Agenda and minutes
Venue: Council Chamber, Town Hall, Accrington
Contact: Democratic Services Democratic Services (01254) 380116/380109/380184
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Apologies for absence Minutes: Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Anderson, Loraine Cox and Paul Cox. |
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Declarations of Interest and Dispensations NOTE: All Councillors have been granted a dispensation to speak and vote in relation to the following matters, which are relevant to the business due to be conducted during the meeting:
· Setting Council Tax or a precept under the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended from time to time or any superseding legislation. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest submitted at the meeting.
All Councillors had been granted a dispensation to speak and vote in respect of item 7 – General Fund – Revenue Budget, Council Tax Levels and Capital Programme 2024/25.
The Mayor reminded the meeting that all Councillors had previously been granted a dispensation to speak and vote in relation to the following matters, which were relevant to the business due to be conducted at item 8 of the agenda:
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Announcements a) Mayor
b) Leader of the Council
c) Chief Executive Minutes: Announcements of the Mayor
Passing of Former Mayor and Councillor, Doug Hayes The Mayor, Councillor Terry Hurn, informed the meeting of the sad passing of a former Mayor, Honorary Alderman and councillor of the ward of St. Oswalds, Doug Hayes.
The Acting Leader of the Council, Councillor Peter Britcliffe, the Leader of the Opposition, Councillor Munsif Dad and Councillor Dave Parkins all expressed their deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Mr. Hayes.
The Council were upstanding for a one minute’s silence, as a mark of respect.
Mayor’s Ball The Mayor informed Council that the Mayor’s Ball had been well attended and had been a great night of food and entertainment, raising over £13,000 for his nominated charities.
Announcements of the Acting Leader of the Council
The Acting Leader of the Council made the following announcements:
Mayor’s Ball He congratulated the Mayor on the success of the Mayor’s Ball and his achievement in raising a large amount of money for his charities.
National Highways & Homes England He referred to the success of talks with National Highways and Homes England in securing funding for Huncoat Garden Village.
Demolition of Market Cabins He congratulated the Cabinet Portfolio Holder for Levelling Up, Councillor Younis, for successfully ensuring progress of works in respect of the demolition of the market cabins and for works to enhance the Accrington Pals Garden.
Altham Parish Councillor Rennie Pinder He referred to the recent ill-health of Altham Parish Councillor Rennie Pinder, and requested that a letter wishing him a speedy recovery was sent to him on behalf of the Council.
Councillor Marlene Haworth, Leader of the Council He welcomed the Leader of the Council, Councillor Marlene Haworth, back to Council after recent ill- health. Councillor Haworth thanked everyone for their kind wishes and cards and informed the meeting that her health was improving and she would be able to return to work soon.
Announcements of Chief Executive
There were no announcements from the Chief Executive. |
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Confirmation of Minutes To confirm as correct, the minutes of the Council meeting held on 11th January 2024. Minutes: The minutes of the Council meeting held on 11th January 2024 were submitted for approval as a correct record.
Councillor Dave Parkins referred to item 261 – Announcements, item 8 – Planning Grant, and congratulated the Head of Planning & Transportation and his staff for the improvements to the stability of the Planning Department.
Resolved - That the Minutes of the Council meeting held on 11th January 2024 be approved as a correct record.
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Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024/25 to 2026/27 To note the attached report which was approved by the Cabinet on 13th February 2024. Minutes: Councillor Peter Britcliffe, Portfolio Holder for Resources, provided a report setting out the 3-year projections of income and expenditure for the Council ahead of formulating its 2024/27 Revenue and Capital Budgets. The report had already been considered and approved by the Cabinet on 13th February 2024 and the Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee on 20th February 2024.
Councillor Britcliffe spoke to introduce the report. The substantive report included the following summary:-
The Council’s activities and finances had been dominated this year by the impact from the War in Ukraine and focussing on the Levelling Up/Town Centre regeneration along with ensuring it delivered its day to day services and other key strategic projects. It is expected that these key events and their impact on the Council’s finances will continue over the next few financial years, with the potential for the effects to continue much longer.
