Issue - meetings

Cabinet

AGREED        to guide the Head of Finance regarding options to be modelled in the Medium Term Financial Strategy reports to Cabinet and Council in February 2017, including the recommendation that if the Government reduces the New Homes Bonus, the planned allocation to the General Fund and the A14 upgrade contribution should be unaffected and the contribution to the City Deal Investment and Delivery fund should be reduced.

This decision was first published on Thursday 19 January and so the deadline for call-in is 5pm on Thursday 26 January. If not called-in this decision can be implemented on Friday 27 January.

Cabinet

NOTED           the Local Government Finance Settlement.

AGREED        to guide the Head of Finance regarding options to be modelled in the Medium Term Financial Strategy reports to Cabinet and Council in February 2017, including the recommendation that if the Government reduces the New Homes Bonus, the planned allocation to the General Fund and the A14 upgrade contribution should be unaffected and the contribution to the City Deal Investment and Delivery fund should be reduced.

Councillor Simon Edwards presented this item, which updated Cabinet regarding the Local Government Finance Settlement and its implications for the authority for the financial years 2017-18 to 2019-20.

New Homes Bonus

Councillor Simon Edwards explained that under the Government’s new rules the Council would not receive any New Homes Bonus until it had exceeded 0.4% of growth, which was an increase from the baseline figure of 0.25%. Cabinet agreed that the amount of New Homes Bonus funds going to the General Fund nor the A14 upgrade contribution should be affected by the Government’s increase in the baseline figure and so the contribution to the City Deal Investment and Delivery fund would be reduced from an estimated 50% to 40% of the original estimated total.

Councillor Edwards explained that the Council were regularly liaising with the City Deal team, along with the City Council and the County Council, about the funding of the City Deal project and he was confident that the capacity was there for the proposed reduction in New Homes Bonus funding to be absorbed.

It was noted that future reductions in New Homes Bonus could be applied if the Council did not have an agreed Local Plan. The Interim Chief Executive explained that the exact details were still expected from the Government.

Cabinet

NOTED           the Local Government Finance Settlement.

AGREED        to guide the Head of Finance regarding options to be modelled in the Medium Term Financial Strategy reports to Cabinet and Council in February 2017, including the recommendation that if the Government reduces the New Homes Bonus, the planned allocation to the General Fund and the A14 upgrade contribution should be unaffected and the contribution to the City Deal Investment and Delivery fund should be reduced.