Agenda item

Medium Term Financial Strategy (General Fund Budget 2018/19 including Council Tax setting), Housing Revenue Account (including Housing rents), Capital Programme and Treasury Management Strategy

Meeting of Council, Thursday, 22 February 2018 2.00 p.m. (Item 7c)

Cabinet

RECOMMENDED THAT COUNCIL

Revenue and Capital – General Fund (GF)

(a) Approves the revenue estimates for 2018-19 as shown in the GF Budget Setting Reports (BSR) Section 5 at Appendix 1 to the report.

(b) Approves the precautionary items for the GF, GF BSR Appendix B, Appendix 1.

(d) Instructs the Executive Management Team to identify additional income/savings of £449k for 2018-19 rising to £1.3m in 2022-23.

(e) Approves the GF Capital Programme and associated funding up to the year ended 31 March 2022, as set out in GF BSR Appendix D, at Appendix 1.

(f) Approve the creation of a Planning Policy earmarked reserve and the transfer of £224k into the reserve from the GF reserve, being the carry forward of underspend from 2016-17 not used in 2017-18, as shown in GF BSR Section 3 and delegates approval of the use of this reserve to the Executive Director – Corporate Services in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Staffing.

(g) Requests that the Portfolio Holder (Housing) delegates the decision in respect of any variation in fees to be charged by the Home Improvement Agency (HIA), to the Director of Housing, following agreement of the proposed level of charges by the Shared HIA Board, GF BSR Appendix A.

(h) Instruct the Head of Finance, on the basis of the proposals set out in the GF BSR, to prepare formal papers to set the council tax requirement and amount of council tax at the Council meeting on 22 February 2018.

(i) Sets the Council Tax Requirement for 2018-19 at £8,616,465.16

(j) Sets the amount of Council Tax for each of the relevant categories of dwelling in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 on the basis of the District Council Tax for general expenses on a Band D property of £140.31 plus the relevant amounts required by the precepts of the Parish Councils, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner and the Cambridgeshire Fire Authority, details of those precepts and their effect to be circulated with the formal resolution required at the Council meeting.

Revenue – HRA

(k) Approves the HRA savings, increased income, unavoidable revenue pressures, bids and reduced income items, as summarised in Section 4, and detailed in Appendix G(1) of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(l) Approves the non-cash limit adjustments, as summarised in Section 4, and detailed in Appendix G(1) of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(m) Approves the resulting HRA revenue budget as shown in the HRA Summary Forecast 2017-18 to 2022-23 in Appendix I of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(n) Approves the retention of the balance of the 4 year savings target included originally as part of the 2016-17 HRA Budget Setting Report to mitigate the impact of some of the changes in national housing policy, recognising that the net savings proposed from 2018-19 over-deliver against the profile of £250,000 per annum for 4 years, reducing the balance to be sought in the remaining 2 years to £147,540.

Review of Rents and Charges

(o) Approves that council dwelling rents for all social rented properties be reduced by 1%, in line with legislative requirements introduced as part of the Welfare Reform and Work Act, with effect from 2^nd April 2018.

(p) Approves that affordable rents are reviewed in line with rent legislation, to ensure that rents charged are no more than 80% of market rent, with this figure then reduced by 1% as with social housing. Local policy is to cap affordable rents at the lower level of Local Housing Allowance, which will result in rent variations in line with any changes notified to the authority in this level, effective from 2^nd April 2018.

(q) Approves inflationary increases of 2.6% in garage rents for 2018-19, in line with the base rate of inflation for the year assumed in the HRA Budget Setting Report.

(r) Approves the proposed service charges for HRA services and facilities provided to both tenants and leaseholders, as shown in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report, at Appendix 2to the report.

Housing Capital

(s) Approves the latest budget, spend profile and funding mix for each of the schemes in the new build programme, as detailed in Section 5 and Appendix E of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report, recognising the most up to date information available as each scheme progresses through the design, planning, build contract and completion process.

(t) Approves earmarking of the required level of additional funding for new build investment between 2018-19 and 2022-23 to ensure that commitments can be met in respect of the investment of all right to buy receipts currently retained, or anticipated to be received by the authority for this period. This expenditure will either take the form of HRA new build, with the 70% top up met by other HRA resources or could alternatively be grant made to a registered provider, where the registered provider will provide the 70% top up to build new homes.

(u) Approves the capital budget proposals, both bids and savings, detailed in Appendix G(2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(v) Approves the capital amendments, detailed in Appendix H of the HRA Budget Setting Report, which include the capital proposals in Appendix G(2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report, at Appendix 2 to the report, along-side re-profiling of investment, increase and re-allocation of resource for new build schemes.

(w) Approves the revised Housing Capital Investment Plan as shown in Appendix J of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report

Capital and Treasury Management

(x) Approves the Capital Strategy 2018-19 to 2022-23, Appendix 3.

(y) Approves the borrowing and investment strategies for the year to March 2019, as included in the Treasury Management Strategy Statement in Appendix 4.

(z) Approves the prudential indicators required by the Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities for the year to 31 March 2019, included in Appendix 4.

(aa) Approves any unspent New Homes Bonus money allocated to the Greater

Cambridge Partnership to be rolled into 2019-20.

General

(bb) Gives delegated authority to the Executive Director – Corporate Services to

issue the final version of the Estimates Book, incorporating any

amendments required from the Council’s decisions.

(Member are asked to note that Appendix 6 to the Budget Setting Report - Formal Council Tax setting resolution for 2018-19 is TO FOLLOW.)

Decision:

(1) Council AGREED to

(a) Approve the revenue estimates for 2018-19 as shown in the General Fund (GF) Budget Setting Reports (BSR),Section 5 at Appendix 1 to the report.

(b) Approve the precautionary items for the General Fund, GF BSR Appendix B, Appendix 1.

(d) Instruct the Executive Management Team to identify additional income/savings of £449k for 2018-19 rising to £1.3m in 2022-23.

(e) Approve the GF Capital Programme and associated funding up to the year ended 31 March 2022, as set out in GF BSR Appendix D, at Appendix 1.

(f) Approve the creation of a Planning Policy earmarked reserve and the transfer of £224k into the reserve from the GF reserve, being the carry forward of underspend from 2016-17 not used in 2017-18, as shown in GF BSR Section 3 and delegate approval of the use of this reserve to the Executive Director – Corporate Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Staffing.

(g) Request that the Portfolio Holder (Housing) delegate the decision in respect of any variation in fees to be charged by the Home Improvement Agency (HIA), to the Director of Housing, following agreement of the proposed level of charges by the Shared HIA Board, GF BSR Appendix A.

(h) Set the Council Tax Requirement for 2018-19 at £8,616,458.

(i) Set the amount of Council Tax for each of the relevant categories of dwelling in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 on the basis of the District Council Tax for general expenses on a Band D property of £140.31 plus the relevant amounts required by the precepts of the Parish Councils, Cambridgeshire County Council, the Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner and the Cambridgeshire Fire Authority, details of those precepts and their effect are as set out in the statutory resolution below.

(j) Approve the HRA savings, increased income, unavoidable revenue pressures, bids and reduced income items, as summarised in Section 4, and detailed in Appendix G(1) of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(k) Approve the non-cash limit adjustments, as summarised in Section 4, and detailed in Appendix G(1) of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(l) Approve the resulting HRA revenue budget as shown in the HRA Summary Forecast 2017-18 to 2022-23 in Appendix I of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(m)Approve the retention of the balance of the 4 year savings target included originally as part of the 2016-17 HRA Budget Setting Report to mitigate the impact of some of the changes in national housing policy, recognising that the net savings proposed from 2018-19 over-deliver against the profile of £250,000 per annum for 4 years, reducing the balance to be sought in the remaining 2 years to £147,540.

