Agenda item

Councillor Hull moved the recommendations in the report. Councillor Watts seconded.

Councillor Russell moved an amendment.

Councillors Heather, Clarke, Khondoker, Cutler and Burgess contributed to the debate.

Councillors Russell and Hull exercised their right to reply.

The amendment was put to the vote. Voting was recorded as follows:

For: Councillor Russell

Against: Councillors Bell-Bradford, Burgess, Caluori, Champion, Chapman, Chowdhury, Clarke, Comer-Schwartz, Convery, Cutler, Debono, Fletcher, Gallagher, Gantly, Gill, Graham, Hamitouche, Heather, Hull, Ismail, Jeapes, Khondoker, Khurana, Klute, Lukes, Mackmurdie, Nathan, Ngongo, O’Halloran, O’Sullivan, Picknell, Poole, Poyser, Shaikh, Smith, Turan, Ward, Watts, Wayne, Webbe, Williamson, Woodbyrne.

The amendment was LOST.

The recommendation in the report were put to the vote. Voting was recorded as follows:

For: Councillors Bell-Bradford, Burgess, Caluori, Champion, Chapman, Chowdhury, Clarke, Comer-Schwartz, Convery, Cutler, Debono, Fletcher, Gallagher, Gantly, Gill, Graham, Hamitouche, Heather, Hull, Ismail, Jeapes, Khondoker, Khurana, Klute, Lukes, Mackmurdie, Nathan, Ngongo, O’Halloran, O’Sullivan, Picknell, Poole, Poyser, Shaikh, Smith, Turan, Ward, Watts, Wayne, Webbe, Williamson, Woodbyrne.

Abstention: Councillor Russell

The recommendations were CARRIED.

RESOLVED:

General Fund Budget 2019-20 and MTFS (Section 3 of the Main Report)

1.           That the 2019-20 net Council cash limits as set out in Table 1, paragraph 3.7 of the report, and the MTFS at Appendix A of the report, which include the 2019-22 revenue savings at Appendix B of the report, and the 2019-20 revenue growth proposal at paragraph 3.6 of the report, be agreed.

2.           That the Council should strongly oppose Government proposals in the ‘Review of Local Authorities’ Relative Needs and Resources Consultation’ to remove deprivation indicators from the baseline grant formula, which would significantly disadvantage high-need boroughs such as Islington, and the other key elements of the Council’s response as set out in paragraphs 3.9-3.10 of the report, be agreed.

3.           That the fees and charges policy be noted and the 2019-20 fees and charges, paragraphs 3.12-3.13 and Appendices C1 - C3 of the report, be agreed.

4.           That the estimated use of the Council’s earmarked budget reserves (including the creation of a new Transformation Reserve), the Council’s policy on the level of General Fund balances, with an increase in General Fund balances of £2m in 2019-20, and an increase in the ongoing contingency budget of £3m in 2019-20, as set out at paragraphs 3.14-3.17 and Table 2 of the report, be agreed.

HRA Budget and MTFS (Section 4 of the Main Report)

5.           That the balanced HRA 2019-20 budget, including savings and growth proposals, within the HRA MTFS, at Tables 4-5 and Appendix D1 of the report be agreed.

6.           That the 2019-20 HRA rents, fees and charges, agreed by Executive on 17 January 2019, Tables 6-9 and Appendix D2 of the report, be noted.

Capital Programme 2019-22 (Section 5 of the Main Report)

7.           That the 2019-20 capital programme, paragraph 5.1, Table 10 and Appendix E1 of the report, be agreed and the provisional programme for 2020-22, paragraph 5.1, Table 10 and Appendix E1 of the report, be noted.

8.           That the Capital Strategy 2019-22, which includes affordability prudential indicators and the minimum revenue provision (MRP) policy, paragraph 5.2 and Appendix E1 of the report, be agreed.

9.           That the Treasury Management and Investment Strategy 2019-20 (including external debt and treasury management Prudential Indicators), as considered by Audit Committee on 31^st January 2019, paragraph 5.2 and Appendix E2 of the report, be agreed.

