Agenda item

To consider a report by the Head of Finance and Property (copy attached).

 

The Lead Member for Finance, Performance and Strategic Assets, Councillor Gwyneth Ellis, introduced the Budget 2023/24 – Final Proposals Report (previously circulated).

 

The report set out the implications of the Local Government Settlement 2023/24 and proposals to finalise the budget for 2023/24.

 

The Council was legally required to set a balanced and deliverable budget before the start of each financial year and to set the resulting level of Council Tax to allow bills to be sent to residents.

 

An overview of the budget process was provided and the impact of the Local Government Settlement.  Approval of the budget 2023/24 was sought including the level of Council Tax.

 

The Draft Local Government Settlement for 2023/24 had been received by the council on 14^th December which had resulted in a positive settlement of 8.2%, compared to the Welsh average of 7.9%.  The Final Settlement was expected in early March but Welsh Government had indicated there should be few changes.

 

The draft settlement included a slightly increased indicative average settlement increase of 3.0% for 2024/25.  Although the increase had be welcomes, difficult decisions would be required over the coming years.

 

The final proposals to balance the 2023/24 budget were shown in the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) in Appendix 1 to the report.

 

The pressures identified within the final proposals amounted to £25.116m. A draft settlement of around 14.5% would have been required in order to fund all the pressures. The net +8.2% settlement generated £14.231m additional revenue leaving a funding gap of £10.885m. 

 

The following were included in the proposals to bridge the funding gap –

·         Savings in the Capital Financing Budget amounted to £1.067m.

·         Corporate contingencies relating to the unused element of the covid contingency put aside as part of the previous year’s budget process amounted to £1.200m.

·         The impact of the triennial actuarial review of the Clwyd Pension Fund meant that the Council had a small surplus rather than a significant deficit which resulted in a saving of £3.828m.

·         The savings from bringing the Revenues and Benefits Service back in house had been confirmed and a further £300k could be released.

·         Services had been asked to identify 1% savings/efficiencies which identified £961k of savings (included in full in Appendix 3 of the report).

·         Fees and Charges Income Budgets had been inflated in line with agreed Fees and Charges Policy which increased external income by £423k

·         Savings involving some element of service change amounted to £371k.

·         Technical budget reductions which had no impact on service delivery amounted to £167k

·         Schools had also been asked to plan for 1% efficiencies which amounted to £816k.

·         It was recommended that Council Tax increased by 3.8% which, along with minor changes to the Council Tax Base, would generate £2.713m additional revenue. This level was at the lower end of indicative increases across Wales. It was also lower than the average of 4.35% over the last four years.

 

Following discussions members thanked the Lead Member and Officers for all their work in providing a balanced budget which had been a difficult process. 

 

Councillor Gwyneth Ellis proposed the approval of the Budget report, seconded by Councillor Barry Mellor.

 

Following a vote, the results were –

 

Approval of the Budget Report – 38

Abstain – 1

Against – 3

 

Therefore, it was

 

RESOLVED that Full Council:

·         Note the impact of the Draft Local Government Settlement 2023/24

·         Supports the proposals outlined in Appendix 1, and detailed in Section 4, and finalise the budget for 2023/24

·         Approve the average Council Tax rise of 3.8% proposed

·         Delegate authority to the Head of Finance and Property in consultation with the Lead Member for Finance to adjust the use of cash included in the budget proposals by up to £500k if there is movement between the draft and final settlement figures in order to allow the setting of Council Tax in a timely manner.