(n) Approve that Council dwelling rents for all social rented properties be reduced by 1%, in line with legislative requirements introduced as part of the Welfare Reform and Work Act, with effect from 2^nd April 2018.

(o) Approve that affordable rents are reviewed in line with rent legislation, to ensure that rents charged are no more than 80% of market rent, with this figure then reduced by 1% as with social housing. Local policy is to cap affordable rents at the lower level of Local Housing Allowance, which will result in rent variations in line with any changes notified to the authority in this level, effective from 2^nd April 2018.

(p) Approve inflationary increases of 2.6% in garage rents for 2018-19, in line with the base rate of inflation for the year assumed in the HRA Budget Setting Report.

(q) Approve the proposed service charges for HRA services and facilities provided to both tenants and leaseholders, as shown in Appendix B of the HRA Budget Setting Report, at Appendix 2to the report.

(r) Approve the latest budget, spend profile and funding mix for each of the schemes in the new build programme, as detailed in Section 5 and Appendix E of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report, recognising the most up to date information available as each scheme progresses through the design, planning, build contract and completion process.

(s) Approve earmarking of the required level of additional funding for new build investment between 2018-19 and 2022-23 to ensure that commitments can be met in respect of the investment of all right to buy receipts currently retained, or anticipated to be received by the authority for this period. This expenditure will either take the form of HRA new build, with the 70% top up met by other HRA resources or could alternatively be grant made to a registered provider, where the registered provider will provide the 70% top up to build new homes.

(t) Approve the capital budget proposals, both bids and savings, detailed in Appendix G(2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(u) Approve the capital amendments, detailed in Appendix H of the HRA Budget Setting Report, which include the capital proposals in Appendix G(2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report, at Appendix 2 to the report, along-side re-profiling of investment, increase and re-allocation of resource for new build schemes.

(v) Approve the revised Housing Capital Investment Plan as shown in Appendix J of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report

(w)Approve the Capital Strategy 2018-19 to 2022-23, Appendix 3.

(x) Approve the borrowing and investment strategies for the year to March 2019, as included in the Treasury Management Strategy Statement in Appendix 4.

(y) Approve the prudential indicators required by the Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities for the year to 31 March 2019, included in Appendix 4.

(z) Approve any unspent New Homes Bonus money allocated to the Greater

Cambridge Partnership to be rolled into 2019-20.

(aa) Give delegated authority to the Executive Director – Corporate Services to issue the final version of the Estimates Book, incorporating any

amendments required from the Council’s decisions.

(2) Council AGREED the following statutory resolution in respect of the Council Tax for 2018-19:-

Thatthe following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2018-19 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

(a)	£90,664,825	being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (2) (a) to (f) of the Act (gross expenditure including parish precepts, the Housing Revenue Account and additions to reserves)
(b)	£75,516,060	being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (3) (a) to (d) of the Act (gross income including the Housing Revenue Account and use of reserves)
(c)	£14,013,850	being the amount by which the aggregate at (a) above exceeds the aggregate at (b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A (4) of the Act, as its council tax requirement for the year (net expenditure to be met from council tax) being the district amount of £8,616,458 and the parish precepts of £5,397,392
(d)	£228.20	being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year (average council tax for a band D property for the District including parishes)
(e)	£5,397,392	being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (parish precepts)
(f)	£140.31	being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates (average council tax for a Band D property for the District excluding parishes), the amounts being for each of the categories of dwellings shown below in Table 1
(g)	In accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, the basic amounts of Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a special item relates are shown by addition the amounts for Band D for the District Council in Table 1 and Appendix A to the supplement submitted to Council.
(h)	In accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands are shown by adding the amounts for each band in Table 1 and AppendixA of the supplement submitted to Council.

