth Brown                                  NO

Cllr Val Bryant                                     NO

Cllr Rhona Cameron                           NO

Cllr David Chalmers                            NO

Cllr Jon Clayden                                 NO

Cllr Mick Debenham                           NO

Cllr Elizabeth Dennis                          NO

Cllr Emma Fernandes                         NO

Cllr Joe Graziano                                YES

Cllr Sarah Lucas                                 NO

Cllr Keith Hoskin                                 NO

Cllr Steve Jarvis                                  NO

Cllr Tim Johnson                                 NO

Cllr Chris Lucas                                  NO

Cllr Ian Mantle                                     NO

Cllr Nigel Mason                                 NO

Cllr Bryony May                                  NO

Cllr Caroline McDonnell                      NO

Cllr Ralph Muncer                               YES

Cllr Louise Peace                               NO

Cllr Vijaiya Poopalasingham               NO

Cllr Sean Prendergast                        NO

Cllr Martin Prescott                             YES

Cllr Emma Rowe                                 NO

Cllr Claire Strong                                YES

Cllr Tamsin Thomas                            NO

Cllr Tom Tyson                                   NO

Cllr Paul Ward                                     NO

Cllr Laura Williams                              NO

Cllr Alistair Willoughby                        NO

Cllr Stewart Willoughby                      NO

Cllr Claire Winchester                         NO

Cllr Dave Winstanley                          NO

Cllr Donna Wright                               NO

Cllr Daniel Wright-Mason                    NO

 

Councillor Paul Ward proposed amendments to the budget. Councillor Ruth Brown seconded the amendments excluding those that had already been voted on, R5, R7, R8, R26 and £5K per Community Forums withdrawn as already included within the original motion proposed as amended. These were to remove the capital allocation for air-conditioning at Hitchin Town Hall of £100K, to amend the museum storage capital budget to £3 million and add a Royston Leaner Pool capital allocation for 2026/27- 2027/28 of £3 million.

 

In response to a question from Councillor Ralph Muncer, the Service Director Resources advised that the impact of the proposed amendments on the Section 25 report was difficult, but not impossible to achieve.

 

The following Members took part in the debate about the amendment:

 

·       Councillor Martin Prescott

·       Councillor Matt Barnes

·       Councillor Tamsin Thomas

·       Councillor Daniel Wright-Mason

·       Councillor Elizabeth Dennis

·       Councillor Tim Johnson

·       Councillor Steve Jarvis

·       Councillor Alistair Willoughby

·       Councillor Mick Debenham

·       Councillor Ralph Muncer

·       Councillor Ruth Brown

 

Points raised during the debate included:

 

·       There was a solid economic case for the Learner Pool at Royston Leisure Centre and it was good to see this project included.

·       The Learner Pool was an investment that would provide wider benefits to the community and it should not be removed.

·       The Museum Storage Option would achieve value for money whilst achieving a long-term project. £4 million was the upper limit for consideration.

·       It was difficult to install air conditioning in Grade II listed buildings such as the Hitchin Town Hall and it is not yet known if the decarbonisation works will result in air conditioning not being required.

 

In response to the amendment, the Executive Member for Finance and IT advised that there was a huge amount of social value in these projects.

 

Following a recorded vote, the amendment was LOST.

 

VOTE TOTALS:

 

YES                 :           20

ABSTAIN        :           0

NO                   :           23

TOTAL            :           43

 

THE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS:

 

Cllr Ian Albert                                      NO

Cllr Amy Allen                                     NO

Cllr Daniel Allen                                  NO

Cllr David Barnard                              YES

Cllr Matt Barnes                                  YES

Cllr Tina Bhartwas                              NO

Cllr Clare Billing                                  NO

Cllr Sadie Billing                                 NO

Cllr Ruth Brown                                  YES

Cllr Val Bryant                                     NO

Cllr Rhona Cameron                           NO

Cllr David Chalmers                            YES

Cllr Jon Clayden                                 YES

Cllr Mick Debenham                           NO

Cllr Elizabeth Dennis                          NO

Cllr Emma Fernandes                         NO

Cllr Joe Graziano                                YES

Cllr Sarah Lucas                                 NO

Cllr Keith Hoskins                               YES

Cllr Steve Jarvis                                  YES

Cllr Tim Johnson                                 YES

Cllr Chris Lucas                                  YES

Cllr Ian Mantle                                     NO

Cllr Nigel Mason                                 NO

Cllr Bryony May                                  YES

Cllr Caroline McDonnell                      YES

Cllr Ralph Muncer                               YES

Cllr Louise Peace                               YES

Cllr Vijaiya Poopalasingham               NO

Cllr Sean Prendergast                        YES

Cllr Martin Prescott                             YES

Cllr Emma Rowe                                 NO

Cllr Claire Strong                                YES

Cllr Tamsin Thomas                            NO

Cllr Tom Tyson                                   YES

Cllr Paul Ward                                     YES

Cllr Laura Williams                              NO

Cllr Alistair Willoughby                        NO

Cllr Stewart Willoughby                      NO

Cllr Claire Winchester                         YES

Cllr Dave Winstanley                          NO

Cllr Donna Wright                               NO

Cllr Daniel Wright-Mason                    NO

 

In response to a question from Councillor Ralph Muncer, the Service Director – Resources advised that the impact of the agreed amendments on the Section 25 report was difficult, but not impossible to achieve.

