Agenda item

To seek approval for recommendation to Council, the Council Strategy, the detailed Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS), and the final Revenue and Capital Budget 2018-19.

The decision to take into account the outcomes of the formal budget consultation and the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, (following approval by the Scrutiny Management Committee on 24 January 2018).

Cllr Patrick Molyneux, (Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee), to present the scrutiny management committee’s observations and recommended budget priorities.

Cllr Ray Theodoulou, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, presented the Draft Council Strategy and Medium Term Financial Strategy, (MTFS), 2018-19 to 2020-21, (including the proposed Revenue and Capital Budget 2018-19), for recommendation to Council.

Having considered all of the information, including the outcomes of the council’s formal budget consultation, the due regard statement for the decision and recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, Cabinet noted the decision report and the reasons for the recommendations and,

RESOLVED to: -

1.    Note the outcome of the budget consultation as set out in Appendix 3 of the report and the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC) in Appendix 4;

2.    Approve the Draft Council Strategy for submission to County Council (Appendix 1);

3.    Approve changes to the draft budget as set out in Section C of the report, and approve the MTFS and final revenue and capital budget for 2018/19 for recommendation to Council, including all of the proposals set out in the annexes of the detailed MTFS (Appendix 2);

4.   Note the schools funding, the provisional local government finance settlement and forecast reserve movements, as summarised in the decision report and as set out in the MTFS, and recommend to Council a revenue budget of £412.90 million, and a band D council tax of £1,232.21, and consequential precepts on District Councils;

5.   Note that Gloucestershire had been successful in becoming a Business Rate Retention pilot in 2018/19 and propose that the additional revenue be split between Children’s Social Care (£2.6 million) and Adult Social Care (£2 million).

6.   Approve, for recommendation to Council, the Treasury Management Strategy, Investment Strategy and Prudential Indicators, as set out in Section I of the decision report and Annex 10 of the detailed MTFS.

7.   Approve, for recommendation to Council, the Risk Management Policy Statement & Strategy, as set out in Section M of the decision report and Annex 11 of the detailed MTFS.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, Leader of the Council, introduced the item before inviting Cllr Patrick Molyneux, as Chairman of the Gloucestershire Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, to present the scrutiny committee’s findings and Cllr Ray Theodoulou, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, to present the Draft Council Strategy and Medium Term Financial Strategy, (MTFS), 2018-19 to 2020-21, (including Revenue and Capital Budget 2018-19), for recommendation to Council.

Cllr Molyneux informed members that a very successful scrutiny workshop day had been held on 10 January 2018, with scrutiny members invited to provide input on the budget areas for their respective committees. The new arrangement had worked well and had been very useful in identifying key themes for cabinet to consider before making its final budget recommendations to council on 14 February 2018.

It was suggested a similar arrangement be built into the council’s budget process for next year.

Cllr Molyneux stated that the information within the scrutiny committee report had reflected the information that had been available at that time but had subsequently, been subject to several key Government announcements which would now need to be taken into account, including the announcement that the council had been accepted to take part in a national 100% Business Rates Retention Pilot Scheme.

Presenting an overview of the proposals that had been agreed by the Scrutiny Management Committee at its meeting on 24 January 2018, Cllr Molyneux informed members that a key area for consideration was the Children and Families Budget, which had been identified as an area of high risk. Cllr Molyneux stated that, whilst welcoming the investment proposed for this area, scrutiny members had requested that cabinet further consider whether the proposed budget was sufficient to meet the additional demand placed on children’s services and to ensure continued investment in the Ofsted Improvement Plan following an inadequate Ofsted Inspection in 2017.

Other considerations included a request that the Mental Health Budget within Public Health be protected, (i.e. not reduced by the £32,000 outlined within the draft budget proposal), and for the allocation of Highways Local funding to be increased from the base budget position of £10,000 per member to reflect the £30,000 allocation that had been provided in previous years. Following a lengthy discussion on the proposal, the scrutiny committee had suggested that the Environment and Communities Scrutiny Committee might want to undertake a piece of work of the effectiveness of the Highways Local Scheme before consideration of next years’ budget, and this was noted.  

Another proposal was for the spending from the one off funding received from the 100% business rates retention pilot to be targeted towards the most vulnerable people within Gloucestershire.

Cllr Molyneux was thanked for his report and for the work of the scrutiny committee.  

Cllr Theodoulou referred to the public consultation that had been undertaken in December 2017, following approval of the draft budget and the MTFS, and the proposal of a total revenue budget of £407m and council tax increase of 1.99%, plus adult social care levy of 2%.

Cllr Theodoulou advised members that, having taken into account the findings of the recent consultation, and the option to increase council tax by up to 3% without the need for a referendum, it was now proposed that the council increase council tax in 2018 to 2.49%, adding a further £1.328m to the council’s revenue resources and increase additional available funds to £5.74m.