That it be noted that for the year 2018-19 Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Commissioner, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fire Authority and the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority have stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings as shown in Table 1:

Table 1	Band A £	Band B £	Band C £	Band D £	Band E £	Band F £	Band G £	Band H £
County Council	833.22	972.09	1,110.96	1,249.83	1,527.57	1,805.31	2,083.05	2,499.66
Police & Crime Commissioner	132.48	154.56	176.64	198.72	242.88	287.04	331.20	397.44
District Council	93.54	109.13	124.72	140.31	171.49	202.67	233.85	280.62
Fire Authority	45.84	53.48	61.12	68.76	84.04	99.32	114.60	137.52
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

(i)

That the Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance act 1992, hereby sets the amounts set out in Appendix B of the supplement submitted to Council as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2018-19 for each of the categories of dwellings shown in Appendix B of that supplement.

SUPPORTING INFORMATION IN RESPECT OF SETTING THE COUNCIL TAX

Including the precepts from the County Council, the Police and Crime Commissioner, Fire Authority and all of the parishes, the formal Council Resolution would produce a Council Tax for an Band D property of:

		£	Change from previous year
District Council	General Expenses	140.31	+3.70%
	Special Expenses for Parish Precepts (average)	87.89	+5.11%
County Council		1,249.83	+4.99%
Police & Crime Commissioner		198.72	+6.40%
Fire Authority		68.76	+2.96%
Combined Authority		0.00	0.00%
Total		1745.51	+4.97%

On these figures the council tax would range from £1,105.08 for Band A to £3,595.62 for Band H before any discounts or benefits.

Appendix C of the supplement submitted to Councilshows the General Fund summary including Parish precepts and the final Formula Grant figure.

(Note:

i. The Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder advised the Council that the Cabinet had approved provision of £200,000 for the Green Energy Loan Fund, to be met from the Renewables Earmarked Reserve, rather than £100,000 as incorrectly shown in respect of this scheme on page 201. Council therefore was asked to note the adjustment of this figure to £200,000.

ii. Council also noted that the following recommendation in the agenda sheet and the accompanying report was a decision of the Cabinet and not a recommendation to Council:

“(h) Instructs the Head of Finance, on the basis of the proposals set out in the GF BSR, to prepare formal papers to set the council tax requirement and amount of council tax at the Council meeting on 22 February 2018.”

Accordingly the Chairman did not take a vote on (h) above.)

Minutes:

Councillor Simon Edwards, Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder, presented the recommendations of the Cabinet which invited the Council to approve the financial strategies and budgets, as detailed in the submitted report and appendices.

