Agenda item

This report presents the revenue and capital budgets for 2019/20 together with proposals for Council Tax and Adult Social Care Precept for 2019/20.

Councillor Dine Romero made an ad-hoc statement by saying that there was not much that could be amended to the proposed Budget due to continuous cuts from Central Government.  Councillor Romero also said that the future budget proposal was suggesting more involvement from volunteers and businesses which may not be sustainable in the long term.  Councillor Romero also questioned if the previous budget had helped communities and people with greater need for help.  Councillor Romero concluded her statement by suggesting that local businesses have not been helped by the Council and they have complained to her how margins were small and rents were high.

Councillor Richard Samuel made an ad-hoc statement by saying that all Local Authorities would be in difficult situation as the funding for the Budget would shift from Central Government to Local Tax.  Councillor Samuel also said that many frontline services provided by the Council would be affected with future cuts and whoever runs the Council after local elections in May 2019 would be in difficult situation.

Councillor Charles Gerrish introduced the report by saying that the Budget would be challenging considering that most of the Budget would be allocated to Adults and Children services and that the Council would have to look into ways of becoming self-sufficient.

The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) has been approved in October 2018 and did outline how the budget would be delivered over the medium to long-term. The MTFS for B&NES spans two years with a further three added to show the likely longer-term picture.

The Council would need to deliver a balanced budget over the term of the plan.  A balanced budget would mean that balances or reserves should not be used to meet on-going expenditure commitments.  The MTFS has shown a projected budget gap for 2020/21 and beyond.  The figures have included all estimates for pay awards, pension costs, Council Tax, business rates, Government grant, and inflation.

The budget would focus on protecting frontline services at a time when the authority was facing cuts in funding whilst facing unprecedented increases in demand in Adults and Children’s Services.  An increase of 1% in the Adult Social Care Precept has been included in this budget to help meet the pressures in Adult Social Care.

The Council has had a good track record in savings delivery with £55.4m delivered between 2013/14 to 2017/18 and, a further £17m expected in this (2018/19) financial year – a total of £72.4m over six years.

The current plan has identified, delivered, and would continue to deliver a high number of efficiency savings and therefore the scope for delivering further large savings from efficiencies was limited. The agreed approach would be:

•  To review Council priorities to understand scope for further savings;

•  To rationalise our corporate estate;

•  To review the conditions of service of our workforce and ensure they are fit for the future;

•  To review the scope for shared services;

•  To review and target capital spend to priority areas and reduce the costs of funding the programme and the capacity demands for delivery;

•  To review our contracts to reduce expenditure; and

•  To establish a “core offer” which the council is able to sustain into the future, including through managing demand.

The proposed net revenue budget for Bath and North East Somerset for 2019/20 would be £113.10m.

An Organisational Plan has been developed across portfolios in 2019/20 outlining the Core Service Offer which would prioritise resources to the following:

•  Protect and care for our most vulnerable;

•  Nurture our residents’ health, safety, and wellbeing;

•  Provide ways for everyone in the community to reach their full potential.

The Organisational Plan has outlined key targets for service provision as well as outlining proposals for budget savings.  The Organisational Plan proposed by Cabinet would translate the Council’s overarching Corporate Strategy and vision for the future, setting out the key activities and projects that the Council has planned to deliver to achieve this in 2019/20.  The Organisational Plan was considered by the Policy and Scrutiny Panels in January 2019 to inform the budget process.

Councillor Gerrish took the Cabinet through the Revenue Budget for 2019/20 as introduced in the report. 

In terms of the Government Settlement the Council has agreed to accept the four-year settlement as did 97% of all local authorities – 2019/20 was the last year of this agreement.

The Provisional Settlement was received on the 13th December 2018 but has not yet been finalised.  MPs were unlikely to decide on the final settlement until mid to late February and therefore there was a small chance that the figures for B&NES would change.  The figures outlined in the report have reflected the provisional figures.  The final settlement details would be reflected within the report to Council, if they were published before the report deadline.