Cllr Theodoulou proposed that the additional funding be invested in the following investments: - £3.89m towards Children’s Safeguarding; £1.12m to support implementation of the Children’s Services Improvement Plan; £600k to fund the National Pay Award and £120k additional investment in Adult Social Care.

Referring to the successful bid to participate in a 100% Business Rates Retention Pilot Scheme, Cllr Theodoulou estimated that the scheme could generate up to an £9.2m additional revenue, with 50% of the revenue allocated to the County Council, 30% to the districts and the remaining 20% to the Strategic Economic Development Fund. In cash terms, it was estimated this could add an additional £4.6m to the revenue account, to be invested in the council’s Children’s Social Care and Adult Social Care Services.

Continuing to invest in the county’s infrastructure, it was proposed £150m be invested in roads, that a new school be created in Cheltenham and that £1.9m be allocated to councillors to spend on community projects.

Recommending that further capital schemes, (totalling £11.4m), be added to the budget, Cllr Theodoulou reported the total of new capital budgets within budget proposals at £178.99m, bringing the total capital budget for the current administration to £504m.

Incorporating the changes considered at the meeting and noting the Due Regard Statement that accompanied the decision report, Cllr Theodoulou proposed a revised revenue budget 2018/19 of £412m. Full details of the proposals are set out at Appendices 1 and 2 of the report.

The Leader invited cabinet members to comment on key investments within their individual budget areas. References were made to the additional funding invested in Adult Social Care and Children’s Services, and in the county’s roads and infrastructure.

Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, Cllr Richard Boyles, expressed his appreciation for the support that had been provided by his cabinet colleagues over the past 8 months and the support and input he had received in formulating the budget for children’s services. He acknowledged that the past year had been a difficult year but that this had now stabilised. He informed members, there was a clear commitment to the children in care of Gloucestershire.

Cllr Boyles said the proposed budget was a clear statement on the intentions and aspirations of the cabinet in developing children’s services in Gloucestershire to the highest level. Acknowledging the support offered by other members of the council, Cllr Boyles said he looked forward to working with all political groups in addressing some of the challenges the council was likely to experience in the future.

Due to the increased number of children coming into care in 2017, plus several other factors, children’s services overspent by £9m, (this reduced to £6.27m, after reserves).

Cllr Mark Hawthorne referred to the challenges of delivering an achievable budget and thanked members and officers for their contributions. He stated that the budget was not about making savings but about making investment in front line services. With an increase of 5.2%, (£407m to £412m), the budget proposal didn’t include the revenue from the business rates retention scheme, (this would deliver an additional £4.6m to the revenue account, totalling an extra £9.9m investment to be invested in the county’s highways, schools and infrastructure).

Referring to the council’s pledge to protect the most vulnerable people in the community, the Leader stated that cabinet remained committed to delivering a better service and would continue to invest in Adult Social Care and Children’s services, even when other counties chose not to re-invest in these areas.

Thanking officers for the work involved, the Leader said he believed the budget was a robust budget, but accepted that a huge amount of work was yet to be done.

Ultimately, approval of the budget was a decision for full council, (for consideration at the council meeting on 14 February 2018).

Having considered all of the information, including the outcomes of the council’s formal budget consultation, Due Regard Statement and recommendations from the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee, Cabinet noted the decision report and the reasons for the recommendations and,

RESOLVED to: -

1.    Note the outcome of the budget consultation as set out in Appendix 3 of the report and the report of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Committee (OSMC) in Appendix 4;

2.    Approve the Draft Council Strategy for submission to County Council (Appendix 1);

3.    Approve changes to the draft budget as set out in Section C of the report, and approve the MTFS and final revenue and capital budget for 2018/19 for recommendation to Council, including all of the proposals set out in the annexes of the detailed MTFS (Appendix 2);

4.   Note the schools funding, the provisional local government finance settlement and forecast reserve movements, as summarised in the decision report and as set out in the MTFS, and recommend to Council a revenue budget of £412.90 million, and a band D council tax of £1,232.21, and consequential precepts on District Councils;

5.   Note that Gloucestershire had been successful in becoming a Business Rate Retention pilot in 2018/19 and propose that the additional revenue be split between Children’s Social Care (£2.6 million) and Adult Social Care (£2 million).

6.   Approve, for recommendation to Council, the Treasury Management Strategy, Investment Strategy and Prudential Indicators, as set out in Section I of the decision report and Annex 10 of the detailed MTFS.

7.   Approve, for recommendation to Council, the Risk Management Policy Statement & Strategy, as set out in Section M of the decision report and Annex 11 of the detailed MTFS.