In introducing the report, Councillor Edwards highlighted the following points:-

The budget had been prepared against the backdrop of external factors, including the autumn budget statement and the Local Government Finance settlement. Under the 4 year funding settlement, certain funding elements were fixed, for example, the reduction of the Revenue Support Grant (RSG) to zero.
The baseline level of business rates receivable would remain unchanged.
The New Homes Bonus Scheme would reduce from 5 years to 4 years as expected and the threshold over which the bonus was paid would remain at 0.4% for 2018/19.
Less income was forecast from New Homes Bonus payments based on reduced housing completions. Additionally there was less planning income owing to a reduction in applications.
There were three sources of funding to the Council, namely, Council Tax; Business Rates and income from interest and commercial activity.
It was proposed to increase the Council Tax for a band D property by £5, which was equivalent to 3.7%. Whilst it was regrettable to increase the Council Tax, the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) on page 190 indicated the difference between the underlying Council Tax and the actual Council Tax, which would need to be met from savings or increased income.
Income from Ermine Street Housing (ESH) was £1.4m in current year, projected to rise to £1.7m in the following year.
Savings of £449k would be required in 2018/19, rising to £1.3m in 2022/23, with a total of £4.4m of savings needed over the next 5 years.
It was proposed to use balances to smooth the impact of the reductions and to run those down over the life of the strategy to £2.5m.
The MTFS indicated a marked increase in net Portfolio Holder expenditure from the current year of £17.5m to £19.2m in 2018/19, which was due to a number of factors including inflation; salary increments and a number of growth bids from service areas (as shown on page 200 of the report), together with reduced income from planning and the New Homes Bonus. It would no longer be possible to contribute 40% of New Homes Bonus receipts to the Greater Cambridge Partnership Investment and Delivery Fund whilst maintaining the expected funding levels for growth.
An extra £200k had been provided in respect of homelessness prevention over the next two years to meet new statutory requirements.
£55k had been allocated for the green energy fund and £200k for the green energy loan scheme. In that context, Council’s attention was drawn to an error on page 201 of the report which indicated a provision of £100k for the green energy loan scheme. However, Cabinet had approved provision of £200k. Council was accordingly requested to note this amendment.
A cautious approach had been taken to forecasting business rates income, in view of uncertainties around the operation of business rates retention scheme over the next few years and the fair funding review.
The Capital Programme included provision of £1.85m investment for Cambridge Leisure and Ice Centre (CLIC) in 18/19; £15m per annum for loans to ESH; £5m in 2020/2021 as a contribution to the A14 project and £160k in 2018/19 for street sweepers.
The net Housing Revenue Account (HRA) savings proposed from 2018/19 over delivered against the profile of £250,000 per annum for 4 years, reducing the balance to be sought in the remaining two years to £147,540.
There were growth pressures facing the HRA; rental income was decreasing and costs increasing and taking into account debt refinancing, debt interest and capital financing, there would be a small deficit on the HRA over the next three years and the strategy was to use HRA balances to smooth that out until 2021 when local authorities would be able to revert to the previously agreed rent increases of CPI plus 1%.
The Treasury Management Strategy was set out at page 279 for Council’s approval and Council was particularly reminded of the previous agreement to increase the maximum investment limit from the Council’s cash reserves with ESH to £45m, while retaining the maximum investment at 60% of the Council’s total investment portfolio. The Prudential and Treasury Indicators were detailed on page 289.
A revised version of the statutory Council Tax resolution had been circulated which reflected an amended precept which had been advised to the Council by South Trumpington Parish.

The Portfolio Holder placed on record his thanks to officers for their hard work in preparing the Budget and HRA.

Prior to moving the recommendations, the Portfolio Holder pointed out that recommendation (h) was actually a decision of the Cabinet and did not require to be put to the vote.

The Portfolio Holder accordingly proposed the recommendations (except for recommendation (h)), together with the statutory Council Tax Resolution that had been circulated in the revised supplement.

Councillor Lynda Harford, the Housing Portfolio Holder, seconded the proposal and, in so doing, she drew attention to the following points:

· The main source of income to the HRA was rents and the Council was still subject to imposed rent reductions of 1% for a further two years. However it was anticipated that there would be a return to the previous position of rent increases at CPI plus 1% from April 2020.

· The HRA continued to support debt. However, the current policy did not assume set aside of resource to allow for repayment of debt but instead assumed the resource would be used to deliver a new build programme in the medium term in an attempt to ensure sustainability of the HRA.

· Details of the residual changes in national housing policy were awaited and would require further review of the position for the HRA.

· There was still no secondary legislation in place in respect of Mandatory Disposal of High Value Housing Stock, therefore, as part of the HRA Medium Term Financial Strategy, the decision had been taken to defer the assumption of any payment until at least April 2019.

· It was important to take account of external factors that could impact on the collection of rent, such as welfare reform. Thus far Universal Credit had had a minimal impact but it was anticipated that the full roll out of universal credit at the Cambridge job centre in October would present challenges for the HRA.

· The benefit cap had affected 37 families in South Cambridgeshire, approximately 12 of whom were HRA tenants. The Council had contacted those affected to advise of the Discretionary Housing Payments which continued to be available to families most in need and at risk of homelessness.

· The number of customers affected by the removal of the spare room subsidy continued to reduce slowly.

· It was anticipated that right to buy sales would continue to remain low, particularly in light of the increase in the Bank of England base rate. A small spike had been witnessed in response to the threat of the Government’s “Pay to Stay” proposals.

