Agenda item

To approve the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and Revenue and Capital Budget 2020-21 for recommendation to County Council, including the proposals set out in the annexes relating to the detailed MTFS.

Supporting Documents: -

Appendix 1     Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS)

Appendix 2     Budget Consultation Report

Appendix 3     Corporate Scrutiny Committee Minutes (9 January 2020)

Appendix 4     Due Regard Statement (to follow)

The decision to take into account the outcomes of the recent formal budget consultation and feedback from the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee.

Cllr Shaun Parsons (Chairman of the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee), to present the Scrutiny Committee’s observations following consideration of the draft budget proposals at the budget scrutiny meeting on 9 January 2020.

Cllr Lynden Stowe, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, presented for approval, the Medium Term Financial Strategy, (MTFS), and the final revenue and capital budget proposal for 2020/21, for recommendation to County Council on 12 February 2020.

In making his recommendations, Cllr Stowe highlighted the following changes for incorporation in the report to Council:

1. An additional £10k per member, (£530k in total), as highways local funding;
2. An additional £1m; which would be transferred from the Invest to Save Reserve to the Vulnerable Children Reserve, (this amount was already included in the cabinet report);
3. A change to the Treasury Management Strategy to address the options for green investment issues, (as agreed by the Audit and Governance Committee).

Having considered all of the information, including the outcomes of the council’s formal budget consultation, the due regard statement relating to the decision and observations from the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee meeting on 9 January 2020, Cabinet noted the reasons for the recommendations and,

RESOLVED to:- 

1.    Note the outcome of the budget consultation as set out in Appendix 2 of the report and the minutes of the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee (COSC) meeting held on 9 January 2020, as detailed at Appendix 3 of the report;

2.    Approve the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the final revenue and capital budget for 2020/21 for recommendation to County Council, including all of the proposals set out in the annexes of the detailed MTFS (Appendix 1);

3.    Note the schools funding allocations, the provisional local government finance settlement and forecast reserve movements, as summarised in the decision report and as set out in the MTFS;

4.    Recommend to Council a revenue budget of £468.183 million, a Band D Council Tax of £1,345.32 and consequential precepts on District Councils;

5.    Note the Capital Strategy and Treasury Management Strategy & Investment Strategy, as set out in Annexes 7 and 10 of the detailed MTFS;

6.    Note the Risk Management Policy Statement & Strategy, as set out in Annex 11 of the detailed MTFS.

Cllr Lynden Stowe, Cabinet Member for Finance and Change, presented for approval, the Medium Term Financial Strategy, (MTFS), and the final revenue and capital budget proposal for 2020/21, for recommendation to County Council on 12 February 2020.

In making his recommendations, Cllr Stowe highlighted the following changes to incorporate in the report to Council:

1. An additional £10k per member, (£530k in total), as highways local funding;
2. An additional £1m, (funded from the Invest to Save Reserve), to be added to the Vulnerable Children Reserve, (this amount was already included in the cabinet report);
3. A change to the Treasury Management Strategy, from which to address green investment issues, (as recommended by the Audit and Governance Committee).

Cllr Stowe reminded members that the MTFS and 2020/21 draft budget had been approved by Cabinet on 20 December 2019. This was followed by a 4 week period of public consultation and scrutiny, in response to which Cllr Stowe had been encouraged by the positive feedback received to the budget proposals.

Cllr Stowe outlined several changes to the budget, (as detailed above), including the request to increase an allocation to members from which to address small highway and environmental issues within their individual wards, a request that had received the support of cabinet. Responding to the feedback, Cllr Stowe proposed an amendment to the proposed budget to include an increase to the Highways Local allocation by £10,000 per member (£530,000 in total).

A further proposal to be included in the recommendations to council, (already included in the budget report), was an additional £1million, (funded from the Invest to Save Reserve). It was proposed that this amount be added to the Vulnerable Children Reserve and used to address the current overspend in children’s services.

