Issue - meetings

[Report of the Director of Finance. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration]

Cabinet received a report on the Draft Budget on 10th December 2019 which highlighted an outstanding budget gap to be resolved between then and now and also proposed that Cabinet agree to start consultation. The 2020/21 Budget and 2020-2025 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) now proposed have due regard to the corporate Equalities Impact Assessment, consultation feedback and recommendations from the Council’s Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Strategic Regeneration introduced the report which sought approval to the proposals concerning the 2020/21 Budget and five-year Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS). The budget aimed to provide a clear financial plan during this unprecedented period of uncertainty for Local Authority budgeting.

The Cabinet Member was pleased to announce that the budget gap of £0.6m, highlighted in the last budget report to Cabinet, had been bridged without needing to make any further reductions to Service budgets.

The Cabinet Member outlined two transposition errors within table 8.6 of the budget report for Cabinet to note

• In column 5 (31/3/23), the first line should read £1,270,764, not £12,709,764. The subtotal should read £1,285,516 not £12,724,516.
• In column 7 (31/3/25), the second line should read £8,221 not £82,211. The subtotal should read £1,525,796 not £1,599,786.

These errors were purely presentational, and the underlying figures which have been used throughout the Council’s MTFS model were correct. They would be corrected in the final version of the report to Full Council. It was also noted that they were portrayed correctly in the Treasury Management Strategy Statement that had been considered at Overview and Scrutiny and has just been approved by Corporate Committee.

The Cabinet Member continued to outline how the budget was continuing to support the manifesto commitments and the progress made in relation to:

• The Council Tax Reduction Scheme (CTRS) which was extended to a maximum of 100% for least well-off families with children.

• Ongoing investment into a school meal pilot and a youth services programme, a large portion of which has been used to fund the Summer Holiday Programme which offered more than 150 activities with 19,602 young people taking part.

• A funding commitment of more than £4m to ensure that staff providing care services to adults through our partner organisations are paid at least the London Living Wage.

• Increasing apprenticeship numbers within the Council and across other organisations within the Borough.

• To invest £50m in our school buildings over the next 5 years.

• Secured more than £60m funding from the Mayor of London to support this housing programme.
• 750 additional trees to be planted in the next couple of years and are investing more than £6m in a School Streets programme aimed at reducing pollution around our schools.

The Cabinet Member was pleased to be able to propose a balanced Budget for 2020/21 which did not utilise any balances and enabled the Council to invest funds to continue to deliver the shared Borough Plan outcomes and make the Borough a place to be proud to live and work in.

The Leader invited Councillor Connor, Vice Chair of Overview and Scrutiny to further present the Scrutiny budget recommendations which were included at appendix 11 of the attached report.

Cllr Connor outlined that the specific budget scrutiny recommendations were mainly around risk of delivery and further noted the Cabinet’s response to these concerns.

Cllr Connor was pleased that last year’s recommendation to provide more detailed information on the capital programme  ...  view the full minutes text for item 159