· Right to buy receipts had to be spent within 3 years of the receipt date, to fund the delivery of new social housing, with a maximum of 30% of any dwelling being funded via this mechanism and the balance from the Council’s own resources or borrowing. The rise in bank base rates had also had an impact on the Council, with interest on any right to buy receipts not re-invested appropriately being charged at a rate of 4.5%. It was important to use right to buy receipts judiciously and instead of allocating them to repayment of debt, the Council was using them to build new homes. The Portfolio Holder was proud of the work officers were undertaking to provide a pipeline of schemes to use right to buy receipts within the time constraints imposed by the Government.

During discussion:-

· Councillor Anna Bradnam, referring to the Planning Portfolio capital schemes on page 193, asked whether the Council still had a commitment to Landbeach Tithe Barn; sought confirmation that, as indicated on page 194, it was proposed to borrow £15m a year from 2019/2020 for the next four years for onward loan to ESH; and asked for more information about the Envirocrime Enforcement vehicle.

· Councillor Ingrid Tregoing, with reference to page 248, asked whether charges for Communal Premises would be determined on an individual basis as implied in the report, as it had been her understanding that it was proposed to introduce an hourly rate charge.

· Councillor Tumi Hawkins asked for an explanation of the budget line on page 186 called “Items not currently included in recharges” which indicated a provision of £249k. Additionally she requested clarification on the provision of £39k for the Greater Cambridge Partnership in 2018/19, noting that no such provision had been made in the current year.

· Councillor Nigel Cathcart commented on the extent of borrowing proposed in the budget and asked about the implications in terms of interest payments.

· Councillor Sebastian Kindersley thanked the Finance and Housing officers for their work on the Budget and HRA. With reference to page 231, he drew attention to the redevelopment of Robinson Court, Gamlingay, which would bring positive benefits to the community and thanked the Housing officers involved in the scheme. However he indicated that he would be unable to vote in support of the budget.

· Councillor Bridget Smith welcomed the additional provision being made in respect of homelessness prevention. She added her thanks to the Housing officers for the work on Robinson Court, Gamlingay. Councillor Smith made a plea for consistency in the terminology used in the budget and HRA, noting that the Greater Cambridge Partnership was referred to both correctly and by its previous name of the “City Deal”.

· Councillor Nick Wright observed that no alternative Budget or Corporate Plan had been submitted.

· Councillor Tony Orgee reported that a thorough debate had taken place on the Budget and HRA at the Scrutiny and Overview Committee and that all Members of the Committee had supported referral to the Cabinet and Council, with no one abstaining or voting against. Scrutiny and Overview had particularly welcomed the provision of £200,000 in respect of the Council’s new duties for homelessness prevention.

· Councillor Van de Weyer observed that Overview and Scrutiny was approached in an apolitical way.

· Councillor Tony Orgee also stressed that the business of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee was conducted in a non political manner.

In response to the questions and comments raised during debate:

· Councillor Lynda Harford, the Housing Portfolio Holder, confirmed that the charges for communal rooms were variable since all sites were different and noted that the use of communal rooms was currently being looked at.

· Councillor Simon Edwards, the Finance and Staffing Portfolio Holder:

o Advised that there was no commitment to Landbeach Tithe Barn and therefore no provision in the Capital Programme.

o Confirmed that it was proposed that the Council lend £15m per annum for 4 years to ESH.

o Indicated that the figure of £249k shown as “Items not currently included in recharges” was a balancing figure sweeping up recharges that had not been allocated elsewhere.

o Commented that the sum of £39k in respect of the Greater Cambridge Partnership was understood to relate to staffing costs, but further clarification would be sought on this.

o Thanked Councillor Orgee and all Members of the Scrutiny and Overview Committee for the constructive and non political approach taken to the scrutiny of the Budget and HRA proposals.

o Drew attention to the estimate for interest on balances as set out on page 188. Further information on borrowing could be found in the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and in the exempt report to his last Portfolio Holder meeting. At present, funds were sourced from the Public Works Loan Board. However going forward there would be a need to review the Council’s external borrowing arrangements and accordingly it had been agreed to obtain external advice on the Council’s treasury management function.