 

Councillor Ian Albert proposed and Councillor Daniel Allen seconded the amended original recommendations and, the outcome of the recorded vote was:

 

VOTE TOTALS:

 

YES                 :           23

ABSTAIN        :           0

NO                   :           20

TOTAL            :           43

 

THE INDIVIDUAL RESULTS WERE AS FOLLOWS

 

Cllr Ian Albert                                      YES

Cllr Amy Allen                                     YES

Cllr Daniel Allen                                  YES

Cllr David Barnard                              NO

Cllr Matt Barnes                                  NO

Cllr Tina Bhartwas                              YES

Cllr Clare Billing                                  YES

Cllr Sadie Billing                                 YES

Cllr Ruth Brown                                  NO

Cllr Val Bryant                                     YES

Cllr Rhona Cameron                           YES

Cllr David Chalmers                            NO

Cllr Jon Clayden                                 NO

Cllr Mick Debenham                           YES

Cllr Elizabeth Dennis                          YES

Cllr Emma Fernandes                         YES

Cllr Joe Graziano                                NO

Cllr Sarah Lucas                                 YES

Cllr Keith Hoskins                               NO

Cllr Steve Jarvis                                  NO

Cllr Tim Johnson                                 NO

Cllr Chris Lucas                                  NO

Cllr Ian Mantle                                     YES

Cllr Nigel Mason                                 YES

Cllr Bryony May                                  NO

Cllr Caroline McDonnell                      NO

Cllr Ralph Muncer                               NO

Cllr Louise Peace                               NO

Cllr Vijaiya Poopalasingham               YES

Cllr Sean Prendergast                        NO

Cllr Martin Prescott                             NO

Cllr Emma Rowe                                 YES

Cllr Claire Strong                                NO

Cllr Tamsin Thomas                            YES

Cllr Tom Tyson                                   NO

Cllr Paul Ward                                     NO

Cllr Laura Williams                              YES

Cllr Alistair Willoughby                        YES

Cllr Stewart Willoughby                      YES

Cllr Claire Winchester                         NO

Cllr Dave Winstanley                          YES

Cllr Donna Wright                               YES

Cllr Daniel Wright-Mason                    YES

 

Therefore it was:

 

RESOLVED: That Council:

 

(1)   Noted the position on the Collection Fund and how it would be funded.

 

(2)   Noted the position relating to the General Fund balance and that due to the risks identified a minimum balance of £2.6 million was recommended.

 

(3)   Noted the revenue savings that were likely to be required in future years, combined with the Chief Finance Officer’s section 25 report (Appendix D) which provided a commentary on the risks and reliability of estimates contained in the budget.

 

(4)   Approved the revenue savings and investments as detailed in Addendum Appendix B, as amended by additional proposals.

 

(5)   Approved the capital programme as detailed in Appendix C.

 

(6)   Approved a net expenditure budget of £22.914m, as detailed in Appendix E as amended.

 

(7)   Approved a Council Tax increase of 2.99%, which was in line with the provisions in the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

 

(8)   Approved the adoption of the four clauses in relation to the Code of Practice on Treasury Management (as detailed in paragraphs 8.32 to 8.35).

 

(9)    Approved to increase Grant funding for Community Forums by £30,000 for 2025/26 only, in the light of the continued reduced support to local organisations from County Council Member Locality Budgets.

 

(10) Approved to set aside a contingency budget of £40k in 2025/26 that will allow cost effective feasibility work to be carried out to further assess whether there are viable options for a Learner pool at Royston Leisure Centre.

 

(11) Approved that once having spoken with residents, particularly in the rural communities, to add an additional Community Safety Officer post at a cost of £52,000 per year from 2025/26 onwards.

 

REASONS FOR DECISIONS:

 

(1)   To ensure that all relevant factors are considered in arriving at a budget (revenue and capital) and Council Tax level for 2025/26. To ensure that the budget is aligned to Council priorities for 2024-28 as set out in the Council Plan.

 

(2)   The Council’s Investment Strategy is set to comply with relevant statutory guidance, including the CIPFA Prudential Code. The Strategy also sets out the Council’s approach to risks in relation to the investment of surplus cash.