10.         That the Strategy for Other Investments (including Commercial Investments) 2019-20, paragraph 5.3 and Appendix E3 of the report, be agreed.

Council Tax and Retained Business Rates (Section 6 of the Main Report)

11.         That the calculations required for the determination of the 2019-20 council tax requirement and the level of council tax as detailed in Section 6 of the report and summarised below, be agreed:

1)    The 2019-20 council tax requirement of £92,993,961.91, paragraph 6.2 of the report.

2)    The relevant basic amount of Islington Band D council tax of £1,169.38, a 2.99% increase compared to 2018-19, and to determine that this is not ‘excessive’, paragraphs 6.3 and 6.4 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 Committee area) of £1,169.16 and total Band D council tax (including the GLA precept) of £1,489.67, paragraphs 6.5 and 6.9 of the report.

4)    The amount of 2019-20 council tax (excluding the GLA precept) for each valuation band over each of the Council’s areas, paragraph 6.7 of the report.

5)    The total amount of 2019-20 council tax (including the GLA precept) for each valuation band over each of the Council’s areas, paragraph 6.9 of the report.

12.         That in relation to the Council’s proposed participation in the second year of the London Business Rates Pilot Pool, paragraphs 6.10 to 6.14 of the report, the following be agreed:

1)    That the designation by the Secretary of State as an authority within the London Business Rates Pilot Pool pursuant to 34(7) (1) of Schedule 7B Local Government Finance Act 1988 be accepted and approved.

2)    That participation in the London Business Rates Pilot Pool with effect from 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2020, be agreed.

3)    That the authority's administrative functions as a billing authority pursuant to the Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention) Regulations 2013 be delegated to the City of London Corporation acting as the Lead Authority, be agreed.

4)    That the Lead Authority be authorised to sub-contract certain ancillary administrative functions regarding the financial transactions (payment of tariffs and top-ups) within the Pool to the GLA as it considers expedient, be agreed.

5)    That authority be delegated to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Community Safety, to agree the operational details of the pooling arrangements with the participating authorities, be agreed.

6)    That authority be delegated to the Section 151 Officer to make any amendments to the Memorandum of Understanding, at Appendix Fto the report, as may be required by the Secretary of State, and to enter into the final Memorandum of Understanding on behalf of the authority, be agreed.

7)    That the Leader of the Council be authorised to represent the authority in relation to consultations regarding the London Business Rates Pilot Pool as may be undertaken by the Lead Authority pursuant to the Memorandum of Understanding, be agreed.

8)    That authority be delegated to the Section 151 Officer, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Community Safety, to consider such consultative reports as the Lead Authority may circulate and to respond on behalf of the authority with regard to any recommendations and, in particular, proposals for projects to be approved for funding from the Strategic Investment Pot, be agreed.

9)    That the Lead Authority be delegated the functions of assessment, due consultation and approval of projects eligible for funding from the Pool's Strategic Investment Pot following consultation with the participating authorities (provided that at least two thirds of such participating London Boroughs are (including the City of London Corporation) in favour of the relevant recommendation as well as the Mayor of London, and that no entire sub-region is in disagreement with the decision) on such terms and conditions as shall ensure value for money and compliance with the law, be agreed.

Matters to Consider in Setting the Budget (Section 7 of the Main Report)

13.         That the Section 151 Officer’s and the Monitoring Officer’s comments in their determination of the revenue and capital budgets for 2019-20 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.

14.         That the Resident Impact Assessment (RIA) on the 2019-22 budget proposals, Appendix G of the report, be noted.

15.         That the Annual Pay Policy Statement for 2019-20, Appendix H of the report, be agreed.

16.         That authority be delegated to the Service Director Financial and Asset Management (acting Section 151 Officer), in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance, Performance and Community Safety, to make any changes to the budget proposals contained within the report that are necessitated by the final GLA precept, be agreed.