Agenda item

DELIVERING THE CO-OPERATIVE VISION WITHIN A THREE YEAR SUSTAINABLE BALANCED BUDGET (INCLUDING 2014/15 DRAFT BUDGET)

The Chief Executive will submit a report on the indicative three year balanced budget for the period 2014/15 to 2016/17 to fulfil the Council’s statutory responsibility of setting a robust and realistic annual budget.

Minutes:

Tracey Lee (Chief Executive) submitted a report on the indicative three year balanced budget for the period 2014/15 to 2016/17 to fulfil the Council’s statutory responsibility of setting a robust and realistic annual budget. A correction to Figure 16 on page 27 of the report was also submitted.

 

Councillor Lowry (Cabinet Member for Finance) and Councillor Evans (Council Leader) introduced the proposals, highlighting the Council’s ambitious transformation programme to help the Council become a brilliant co-operative council and deliver the priorities for the city despite the funding gap caused by government cuts, rising costs and increasing demand for some services.  The programme included -    

  

(a)

raising income by taking a proactive and fairer approach to fees and charges, following approval of the Fees, Charges and Concessions Policy, where fees and charges would be reviewed when appropriate instead of being part of the annual budget setting process;

 

(b)

redesigning a range of services and providing them in new ways. For example, the Education, Learning and Family Support service could become a co-operative to enable it to continue to provide high quality services while trading and generating income;

 

(c)

 

a smaller workforce with the proposals today anticipating a reduction of more than 300 posts during 2014/15 and 2015/6, where possible by managing vacancies and through a voluntary release scheme;

 

(d)

exploring ways of working in partnership such as setting up a shared ICT service and joint working with other public sector partners.

 

Cabinet Members were also advised that –

 

(e)

it was proposed to add £1.7m to the base budget by increasingtheCouncil Tax by 1.99 per cent; 

 

(f)

the budget position could change as the funding settlement for local government was  not expected until the end of December 2013;

 

(g)

residents’ views were being sought to influence how the projected shortfall could be achieved;

 

(h)

proposals were under consideration to amend the local Council Tax Support Scheme to reduce the amount that every one of working age was required to pay from at least 25 percent to 20 percent of their council tax bill, with effect from April 2014.  This would be subject to a further Cabinet report.

 

The Corporate Management Team was thanked for producing the budget proposals and the Chief Executive undertook to raise the challenges that the Council faced with the citys’ Members of Parliament.

 

Alternative options considered and reasons for the decision –

 

As set out in the report.

 

Agreed that –

 

(1)

the proposed revenue target budget requirement for 2014/15 of £203m spend, and capital forecast of £205m is presented for full public scrutiny in January 2014; 

(2)

members and officers continue to bring forward further solutions in order to close the existing £1.1m budget gap in 2014/15;  

(3)

the proposed indicative revenue forecasts for 2015/16 and 2016/17 are also presented for full public scrutiny in January 2014;

(4)

the findings from the consultation, feedback from budget scrutiny and any material changes announced in the final settlement are considered by Cabinet, prior to a recommendation to the City Council in February 2014.  

 

Supporting documents: