Issue - meetings

To present an intitial General Fund Baseline for 2017/2018 against which the detailed estimates will be built upon in the course of the year.

That:

(a)    Cabinet agrees the initial financial baseline for 2017/18 and requests Portfolio Holders, supported by Officers, to continue to facilitate the various savings strands and initiatives to deliver a balanced budget for presenting to Cabinet in December 2016;

(b)    the Corporate Management Committee be consulted on the initial financial baseline for 2017/18;

(c)    the Local Council Tax Support Scheme grant to Town and Parish Councils be reduced by 5% in 2017/18, and

(d)    the decision whether to remain in the Essex-wide pool for non-domestic rates in 2017/18 be delegated to the Finance, Revenues and Benefits Portfolio Holder, in consultation with the Corporate Director (Corporate Services).

There was submitted a detailed report by the Portfolio Holder for Finance, Revenues & Benefits (A.5) which sought to provide Cabinet with an initial General Fund financial baseline for 2017/18 against which the detailed estimates would be built upon over the course of the year.

Cabinet was informed that:

·           The initial financial baseline for 2017/18 set out an initial budget ‘gap’ of £1.565m. In continuing the move to self-sufficiency, this was based on a 1.99% increase in the level of Council Tax at this stage of the budget cycle. This would, however, be subject to further review over the course of the budget setting process and against the referendum limits for 2017/18 which would be announced by the Government later in the year. If the referendum limit was set at £5.00 for 2017/18, in a repeat of the 2016/17 limit, then this could provide the opportunity to raise additional on-going income of £0.095m.

·           The initial budget ‘gap’ also reflected the provisional revenue support grant (RSG) figure of £1.650m, a reduction of £0.914m (36%) compared to 2016/17.

·           As highlighted in last year’s budget reports, the Government had announced provisional / minimum RSG figures for 2017/18, 2018/19 and 2019/20 on the basis of each Authority submitting efficiency plans to the Government by Autumn this year. The provisional settlement phased out RSG by the end of 2019/20 with only £0.400m receivable in that year.

·           A number of savings strands were already being progressed which would be finalised as part of presenting the revised position to Cabinet in December 2016. Work remained in progress in consultation with Portfolio Holders, the Corporate Management Committee and Members in order to identify the level of savings required to meet the budget ‘gap’.

·           Given current economic uncertainty following the EU referendum, it was difficult to forecast any knock on impact that could arise, which could include a more front loaded reduction in the RSG than already proposed. However, the Government had recently announced that they would no longer be aiming for a budget surplus by 2019/20, which it was hoped would limit any changes to the provisional RSG figures already announced. Although this would be monitored over the budget setting cycle with updates provided to Members accordingly, the provisional RSG figures announced last year had therefore been included.

·           The Council had to continue to seek ways to grow its own funding through regeneration, economic development etc. which would provide a strong position to move into the new era of 100% business rates retention from 2020. There were a number of critical ‘core funding’ risks around business rates, not only in the future but within the current partial retention regime.

·           The initial forecast did not include the final position for items such as cost pressures and potential further changes to budgets although estimates had been included where possible with further details likely to emerge over the course of the year. Therefore it was recognised that the budget ‘gap’ could increase further.

·           A number of Essex Local Authorities continued to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60