Agenda item

(Report of the Director of Corporate Resources. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Carbon Reduction). The report sets out the Medium Term Financial Plan covering the next year three year period to March 2016.

Cabinet considered a report, previously circulated, which provided a Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) covering the next three year period to March 2016, with a revised assessment of the General Fund, Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG), Housing Revenue Account (HRA) and the Capital Programme.

In response to a query the Cabinet Member advised that plans for the use of £1.5m of investment in the Borough’s roads would be announced by the Cabinet Member for the Environment in due course. 

RESOLVED:

1. That it be recommended to full Council that  approval be given to the Council’s Revenue Budget 2013/14 and the MTFP 2013-16, including savings and growth proposals provisionally approved at the Cabinet meeting on 18 December 2012 and as revised in the report (set out in Appendix 1);

2. That it be recommended to full Council that the General Fund Budget requirement for 2013/14 be set at £288.1m, net of Dedicated Schools Grant, subject to the decisions precepting and levying authorities, the final government finance settlement and grant notifications from other Government departments, as set out in Appendix 1 of the report;

3. That it be noted that savings still had to be identified to deliver a balanced budget in 2014/15 and 2015/16;

4. That responses to the recommendations of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to the draft revenue budget proposals, agreed at the Cabinet meeting on 18 December 2012 (paragraphs 7.1 to 7.3 and Appendix 6 of the report), be approved;

5. That the summary of the budget consultation responses received to date on the draft revenue proposals agreed at the Cabinet meeting on 18 December 2012 (paragraphs 7.4 to 7.8) be noted;

6. That the latest position with regard to the funding allocations within the Children and Young People’s Dedicated Schools Grant budget, set out in Section 13 and Appendix 3 of the report, be noted, and approved;

7. That it be recommended to full Council that approval be given to the housing rent increases (average increase of £4.19 per week, 4.45%) set out in paragraph 4.7 of Appendix 4 of the report;

8. That it be recommended to full Council that it approves the tenants’ service charges set out in paragraph 5.3 of Appendix 4 of the report;

9. That it be recommended to Full Council that approval be given to the HRA budget 2013/14 and MTFP 2013-16, as set out in Section 6 and Annex A of Appendix 4 of the report;

10. That it be agreed that up to £1,305k redundancy and staff exit costs arising from Homes for Haringey’s first phase implementation of the New Vision for Housing Management could be funded in 2012/13 by drawing on the HRA reserve balances, subject to the Director of Corporate Resources confirmation that this was in the financial interests of the HRA and the Council;

11. That that the re-profiling of the Decent Homes Backlog funding grant from the GLA by bringing forward £2m of grant from 2014/15 into this financial year 2012/13 be approved, noting that this would not affect the overall amount of grant or expenditure, only the relative proportions of the GLA and Haringey funding in these two financial years;

12. That the revision to and establishment of certain earmarked reserves, as set out in the report, be noted;

13. That it be recommended to full to Council that approval be given to the Council’s Capital Programme for the period 2013-16, comprising spending and funding of £227M, as set out in section 15 and Appendix 5 of the report;

14. That changes in Directorate cash limits, as shown in Appendices 1 and 2 of the report be approved;.

15. That it be noted that the report would be considered by Council on 27 February 2013 to inform the Council’s final decisions on the budget 2013/14 and Council Tax 2013/14; and

16. That authority be delegated to the Director of Corporate Resources to make any minor adjustments required to the 2013/14 budget as a result of the Local Government Finance Settlement being announced by the Government and/or final grant figures notified by other bodies. This would impact on the recommendations set out above.

Alternative Options Considered

In accordance with legislation and the Council’s Constitution, the report proposes that Cabinet should consider draft proposals to deliver a balanced and sustainable MTFP 2013-16, including the budget for 2013/14, and to make recommendations on those matters to the Council at its meeting on 27 February 2013. Accordingly, no other options have been considered.