Agenda item

To consider the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024-28 and the Annual Budget 2024/25.

The Chair invited Councillor Hargreaves to present the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and 2024/25 Budget proposals; he said he would have 10 minutes to introduce the papers due to the Budget’s importance.

Councillor Hargreaves presented the papers regarding the MTFS and Budget proposals 2024/25, which detailed budget reports on the General Fund and council tax, Housing Revenue Account (HRA), and the capital programme. Furthermore, the papers included a section 25 report giving advice and assurance on the reserves position, including the minimum safe level of contingency funds that need to be held, and the robustness of any estimates used in the calculation of the proposed budgets. The report also provided a commentary on the assumptions in the MTFS, as well as annual updates regarding the Commercial Strategy, MTFS, Treasury Management Strategy and the Capital Strategy. The Council Tax Resolution would also need to be considered and approved by members. He said the Council was required to set a balanced budget and produce a five-year plan; he said this was difficult when Government would provide no future guarantees on funding and were not required to set a balanced Budget at national level. Overall, he said the Council was in a sound financial position compared to other local authorities but there was no room for complacency in such a challenging economic environment. He proposed the recommendations set out in the report.

The Leader seconded the proposals.

Councillor Dean said there should have been a stand-alone meeting to consider the Budget and the administration should show contrition due to the state of the Council’s finances.

Councillor Barker said the finances of central and local Government were not comparable and she was confused by Councillor Hargreaves comments. Rate evaluations had been changed in April 2023, not ten years previous and the total use of reserves was £1.9 million, not £1 million. Furthermore, she said the Council should have foreseen increasing interest rates which had led to high borrowing costs. She said the Budget did not do anything for the residents of Uttlesford and cited the rise in car park tariffs and council tax.

Councillor Silcock asked that the car park season ticket tariff increases be re-considered and potentially phased in; he said this would disproportionately affect those working in the district, particularly those on the minimum and living wage, and it was not their fault that the issue of car parks had not been reviewed for a number of years.

Councillor Ahmed requested that information on the website that related to the Cost-of-Living Crisis support fund be made available in different languages.

Councillor Luck asked how the Council would boost the capacity of the waste service.

Councillor Criscione said this was a challenging time to be working in Local Government but the administration’s management of finances should be called into question, particularly in relation to the Council’s accounts which had not been signed off by an auditor for a number of years, nor published on Company House. He also questioned why the car park tariff was raised higher than the consultant’s recommendation.

Councillor Sell said the Council was at the mercy of short-term interest rates; the historic interest rates available in 2020-2021 should have been taken advantage of and the lack of foresight had cost the Council dear. He said there was a need to change the maximum amount of council tax chargeable due to Government’s failure to fairly fund local councils.

Councillor Gooding said the Part 2 element of this meeting would impact on the Budget; he could not support the proposals.

Councillor Fiddy asked whether the Cost-of-Living Support Fund would roll-over to the next financial year; she said forecasts predicted this would be greatly needed by the most vulnerable in the community.

Councillor Neil Reeve said the administration had managed the finances well and the Council was in good financial order compared to other local authorities. He apologised for the recent waste service disruption and said the fleet would be increased and maintained to a good standard.

Councillor Coote thanked Councillor Hargreaves for his commitment to social housing.

Councillor Moran said he could not support the Budget as there was no long-term planning involved; he said the waste service fleet should have been upgraded in the past and the administration had not listened to the concerns of staff.

The Leader said that Councillor Criscione had been correct that there had been one consultant’s recommendation regarding the Car Park Tariff; the other recommendations had been proposed by officers to provide choice to members. In regards to the potential sale of commercial assets, she said this had been agreed back in February 2023 and the Part 2 business this evening would have no impact on this year’s Budget, as it would be incorporated in the next financial year.

