West Berkshire Council - Agenda item - Revenue Budget 2021/22 (C3983)

Purpose: To consider and recommend to Council the 2021-22 Revenue Budget, which proposes a Council Tax requirement of £104.32m, requiring a Council Tax increase of 1.99%. The Council Tax increase will raise £2.04m. The Council is not proposing any use of the Adult Social Care precept and there will therefore not be any increase in the precept. The overall Council Tax increase is intended to balance the financial impact of the pandemic on residents, mitigating the financial pressures they face, as well as the cost pressures that the Council faces.

The budget details the investment for the year ahead to deliver the Council Strategy and support core Council Services. This includes investment in Adult Social Care, economic development and prevention work. The budget also allocates revenue funding to deliver the Capital Strategy (separate paper) that has a substantial amount of investment in infrastructure for the year ahead, including savings proposals, other income sources and £3.2m of support from Government for Covid-19 costs. The Council is proposing to support the budget with a £2.2m contribution from reserves; it is rare that the Council would use such a sizeable level of one-off support for the budget but the impact of the pandemic on the current year budget, allied to Government financial support, has led to an expected underspend in the current year that is being proposed to partially use to support the 2021-22 budget.

This report also proposes the Fees and Charges for 2021-22 as set out in Appendix F and the Parish Expenses as set out in Appendix G and recommends the level of General Reserves as set out in Appendix E.

Resolved that Council be recommended to resolve as follows (please note that for Executive, figures remain incomplete as figures are awaited from other preceptors):

(1) That Council approves the 2021-22 Council Tax requirement of £104.32 million, requiring a Council Tax increase of 1.99% with a 0% increase in the Council Tax Precept ring-fenced for adult social care.

(2) That the Fees and Charges are approved as set out in Appendix F and the appropriate statutory notices be placed where required.

(3) That the Parish Expenses of £xxxx are approved as set out in Appendix G.

(4) It is proposed to again provide a £150 reduction to Council Tax for claimants receiving Council Tax Reduction falling within a working age category during the 2021-22 financial year. Where the balance to pay for a working age claimant is less than £150, we will credit all the remaining liability through this hardship scheme. The remaining funding from the allocation of £838k will be utilised to support the Collection Fund and consideration of the further impact on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme as well as the overall Collection Fund.

(5) That it be noted that the following amounts for the year 2021-22 in accordance with regulations made under Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (by the Localism Act 2011):-

(a) 65,343.65 being the amount calculated by the Council, (Item T) in accordance with regulation 31B of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011), as its council tax base for the year (the number of properties paying council tax).

(b) Part of the Council’s area as per Appendix K being the amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with regulation 6 of the Regulations, as the amounts of its council tax base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish precept relates.

(6) Calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2021-22 (excluding Parish precepts) is £xxxxxxx.

(7) That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2021-22 in accordance with Sections 32 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, amended by the Localism Act 2011:-

(a) £xxxxxxx being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2), (a) to (f) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish councils.

(b) £xxxxxxx being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3), (a) to (d) of the Act.

(c) £xxxxxxx being the amount by which the aggregate at 7(a) above, exceeds the aggregate at 7(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with the Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its Council Tax requirement for the year (Item R).

(d) £xxxx being the amount at 7(c) above (Item R), all divided by 5(a) above (Item T), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the ‘basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts)’.

(e) £xxxxx being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act (as per Appendix K).

(f) £1596.41 being the amount at 7(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 7(e) above by the amount at 5(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special items relates.

(8) That it be noted that for the year 2021-22, Police and Crime Commissioner for Thames Valley & The Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of dwellings in the Councils area as indicated in Appendix K.

(9) That the Council in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the tables in Appendix K as the amounts of Council Tax for 2021-22 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

(10) To consider the motion presented at the Council meeting of 3rd December 2020 regarding the Citizen’s Advice Bureau and to reject or approve.

This decision is not subject to call in as:

· the item is due to be referred to Council for final approval.

therefore it will be implemented immediately.

The Executive considered a report (Agenda Item 9) concerning the 2021-22 Revenue Budget, which proposed a Council Tax requirement of £104.32m, requiring a Council Tax increase of 1.99%. The Council Tax increase would raise £2.04m. The Council was not proposing any use of the Adult Social Care precept and there would therefore not be any increase in the precept. The overall Council Tax increase was intended to balance the financial impact of the pandemic on residents, mitigating the financial pressures they faced, as well as the cost pressures that the Council faced.

The budget detailed the investment for the year ahead to deliver the Council Strategy and support core Council Services. This included investment in Adult Social Care, economic development and prevention work. The budget also allocated revenue funding to deliver the Capital Strategy that had a substantial amount of investment in infrastructure for the year ahead, included savings proposals, other income sources and £3.2m of support from Government for Covid-19 costs. The Council was proposing to support the budget with a £2.2m contribution from reserves; it was rare that the Council would use such a sizeable level of one-off support for the budget but the impact of the pandemic on the current year budget, allied to Government financial support, had led to an expected underspend in the current year that was being proposed to partially be used to support the 2021-22 budget.

This report also proposed the Fees and Charges for 2021-22 as set out in Appendix F and the Parish Expenses as set out in Appendix G and recommended the level of General Reserves as set out in Appendix E.

Councillor Ross Mackinnon in introducing the report highlighted that information on Parish precepts was still awaited, as was the norm at this stage of the financial year. This information would however be incorporated for the debate on the Revenue Budget at the Council meeting on 2 March 2021.

Councillor Mackinnon then drew Members’ attention to the consultation and engagement section of the report. This section was incomplete as the consultation process was still ongoing. Further consultation included an online consultation meeting with local businesses and a Facebook Live event taking place on 16 February 2021 where residents could ask questions on the budget.

Councillor Mackinnon next referred to the recommendations of the Licensing Committee from its meeting on 8 February 2021. The response to these recommendations would be considered in time for the Council meeting.

A response would also be provided at the March Council to the Motion presented by Councillor Martha Vickers at the Council meeting in December 2020 regarding the Citizen’s Advice Bureau.

It was confirmed to Councillor Martha Vickers that she would be able to speak in support of her Motion on 2 March 2021.

RESOLVED that Council was recommended to resolve as follows:

(1) That Council approves the 2021-22 Council Tax requirement of £104.32 million, requiring a Council Tax increase of 1.99% with a 0% increase in the Council Tax Precept ring-fenced for adult social care.

(2) That the Fees and Charges are approved as set out in Appendix F and the appropriate statutory notices be placed where required.

(3) That the Parish Expenses of £xxxx are approved as set out in Appendix G.

(4) It is proposed to again provide a £150 reduction to Council Tax for claimants receiving Council Tax Reduction falling within a working age category during the 2021-22 financial year. Where the balance to pay for a working age claimant is less than £150, we will credit all the remaining liability through this hardship scheme. The remaining funding from the allocation of £838k will be utilised to support the Collection Fund and consideration of the further impact on the Council Tax Reduction Scheme as well as the overall Collection Fund.

(5) That it be noted that the following amounts for the year 2021-22 in accordance with regulations made under Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (by the Localism Act 2011):

(a) £65,343.65 being the amount calculated by the Council, (Item T) in accordance with regulation 31B of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended by the Localism Act 2011), as its council tax base for the year (the number of properties paying council tax).