The proposed change to the Treasury Management Strategy, to address green investment issues, (as recommended by the Audit and Governance Committee), would allow the council to plan for future investment, in addition to fulfilling any current projects already in place.

It was confirmed that the current draft budget proposals included an additional £415,000 to fund a Community Maintenance Gang, (the new term used to refer to the Lengthsman Scheme).

In presenting the 2020/21 budget proposals, Cllr Stowe reported an increase on the previous years budget of £31.2 million, (an increase of 7.1%). This included over £40 million of new investments in delivering vital services.

In addition, Cabinet proposed new capital investment projects of £83.7 million as a significant investment in the delivery of services for the residents of Gloucestershire. Spending on the proposed new schemes, and those schemes already approved, was anticipated to reach almost £200 million in 2020/21. 

It was confirmed that, since the Cabinet meeting on 20 December 2019, the Government had issued its Annual Financial Settlement. This had been broadly in line with the Council’s previous funding estimates for general fund services and therefore did not necessitate any changes to the proposed budget. In addition, the Department for Education had announced the Dedicated School Grant allocations, including a High Needs Block allocation for Gloucestershire at £0.4 million higher than previously forecast.

Cllr Stowe informed members that, to fund this significant proposed investment, it would be necessary to increase Council Tax by 1.99%, plus an additional 2% Social Care Levy. This would result in an increase in Band D Council Tax by £51.62 for 2020/21, representing less than £1.00 per week.

Whilst any increase in council tax level was undesirable, Cllr Stowe explained that in making its proposals, Cabinet believed it had achieved the right mix of investment in delivering essential services for some of the most vulnerable residents in Gloucestershire and in the desire to minimise the financial burden on local communities.

Commending senior officers and the finance team for their hard work in developing the budget and thanking scrutiny members for their support in considering the proposals, Cllr Stowe referred to the due regard statement that accompanied the proposals before commending the MTFS and final revenue and capital budget proposals for 2020/21, for recommendation to Council on 12 February 2020.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Mark Hawthorne, invited cabinet colleagues to speak on the budget aspirations for their individual portfolio areas. Speaking in support of the proposals, Cabinet particularly welcomed the new areas of investment included within the report and described the budget as a positive and ambitious proposal.

Conscious of the significant amount of work yet to do, and noting the challenges to the Council in delivering services whilst required to make continuous savings, Cabinet confirmed that it was confident that the proposed budget represented a vast amount of investment for Gloucestershire and its residents. This confidence was reflected in the significant number of important decisions that had been made by Cabinet prior to confirmation of the government financial settlement.

Mindful of the legal duty to give due regard to the implications of people with protected characteristics, Cabinet noted the due regard statement before making its recommendations to Council.

Having considered all of the information, including the outcomes of the council’s formal budget consultation, the due regard statement relating to the decision and the observations from the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee meeting on 9 January 2020, Cabinet noted the reasons for the recommendations and,

RESOLVED to:- 

1.    Note the outcome of the budget consultation as set out in Appendix 2 of the report and the minutes of the Corporate Overview Scrutiny Committee (COSC) meeting held on 9 January 2020, as detailed at Appendix 3 of the report.

2.    Approve the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the final revenue and capital budget for 2020/21 for recommendation to County Council, including all of the proposals set out in the annexes of the detailed MTFS (Appendix 1).

3.    Note the schools funding allocations, the provisional local government finance settlement and forecast reserve movements, as summarised in the decision report and as set out in the MTFS.

4.    Recommend to Council a revenue budget of £468.183 million, a band D council tax of £1,345.32 and consequential precepts on District Councils.

5.    Note the Capital Strategy and Treasury Management Strategy & Investment Strategy, as set out in Annexes 7 and 10 of the detailed MTFS.

6.    Note the Risk Management Policy Statement & Strategy, as set out in Annex 11 of the detailed MTFS.