The Chairman reminded the Council that recommendation (h) was a decision of Cabinet and would not therefore be put to the vote.

As required by the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 and Council Standing Order 16.6, a recorded vote was taken (by means of the Council’s electronic voting system). Voting on recommendations (a) – (bb) (but excluding (h)), votes were cast as follows:

For (31):

Councillors David Bard, Ruth Betson, Brian Burling, Tom Bygott, Grenville Chamberlain, Graham Cone, Pippa Corney, Christopher Cross, Kevin Cuffley, Simon Edwards, Sue Ellington, Andrew Fraser, Roger Hall, Lynda Harford, Mark Howell, Caroline Hunt, Peter Johnson, Ray Manning, David McCraith, Charles Nightingale, Des O’Brien, Tony Orgee, Alex Riley, Tim Scott, Ben Shelton, Peter Topping, Richard Turner, Robert Turner, Bunty Waters, Tim Wotherspoon and Nick Wright

Against (2):

Councillors Deborah Roberts and Edd Stonham

Abstain (11):

Councillors Henry Batchelor, Anna Bradnam, Nigel Cathcart, Philippa Hart, Tumi Hawkins, Sebastian Kindersley, Janet Lockwood, Bridget Smith, Hazel Smith, Ingrid Tregoing, Aidan Van de Weyer.

The Council

RESOLVED to:-

(a) Approve the revenue estimates for 2018-19 as shown in the General Fund (GF) Budget Setting Reports (BSR), Section 5 at Appendix 1 to the report.

(b) Approve the precautionary items for the General Fund, GF BSR Appendix B, Appendix 1.

(d) Instruct the Executive Management Team to identify additional income/savings of £449k for 2018-19 rising to £1.3m in 2022-23.

(e) Approve the GF Capital Programme and associated funding up to the year ended 31 March 2022, as set out in GF BSR Appendix D, at Appendix 1.

(f) Approve the creation of a Planning Policy earmarked reserve and the transfer of £224k into the reserve from the GF reserve, being the carry forward of underspend from 2016-17 not used in 2017-18, as shown in GF BSR Section 3 and delegate approval of the use of this reserve to the Executive Director – Corporate Services, in consultation with the Portfolio Holder for Finance and Staffing.

(h) Set the Council Tax Requirement for 2018-19 at £8,616,458.

(k) Approve the non-cash limit adjustments, as summarised in Section 4, and detailed in Appendix G (1) of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(l) Approve the resulting HRA revenue budget as shown in the HRA Summary Forecast 2017-18 to 2022-23 in Appendix I of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(p) Approve inflationary increases of 2.6% in garage rents for 2018-19, in line with the base rate of inflation for the year assumed in the HRA Budget Setting Report.

(t) Approve the capital budget proposals, both bids and savings, detailed in Appendix G(2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report.

(u) Approve the capital amendments, detailed in Appendix H of the HRA Budget Setting Report, which include the capital proposals in Appendix G(2) of the HRA Budget Setting Report, at Appendix 2 to the report, alongside re-profiling of investment, increase and re-allocation of resource for new build schemes.

(v) Approve the revised Housing Capital Investment Plan as shown in Appendix J of the HRA Budget Setting Report at Appendix 2 to the report

(w)Approve the Capital Strategy 2018-19 to 2022-23, Appendix 3.

(x) Approve the borrowing and investment strategies for the year to March 2019, as included in the Treasury Management Strategy Statement in Appendix 4.

(y) Approve the prudential indicators required by the Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities for the year to 31 March 2019, included in Appendix 4.

(z) Approve any unspent New Homes Bonus money allocated to the Greater

Cambridge Partnership to be rolled into 2019-20.