The Council would, therefore, operate a roll forward Budget for 2024/25 based on the 2023/24 Budget adjusted for changes to salary and wages, energy and other cost pressures. This provided Service Managers the ability to respond to inflationary pressures and allows a degree of stability for 2024/25. In order to achieve a balanced Budget the Council would need to generate £106,300 of internal savings during the year. Overall expenditure would be needed to be contained at around £16.122m in 2024/25 to set a balanced budget.
If necessary the Council would have to use some of its Reserves to help balance the Budget. This is particularly likely if the Government reduces the amount of financial support it provides the Council or reduces the amount of Business Rates it is allowed to retain. Additionally, it may be necessary to use Reserves if it is believed that in the current economic climate it would be inappropriate to raise Council Tax.
The Council would face significant financial challenges over the next three years as it sought to overcome the consequence of the War in Ukraine and ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Addressing the impact of any proposed Government funding reforms and increased pressures on its spending would present it with further challenges over this period. As the extent of the Government financial reforms was unclear at this time, this produces great uncertainty and potentially significant variance around the forecasts contained in the MTFS.
Previously, for the last five years the expectation had been that the Government would implement what it termed as a “Fair Funding Review of Local Government Finance.” This proposal would effectively end the Revenue Support Grant to the Council and potentially redistribute the amount of Business Rates the Council was allowed to retain to other Councils. The expected impact of these changes, if they went ahead, were expected to cause a significant decrease in the funding available to the Council.
In these circumstances the Council would need to make substantial reductions in its expenditure levels as a consequence. The changes would need to be made either immediately in the aftermath of the announcement or over ... view the full minutes text for item 329. |
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To consider the attached report and recommendations which were considered by the Cabinet on 13th February 2024 and which are referred to Council for approval. Minutes: Councillor Peter Britcliffe, the Acting Leader of the Council and Portfolio Holder for Resources, submitted a report to set out the Council’s policy and objectives with respect to treasury management, to explain how it will achieve its objectives and manage its activities; and to agree an investment strategy for 2024/25.
The report had been submitted to Cabinet on 13th February 2024. The report informed Council that the information that had changed in the document within the last 12 months was minimal and that investments had been volatile which had worked to the Council’s advantage. The following details were summarised in the attachment to the report:-
· Background · Prudential Code & Prudential Indicators · Capital Expenditure & Capital Financing Requirement · IFRS 16 –Leasing · Minimum Revenue Provision · Affordability Prudential Indicators · Treasury Management Strategy 2024/25 – 2026/27 · Current Treasury Position · Expected Movement Interest Rates · External Debt Overall Limits · External Vs Internal Borrowing · Liability Benchmark · Limits on Activity · Debt Rescheduling · Investment Strategy · Environmental, Social & Governance (ESG) · Treasury Management Practices (TMP) · Policy on the Use of External Service Providers · Treasury Management Strategy in – Year & Year-End Reporting
Also included with the report are the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy Statement 2024/25, the Treasury Management Policy Statement 2024/25 and the Treasury Management Practices 2024/25.
Resolved - That the Council agrees the recommendations of Cabinet to:-
(1) Adopt the prudential indicators and limits detailed in the report;
(2) Approve the Treasury Management Strategy, and associated indicators, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report;
(3) Approve the Investment Strategy as set out in section 13 of Appendix 1 of the report;
(4) Approve that the Minimum Revenue Provision Policy for the year 2024/25 – as set out in section 5 of Appendix 1, as attached to the report;
(5) Approve the Treasury Management Policy Statement 2024/25 – Appendix 2 of the attached report;
(6) Approve the Treasury Management Practices Statement 2024/25 – Appendix 3, as attached to the report;
(7) Approve the Capital Strategy 2024/25 – Appendix 4, as attached to the report.
