Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) introduced the report and highlighted the following points:

a)    Since the draft budget was published in November 2023 the final government settlement had been received. There had been a select committee which looked at the budget alongside a public and business engagement exercise and views had been inserted into the final budget report;

b)    The budget would protect vital public services despite significant demands on the Council;

c)    The Capital Finance Strategy and the Treasury Management Strategy had been approved by the Audit and Governance Committee;

d)    Recommended a revenue budget of £236.662 million;

e)    The budget did not have any reductions in critical services and did not include the introduction of any new charges for services;

f)     The budget included additional funding for repairing roads and grass cutting;

g)    There was an increase in core resources totalling £18.812 million which included the benefits of business rates growth, the Devon wide rates pool and additional income from council tax due to an increase in properties and the collection rate;

h)    There would be additional expenditure of £12,070 million to focus on issues within Children’s Services directorate and £13.7 million for the People’s directorate;

i)     £3.287 million was allocated within the budget to aid in the increase of homelessness and the use of temporary accommodation;

j)     Assumed future funding ambitions of the Capital Programme was set at £325 million as set out in appendix 6.

k)    The capital programme had become more expensive due to the rise in interest rates and the capital programme would be reviewed to ensure its affordability for future years;

David Northey (Service Director for Finance) added:

l)     The budget was dependent on the outcome of the conversations had with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) which started in summer 2023;

m)  Plymouth City Council were waiting for Exceptional Financial Support in the form of a capitalisation direction from DLUHC;

n)    There was an outstanding issue regarding a transaction made in October 2019 to significantly reduce the cost of the pension deficit. The Council accounted for the transaction as Capital, however the Council’s independent auditors stated that although the transaction was not detrimental to the public purse, it was unusual and they had concerns around the process that the Council went through and whether the transaction should be capital or revenue.

o)    The Council had requested this capitalisation direction in order to close the 19/20 accounts and to set a budget for 2024/24. If granted this would allow the Council to progress an accounting adjustment for 19/20 and close those accounts.

p)    The Full Council meeting scheduled for the end of February had moved to allow the government to make a decision on the capitalisation direction by early March 2024.

q)    The Council had a statutory obligation to set the Council tax rates by the close of play 11 March 2024.

r)    An alternative budget, should the Council not receive the capitalisation direction had not been put  ...  view the full minutes text for item 105