Agenda item
Budget Proposals 2017-18
- Meeting of Executive, Thursday, 9th February, 2017 7.00 pm (Item 365.)
- View the background to item 365.
Decision:
AGREED RECOMMENDATIONS
Reasons for decision – as specified in the report
Other options considered – none
Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted
– none.
Minutes:
In introducing
the report, the Councillor Hull advised that the government may not
confirm the final local government grant settlement in time for the
Budget Council meeting on 23 February 2017 and therefore proposed
the following amendment:
Additional recommendation, to be numbered 2.2:
2.2 That, in the unlikely event that
the final local government settlement differs
from the provisional settlement already notified by the government,
to
delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Resources to make
any
adjustments necessary to balance the Council’s Budget for
2017/18, in
consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, Performance and
Community
Safety.
The proposed
additional recommendation was agreed and the meeting
therefore
RESOLVED:
The General Fund Budget 2017-18 and MTFS (Section 3 of the
Main
Report)
2.1
That the 2017-18 net Council cash limits as set out in Table 1
(paragraph 3.1.3 of the report) and the MTFS at Appendix A of the
report, which include the revenue savings in Appendix B of the
report, be agreed.
2.2
That, in the unlikely event that the final local
government settlement differs from the provisional settlement
already notified by the government, authority be delegated to the
Corporate Director of Resources to make any adjustments necessary
to balance the Council’s Budget for 2017/18, in consultation
with the Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Community
Safety, be agreed.
2.3
That the requirement to report on the number of maintained schools
that have completed the Schools Value Financial Standard (SVFS) by
31st March to the Department for Education by
31st May each year (paragraph 3.2.17 of the report) be
noted.
2.4
That the fees and charges policy and the schedule of 2017-18 fees
and charges be agreed and that authority be delegated to the
Corporate Director of Children's Services, in consultation with the
Executive Member for Children and Families, to agree new childcare
charges following consultation in the summer term (paragraphs
3.2.18-21 and Appendices C1 and C2 of the report) be
agreed.
2.5
That the Council’s policy on the level of General Fund
balances and the estimated use of the Council’s earmarked
reserves be agreed. That the redundancy
reserve is estimated to be fully spent by the end of 2016-17 be
noted and that from 2017-18 redundancy costs are funded within
departmental budgets (paragraphs 3.2.23 to 3.2.26 and Table 3 of
the report) be agreed.
The HRA Budget and MTFS (Section 4 of the Main Report)
2.6 That the balanced HRA 2017-18 budget within the HRA MTFS at Appendix D1 of the report and the 2017-18 HRA savings at Appendix D2 of the report be agreed.
2.7
That the 2017-18 HRA rents and other fees and charges (Tables 5 to
8 and Appendix D3 of the report) be noted.
The Capital Programme 2017-18 to 2019-20 (Section 5 of the
Main
Report)
2.8
That the 2017-18 capital programme be agreed and the provisional
programme for 2018-19 to 2019-20 (paragraph 5.1, Table 9 and
Appendix E1 of the report) be noted.
2.9
That the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources applies
capital resources to fund the capital programme in the most
cost-effective way (paragraph 5.2 of the report) be
agreed.
2.10
That the schedule of planned Traffic and Transportation schemes in
2017-18 be noted and that the related decision-making
responsibilities for these schemes (paragraph 5.3 and Appendix E2
of the report) be agreed.
Treasury Management Strategy (Section 6 of the Main
Report)
2.11
That the Annual Treasury Management and Investment Strategy 2017-18
(including external debt and treasury management Prudential
Indicators), as considered by Audit Committee on 24th
January 2017 (paragraph 6.1 and Appendix F1 of the report) be
agreed.
2.12
That the additional capital Prudential Indicators (paragraph 6.1
and Appendix F2 of the report) be agreed.
2.13
That the minimum revenue provision for 2017-18, adopting from
2017-18 the asset life (annuity) method for both
‘supported’ and ‘unsupported’ borrowing
(paragraphs 6.2 to 6.6 of the report) be agreed.
Council Tax 2017-18 and Statutory Calculations (Section 7 of the Main
Report)
2.14
That the calculations required for the determination of the 2017-18
council tax requirement and the level of council tax as detailed in
Section 7 of the report and summarised below, be agreed:
1)
The 2017-18 council tax requirement of £82,712,864.62
(paragraph 7.5 of the report)
2)
The relevant (average) amount of Islington Band D council tax of
£1,071.28, a 4.99% increase (comprising a 3% social care
precept and a 1.99% local precept) compared to 2016-17, and to
determine that this is not ‘excessive’ (paragraphs 7.6
and 7.7 of the report)
3)
The basic amount of Islington Band D council tax for dwellings to
which no special item relates (i.e. outside of the Lloyd Square
Garden area) of £1,071.06 and total Band D council tax
(including the GLA precept) of £1,351.08 (paragraphs 7.8 and
7.12 of the report)
4)
The amount of 2017-18 council tax (excluding the GLA precept) for
each valuation band over each of the Council’s areas
(paragraph 7.10 of the report)
5)
The total amount of 2017-18 council tax (including the GLA precept)
for each valuation band over each of the Council’s areas
(paragraph 7.12 of the report)
2.15
That the budget proposals include the decision to
exempt all care leavers living in Islington under the age of 25
from council tax, recommended in a separate report to the Executive
on 9th February 2017 be noted. The discount is available from 1st
April 2017 and will cost £28k a year. The cost will be shared with the GLA, via the
Collection Fund (paragraph 7.3 of the report)
Matters to Consider in Setting the Budget (Section 8 of the Main
Report)
2.16
That the Section 151 Officer’s and the Monitoring
Officer’s comments in their determination of the revenue and
capital budgets for 2017-18 and the basis for the level of council
tax, including the Section 151 Officer’s report in relation
to his responsibilities under Section 25 (2) of the Local
Government Act 2003 be noted.
2.17
That the Resident Impact Assessment (RIA) on the
2017-18 budget (Appendix G of the report) be noted.
2.18
That the Pay Policy Statement for 2017-18 (Appendix
H of the report) be agreed.
Reasons for decision – to allow Councillors to set a balanced budget
Other options considered – none other than as specified in the report
Conflicts of interest / dispensations granted
– none.
Supporting documents:
- Budget Report 2017-18 Executive 9.2.17, item 365. PDF 170 KB
- MAIN REPORT Budget 2017-18 Executive 9.2.17, item 365. PDF 363 KB
- Appendices A to G_Budget 2017-18_Executive 9.2.17, item 365. PDF 2 MB
- Policy and Performance Scrutiny Committee response to Budget Proposals, item 365. PDF 130 KB
- Budget Report Appendix H Pay Policy 2016-17, item 365. PDF 194 KB