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General Fund - Revenue Budget, Council Tax Levels and Capital Programme 2024/25 To determine the General Revenue Budget, Council Tax Levels and Capital Programme for 2024/25. In order to enable the Council to make the required decisions, the following documents are submitted:-
a) General Fund – Revenue Budget 2024/25
The proposals put forward by the Cabinet on 13th February 2024 (updated) are set out in the attached report. The final proposals of the controlling administration will be submitted in advance of the meeting. Item 7(a)1 - Council Tax Resolution – 2024-2025 The report sets out the Council’s budget requirement for 2024/2025 as presented to Cabinet on 13th February 2024, its Precept on the Collection Fund and the formal details surrounding the Precept of other bodies on the Collection Fund.
b) New Scheme Additions to the Cabinet Programme in 2024/25
The proposals put forward by the Cabinet on 13th February 2024 are set out in the attached report. The final proposals of the controlling administration will be submitted in advance of the meeting.
c) Comments and Recommendations of Overview and Scrutiny
The Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee will meet on 20th February 2024 to consider the budget proposals for 2024/25. The Committee’s comments will be reported in advance of the meeting.
NOTE: In accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders)(England)(Amendment)Regulations 2014, a recorded vote will be required in respect of this decision. Additional documents:
Minutes: Budget Debate Procedure
The Mayor introduced the proposed Budget Debate Procedure and sought approval of Council to adopt the procedure at the meeting, which involved changes to the usual Council Procedure rules. With the consent of the meeting, the proposed order of debate was duly adopted.
Members were reminded that, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, recorded votes would be required in respect of any financial decisions taken under this item.
The Acting Leader of the Council informed the Council that proposals for the 2024/25 General Fund Revenue Budget and Capital Programme had been put forward at Cabinet on 13th February 2024 and had been recommended to Council for approval. The proposals had also been submitted to the Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 20th February 2024 at which a number of questions had been raised, comments made and three amendments to the recommendations had been submitted by the Labour Party. These amendments had subsequently been approved by the Committee. Councillor Short, Chair of the Resources Overview & Scrutiny Committee, outlined the decisions of the Committee indicating their support of the General Fund Revenue Budget 2024/25 and Capital Programme 2024/25 – 2026/27, inclusive of the amendments.
The following reports were provided:-
a) General Fund - Revenue Budget 2024/25
The report included proposals as presented to and approved by the Cabinet on 13th February 2024, however, the report had been updated since the Cabinet meeting to include additional growth. This growth had been fully funded by an increase in funding of £123,354, which was announced in the Government’s final finance settlement for 2024/25.
The recommendations agreed by Cabinet were as follows:-
(1) That Council approves an increase in Council Tax for 2024/25 of 2.99% increasing the charge for a Band D property to £268.43;
(2) That the Budget for 2024/25 would therefore be £16,121,900 as detailed in Appendices 1 to 3 of the Revenue Budget 2024-2025 report attached at Appendix A of the report;
(3) That Council approves the changes in budget requirement including inflation, growth and savings identified in Appendix 3 of the Revenue Budget 2024-25 report, to ensure the Council could set and approve a balanced budget;
(4) That Council note the significant improvement made in relation to budget monitoring and cost reduction within the Authority over the past 20 years and confirmed its commitment to continuing this approach in the year ahead;
(5) That Council approves that during the financial year 2024/25, the Executive Director of Resources be delegated responsibility to amend the Budget (following consultation with the Leader of the Council) for technical reasons, such as the restructuring of cost centres, the re-apportionment and re-allocation of overheads etc., provided such amendments had an overall neutral impact on the Budget;
(6) That Council approves that during the financial year 2024/25, the Executive Director of Resources be delegated responsibility to amend the Budget (following consultation with the Leader of the Council) should the estimate of Business Rates not be sufficiently accurate, ... view the full minutes text for item 331. |