Agenda item

Report of the Director for Finance. To be introduced by the Cabinet Member for Finance and Local Investment.

Following public consultation and Scrutiny Review, this report will set out the details of the proposed budget for 2024/25 and MTFS through to 2028/29, including savings, growth and capital proposals. The report will also set out details of funding for 2024/25 and, if available, the remainder of the planning period and highlight areas of risk. The report also includes details of the proposed HRA budget for 2024/25 and MTFS to 2028/29 including proposed 5-year capital investment and funding. The report will be for onward approval by Full Council on the 04 of March when it will include the details of the council tax resolution.

 

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Local Investment introduced the report which set out details of the final proposed General Fund (GF) Budget for 2024/25; the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2024/29; the HRA Budget 2024/25 and its Financial Plan, as well as the capital programmes for both funds. It also included proposed dedicated school’s budgets for 2024/25.

 

The Cabinet Member continued to outline the context for compiling the 2024/25 Budget and Medium-Term Financial Strategy which included: significantly reduced government funding over the last 14 years, increased demand for social care services, and rising inflation which was further increasing spend on statutory services.

 

The Cabinet Member expressed that setting a balanced budget meant being prudent about the affordability of borrowing and some Council projects would have to be delayed to a time when the cost of borrowing was lower. 

 

The budget further considered:

-       value for money through reducing use of agency staff,

-       the ambitions for the Council house building programme of 3000 new Council homes by 2031,

-       helping support families out of temporary accommodation and homelessness pursuing climate and air quality goals.

 

The Council would continue to resource libraries, children’s centres, parks, leisure facilities, affordable homes, and youth services.

 

The Leader invited the Chair of Overview and Scrutiny to introduce the scrutiny recommendations and apologies for absence were noted from Cllr Connor, Vice Chair of Overview and Scrutiny, and chair of the scrutiny review of the budget process.

 

The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny advised that scrutiny colleagues recognised the scale of the challenge in putting forward a balanced budget for consideration and they acknowledged that the budget proposals continued to protect vital frontline services. The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny welcomed the Cabinet responses to the scrutiny recommendations and noted that a vast majority had been agreed.

 

There were a few issues to address in the way the budget was presented to both the Cabinet and Overview and Scrutiny Committee and improvements to the process had been outlined to be taken forward in next year’s process.

 

The Chair of Overview and Scrutiny referred to scrutiny recommendation 17, outlining a couple of errors identified by scrutiny members in the savings calculations and presentational issues regarding the growth figures, which, although had not that led to any errors in the budget itself, had made the whole process of scrutinising the proposed areas of growth quite challenging.

 

Similarly, when amended savings proposals were considered post December 2023, when it came to the library service, it was not clear how this was being set out in financial terms. The Cabinet response provided confidence that a balanced budget was proposed, and Overview and Scrutiny would continue to scrutinise the budget compilation process, taking into consideration these experiences.

 

In response to questions from Cllr Hakata and Cllr Emery, the following information was provided:

 

-       The Council was not alone in setting a budget with difficulties, and it was reported that there were one in five local authorities in financial difficulties.However, the proposed budget still managed to protect all of the Council’s frontline services, and this had been a priority throughout the process.

 

-       The Cabinet Member appreciated the issues raised by Overview and Scrutiny, but these presentational errors needed to be considered in the context of a very difficult budget process, with a lot of work done by officers to actually close the budget gap and to set a balanced budget this year.

 

-       With regards to the savings figures allocated to the libraries service concerning self-service not going ahead, it was noted that these assigned savings figures would still stay in the budget. The service would be developing a comprehensive Library strategy, which would include areas for: income generation, working with different partners, and how the Council can work with trusts and grant awarding bodies to make sure that libraries develop a sustainable financial footing for the future.

 

-       In relation to £60,000 of growth that has been added to the budget for re - evaluated senior management roles in the Culture, Strategy and Engagement directorate, this was reflecting the cost of the establishment as it was now, and it was a relatively minor budget amendment to get in line with the latest forecasts.

 

-       With regards to the savings proposal to redesign charges for tennis courts, officers had carried out a benchmarking review to ensure that the pricing in some tennis courts, was consistent across the borough and in line with neighbouring borough prices. There was also a need to consider how to offset some of the ongoing maintenance costs of the tennis courts and to make sure that income was recycled into targeted programmes to encourage more people to play tennis, particularly young people across the borough.

 

-       In conclusion, there was a need for consistent charging across tennis costs, the Council were looking at peak demand times, and the review would enable the Council to look at where it can introduce concessions for residents where possible.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1. To consider the outcome of the budget consultation as set out in Appendix 7, to be included in the report to Council.