The Council has asked Central Government to recognise the challenges it faces and the solutions that might help, and have identified 20 key areas where a shift in approach or legislation could help address pressures or mitigate additional future costs.  These have been included as part of the Council’s response to the Government’s Fairer Funding Review and four of the key areas were as follows:

•  Council funding for students

•  Ability to introduce a Local Tourism Levy

•  Special Education Needs and Disabilities (SEND

•  Removal of non-domestic rate exemption for listed buildings

Councillor Gerrish took the Cabinet through the rest of the report by highlighting savings and income generation, Council Tax increase by 2.95% in 2019/20 to ease pressures within front line services but specifically Children’s Services, West of England Combined Authority investment in the area, revenue balances, contingencies and reserves.

Councillor Charles Gerrish moved the recommendations.

Councillor Tim Warren seconded the motion by saying that the Council would face significant financial pressures over the next couple of years.  The Council has made a number of representations to the Central Government in terms of the self-funding, as presented in the report.  The Council would invest in the Bath Quays North which would, attract more businesses, create more jobs and generate more business rates. 

Councillor Warren said that the Council have tried to help high street retailers and small businesses in the area to keep on going but due to national trend a lot of businesses were struggling.  There were only a few vacant shops and business premises in Bath and the Council would work hard to reduce that number.

Councillor Warren also said that he would champion for the Council to become self-sufficient and not rely on Government funding.  Councillor Warren added that despite enormous pressures, our children services were the best in the South West region.

Councillor Warren concluded his statement by saying that this was an honest and transparent budget and thanked all officers and Cabinet Members for their contribution.

Councillor Mark Shelford agreed with the comments made by Councillors Gerrish and Warren and thanked Donna Parham and her team for the hard work they had put in in setting the Budget.

Councillor Charles Gerrish summed up by highlighting improvements to Keynsham over the next year or so.

RESOLVED (unanimously) that:

2.1  The Cabinet recommends Council approves:-

a)  The General Fund net revenue budget for 2019/20 of £113.10m and the individual service cash limits for 2019/20 as outlined in Annex 1.

b)  The savings and income generation plans outlined in Annex 2 in conjunction with the Equalities Impact Assessment Report in Annex 3 and thereby agrees to implement the Council’s draft Organisational Plan which has been presented to each of the relevant PDS Panels.

c)  To help protect front line services and meet additional pressures in Children’s Services, the budget includes a recommendation that Council Tax is increased by 2.95% in 2019/20 (an increase of £39.76 per Band D).

d)  An increase of 1% to Council Tax for the Adult Social Care Precept is approved in recognition of the current demands and financial pressures on this service. This is equivalent to an increase of £13.47 on a Band D property.

e)  The adequacy of Un-earmarked Reserves at £12.2m within a risk assessed range requirement of £11.9m - £13.1m.

f)  The Efficiency Strategy attached at Annex 4.

g)  The Capital Programme for 2019/20 of £78.591m including new and emerging capital bids outlined in Annex 5(i), planned sources of funding in 5.7.2, and notes the programme for 2020/21 to 2023/24 and that any wholly funded projects coming forward during the year will be added to the Capital Programme in line with the Budget Management Scheme.

h)  The delegation of implementation, subject to consultation where appropriate, of the capital programmes set out in Annex 5(ii) to Annex 5(iv) to the relevant Director in Consultation with the appropriate Portfolio Holder.

i)  The Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) allocations and amendments outlined in Annex 5(v) and the addition of Alternative Education Provision to the Regulation 123 list.

j)  The Capital & Investment Strategy attached at Annex 6.

k)   The MRP Policy attached at Annex 7.

l)  The Capital Prudential Indicators outlined in 5.7.8

m)  The Annual Pay Policy Statement at Annex 9.

n)  The Council’s Organisational Plan at Annex 10

o)  The Council Tax Support Scheme for 2019/20 shown in the following link:  http://www.bathnes.gov.uk/sites/default/files/sitedocuments/Council-Tax-Benefits-and-Grants/CouncilTax/draft_bath_ne_someset_s13a_201920.pdf  and referred to in 5.3.4. 

2.2  That the Council include in its Council Tax setting, the precepts set and approved by other bodies including the local precepts of Town Councils, Parish Councils, and Charter Trustees of the City of Bath, and those of the Fire and Police Authorities.

2.3  That Cabinet note the S151 Officer’s report on the robustness of the proposed budget and the adequacy of the Council’s reserves outlined in 5.6.

2.4  Authorise the Council’s S151 Officer, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Efficiency, to make any necessary changes to the draft budget proposal for submission to Council.