(aa) Give delegated authority to the Executive Director – Corporate Services to issue the final version of the Estimates Book, incorporating any

amendments required from the Council’s decisions.

As required by the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 and Council Standing Order 16.6, a recorded vote was taken (by means of the Council’s electronic voting system) on the statutory Council Tax resolution and votes were cast as follows:-

For (36):

Councillors David Bard, Ruth Betson, Anna Bradnam, Brian Burling, Tom Bygott, Grenville Chamberlain, Graham Cone, Pippa Corney, Christopher Cross, Kevin Cuffley, Simon Edwards, Sue Ellington, Andrew Fraser, Roger Hall, Lynda Harford, Philippa Hart, Mark Howell, Caroline Hunt, Peter Johnson, Ray Manning, David McCraith, Charles Nightingale, Des O’Brien, Tony Orgee, Alex Riley, Tim Scott, Ben Shelton, Hazel Smith, Edd Stonham, Peter Topping, Ingrid Tregoing, Richard Turner, Robert Turner, Bunty Waters, Tim Wotherspoon and Nick Wright

Against (0):

Abstain (6):

Councillors Henry Batchelor, Nigel Cathcart, Sebastian Kindersley, Janet Lockwood, Bridget Smith, and Aidan Van de Weyer.

The Council:

RESOLVED to approve the following statutory resolution in respect of the Council Tax for 2018-19:-

Thatthe following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2018-19 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

(a)	£90,664,825	being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (2) (a) to (f) of the Act (gross expenditure including parish precepts, the Housing Revenue Account and additions to reserves)
(b)	£75,516,060	being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A (3) (a) to (d) of the Act (gross income including the Housing Revenue Account and use of reserves)
(c)	£14,013,850	being the amount by which the aggregate at (a) above exceeds the aggregate at (b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A (4) of the Act, as its council tax requirement for the year (net expenditure to be met from council tax) being the district amount of £8,616,458 and the parish precepts of £5,397,392
(d)	£228.20	being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year (average council tax for a band D property for the District including parishes)
(e)	£5,397,392	being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (parish precepts)
(f)	£140.31	being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates (average council tax for a Band D property for the District excluding parishes), the amounts being for each of the categories of dwellings shown below in Table 1
(g)	In accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, the basic amounts of Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a special item relates are shown by addition the amounts for Band D for the District Council in Table 1 and Appendix A to the supplement submitted to Council.
(h)	In accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands are shown by adding the amounts for each band in Table 1 and AppendixA of the supplement submitted to Council.

Table 1	Band A £	Band B £	Band C £	Band D £	Band E £	Band F £	Band G £	Band H £
County Council	833.22	972.09	1,110.96	1,249.83	1,527.57	1,805.31	2,083.05	2,499.66
Police & Crime Commissioner	132.48	154.56	176.64	198.72	242.88	287.04	331.20	397.44
District Council	93.54	109.13	124.72	140.31	171.49	202.67	233.85	280.62
Fire Authority	45.84	53.48	61.12	68.76	84.04	99.32	114.60	137.52
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00

(i)

That the Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the amounts set out in Appendix B of the supplement submitted to Council as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2018-19 for each of the categories of dwellings shown in Appendix B of that supplement.

SUPPORTING INFORMATION IN RESPECT OF SETTING THE COUNCIL TAX

		£	Change from previous year
District Council	General Expenses	140.31	+3.70%
	Special Expenses for Parish Precepts (average)	87.89	+5.11%
County Council		1,249.83	+4.99%
Police & Crime Commissioner		198.72	+6.40%
Fire Authority		68.76	+2.96%
Combined Authority		0.00	0.00%
Total		1745.51	+4.97%

On these figures the council tax would range from £1,105.08 for Band A to £3,595.62 for Band H before any discounts or benefits.

Appendix C of the supplement submitted to Councilshows the General Fund summary including Parish precepts and the final Formula Grant figure.

Supporting documents: