Issue - meetings

[Report of the Interim Chief Financial Officer. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Health.]The Cabinet will consider the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy 2018/19 - 2022/23 including the Capital Programme. These documents will be released for consultation and Scrutiny consideration .

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Health introduced the report which set out the Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2018/19-2022/23 which now reflected and refined the priorities for the challenges that the Council and its residents and businesses faced. This was based on further reductions in resources over the next 5 years.

The Cabinet Member outlined that this report builds on the Medium Term Financial Strategy agreed last year. The Cabinet Member reiterated the present challenging financial period. There had been a 63% reduction in real terms to council budget at a time when more support was required to residents that were living longer with complex needs and at a time of increased homelessness. The Council had previously taken the decision to freeze Council Tax and this would continue. The levy for social care precept for adult social care to support pressures would be applied.

The Cabinet Member reminded the meeting that, in this financial year, the Council had accessed £8.8m of reserves to help smooth effects of cuts. The Council would also need to rely on reserves in 2018/19and it was proposed to access a further £7.5m. This was not sustainable long term solution but at the moment a reasonable step. The budget would therefore have a £15m gap which would need to tackled in the next and future financial years.

 In response to Councillor Morris questions:

• Beyond 2018/19, the council tax figure in the report was modelled and subject to a decision by the next administration.

• The budget assumes greater level of growth for adults than had been assumed in February 2017 budget. The Children’s budget was now protected but not assumed in Feb 2017 budget. There were only new savings assigned for P2 which the service feel is achievable but will be tested.

• The Cabinet Member wanted to ensure back office savings were completed but where there was no impact on the efficiency of Council.
• Overall the strategy focussed on transformation and growth and included efforts to support residents stay in their home longer and gave priority to intervention.
• It was important to note, that by the end of the decade, the Council will rely on 86% of funding from local sources and this was why regeneration schemes were being taken forward to increase homes and businesses and in turn the income from council tax and business rates.

• The Capital programme makes allowances for land acquisition with short term low rate borrowing methods used to fund this at the moment. The value of the acquisition will come back into the budget later on in those schemes.

RESOLVED

1. To note the initial budget proposals and financial planning assumptions set out in this report and note that they will be refined and updated after the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement is published in December;

2. To consider and note that the draft 5 year MTFS 2018/19 to 2022/23 is to be reviewed at Cabinet in February 2018, and to be recommended for approval at Full Council’s meeting in February 2018  ...  view the full minutes text for item 128