 

2. To approve the responses made to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee recommendations following their consideration of the draft budget proposals as set out in Appendix 8.

 

3. To propose approval to the Council of the 2024/25 Budget and MTFS 2024/29 Budget new growth and savings proposals as set out in appendices 2a, 2b, 3a and 3b.

 

4. To propose approval to the Council of the 2024/25 General Fund Revenue Budget as set out in Appendix 1, including specifically a General Fund budget requirement of £279.305m, but subject to final decisions of the levying and presenting bodies and the final local government finance Settlement.

 

5. To propose approval to the Council of the General Fund Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2024/2029 as set out in Appendix 1.

 

6. To propose approval to the Council that the overall Haringey element of Council Tax to be set by London Borough of Haringey for 2024/25 will be £1,635.92 per Band D property, which represents a 2.99% increase on the 2023/24 Haringey element and with an additional 2% for the Adult Social Care Precept amount.

 

7. To note the Council Tax Base of the London Borough of Haringey, as agreed by the Section 151 Officer under delegated authority (Article 4.01(b), Part 2, of the Constitution), as 81,875 for the financial year 2024/25 (Appendix 10).

 

8. To propose approval to the Council of the 2024/25 Housing Revenue Account budget as set out in Table 9.6.

 

9. To propose approval to the Council of the Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2024/2029 as set out in Table 9.6.

 

10. To approve the changes to the rent levels for residents in temporary

Accommodation, Council tenants in General Needs and Sheltered/Supported homes and shared ownership rents. Following compliance with the notification provisions contained in s103 Housing Act 1985, this will increase the average weekly rents as set out in Section 9.

 

11. To agree the changes to service charges to tenants as set out in Tables 9.4 and 9.5, which will come into effect following compliance with the notification provisions contained in s103 Housing Act 1985.

 

12. To propose approval to the Council of the 2024/25 – 2028/29 General Fund capital programme detailed in Appendix 4.
13. To propose approval to the Council of the 2024/25 – 2028/29 Housing Revenue Account (HRA) capital programme detailed in Table 9.7.

 

14. To propose approval to the Council of the Capital Strategy detailed in Section 8 of the report.

 

15. To propose approval to Council of the strategy on the use of flexible capital receipts to facilitate the delivery of efficiency savings including capitalisation of redundancy costs (Appendix 6).

 

16. To propose to the Council the Dedicated Schools Budget (DSB) allocations for 2024/25 of £234.04m as set out in Table 10.1.

 

17. To note the funding to be distributed to primary and secondary schools for 2024/25 based on the figures advised to Schools Forum and submitted to the Education Funding Agency in January 2023 set out in Section 10.

 

18. To note the budgets (including the use of brought forward DSG) for the Schools Block, Central Services Block, High Needs Block and Early Years Block set out in Table 10.1.

 

19. To delegate to the Director of Children Services, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Children, Education and Families, authority to amend the Delegated Schools Budget to take account of any changes to Haringey’s total schools funding allocation by the Education and Skills Funding Agency.

 

20. To delegate to the Section 151 officer, following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, authority to make further changes to the 2024/25 budget proposals to Full Council up to a maximum limit of £1.0m.

 

Reasons for decision

 

The Council has a statutory obligation to set a balanced budget for 2024/25

and this report forms a key part of the budget setting process by setting out

the final forecast funding and expenditure for that year. Additionally, in order

to ensure the Council’s finances for the medium term are maintained on a

sound basis, this report also sets out the funding and expenditure

assumptions for the following four years in the form of a Medium-Term

Financial Strategy. The Budget/MTFS report will be presented to Full Council

on 4 March 2024 for approval.

 

Alternative options considered

 

The Cabinet must consider how to deliver a balanced 2024-25 Budget and

sustainable MTFS over the five-year period 2024-29, to be reviewed and

ultimately adopted at the meeting of Full Council on 04 March 2024.

 

The Council has developed the proposals contained in this report in light of its current forecasts for future income levels and service demand. These

take account of the Council’s priorities; the extent of the estimated funding

shortfall; the estimated impact of wider environmental factors such as

inflation, interest rates, the cost of living crisis on households and, in some

service areas, the legacy of the Covid-19 pandemic; and finally, the Council’s

overall financial position. It is this appraisal that has led to this report.

 

These final proposals now presented take into consideration the funding

allocations announced in the Provisional Local Government Finance

Settlement, the responses to the budget consultation and the initial Overview

& Scrutiny process. There is not an option to do otherwise as the Council

has a legal duty to set a balanced budget by 11 March each year.