In response to the debate, Councillor Hargreaves said:

• The procurement of three bin lorries had been brought forward to provide resilience in the fleet.
• Different options had been selected across the car park tariff tiers, primarily the mid-tier option, and whilst this would be looked at every two-years, he thought the prices would remain stable.
• The Cost-of-Living Support Fund would roll forward and its application criteria would be widened.
• The Council’s accounts were on Company House but the accounts had not been signed off. This was mainly due to the lack of sufficient audit resource at a national level and a backlog that was affecting many local authorities.

For the purposes of the Council Tax Resolution, the Chair said a recorded vote would be taken in order to satisfy regulations and the Constitution:

The proposals were approved 21 for, 10 against and 3 abstentions.

RESOLVED to:

I.                 Note and have regard to the section 25 report when considering the budgets for 2024/25;

II.               Note the risk assessment relating to the robustness of estimates as set out at paragraph 9 of the section 25 report;

III.              Set the working balances for 2024/25 at £1.909 million for the General Fund and £654,000 for the Housing Revenue Account;

IV.             Approve the Commercial Strategy 2024-29;

V.               Note the key risks and assumptions set out at paragraph 30 of the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024-2029;

VI.             Approve the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2024- 2029;

VII.           Approve an increase in the sector limit for other investments from £2million to £3million, as detailed at paragraph 50 of the Treasury Management Strategy 2024/25;

VIII.         Set the treasury management prudential indicators as set out at paragraphs 63-71 of the Treasury Management Strategy 2024/25;

IX.             Approve the Treasury Management Strategy 2024/25;

X.               Approve an increase in both the authorised limit and operational boundary for other long term liabilities from £5million to £10million, as set out in paragraphs 25-26 of the Capital Strategy 2024/25;

XI.             Approve the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement 2024/25 as set out at Annexe E1;

XII.           Set the capital prudential indicators as summarised at Annexe E2;

XIII.         Approve the Capital Strategy 2024/25;

XIV.         Approve the Capital Programme 2024/25 - 2028/29, including the planned application of capital financing set out at Annexe F4;

XV.          Approve the increases in HRA rents as follows:- - General needs, supported accommodation and temporary accommodation – a 7.7% increase in accordance with the cap set by government for social rents; - Garage rents – to be increased in line with September 2023 CPI (6.7%)

XVI.         Approve the changes in HRA support and service charges set out at paragraphs 21-27 of the Housing Revenue Account budget report;

XVII.       Approve the proposed HRA reserve movements for 2024/25 set out at paragraphs 47-50;

XVIII.     Approve the Housing Revenue Account Budget 2024/25;

XIX.         Approve the Council Tax Requirement for 2024/25 of £7,055,774, equivalent to £176.74 for a band D property, representing a £5.13 increase on the 2023/24 amount;

XX.          Resolve that a council tax premium of 100% shall be charged to properties which have been empty and furnished for one year or more, with effect from 1 April 2025;

XXI.         Approve the rollover of any unspent amounts remaining from the 2023/24 cost of living support fund as at 31 March 2024, in order for the Council to operate a similar scheme in 2024/25, and delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Finance, Commercialisation and Corporate Services (Section 151Officer), in consultation with the Cabinet, to make such amendments to the scheme as may be deemed necessary in order to ensure its impact can be maximised.

XXII.       Approve the proposed General Fund reserve movements for 2024/25 as set out at paragraphs 63-66 of the General Fund budget report, including the use of £1.141million from the Medium Term Financial Strategy reserve to balance the General Fund budget;

XXIII.     Approve the schedule of fees and charges for 2024/25 as set out at Annexe H5;

XXIV.     Delegate authority to the Strategic Director of Finance, Commercialisation and Corporate Services (Section 151Officer) to set and/or amend fees and charges in relation to services which are operating in competition with commercial providers, for example trade waste;

XXV.      Approve the General Fund budget for 2024/25;

XXVI.     Note the contents of the Budget Consultation Report 2024/25;

XXVII.   Approve the Council Tax Resolution 2024/25 report; and

XXVIII.      Adopt the formal council tax resolution as set out at Annexe J1