Decision details

The Cabinet resolved to recommend the Assembly to:

(i)  Approve a base revenue budget for 2017/18 of £144.686m, as detailed in Appendix A to the report;

(ii)  Approve the adjusted Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) position for 2017/18 to 2020/21 allowing for other known pressures and risks at this time, as detailed in Appendix B to the report, including the additional cost of borrowing to accommodate the capital costs associated with the implementation of the MTFS;

(iii)  Delegate authority to the Chief Operating Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Growth and Investment, to finalise any contribution required to or from reserves in respect of the 2017/18 budget, pending confirmation of levies and further changes to Government grants prior to 1 April 2017;

(iv)  Approve the Statutory Budget Determination for 2017/18 as set out at Appendix C to the report, which reflects an increase of 1.99% on the amount of Council Tax levied by the Council, a further 3% increase in relation to the Social Care Precept and the final Council Tax proposed by the Greater London Assembly (1.5% increase), as detailed in Appendix D to the report;

(v)  Approve the Council’s draft Capital Programme for 2017/18 to 2020/21 totalling £373.877m, as detailed in Appendix E to the report;

(vi)  Approve the Strategy for the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts at Appendix H to the report and, in doing so, note that the projected savings targets are subject to final business cases and confirmation at future meetings; and

(vii)  Approve the indicative 2017-18 allocation to Early Years providers (3-4 year olds) of £15.441m and the centrally retained funding, which shall be limited to £1.081 million in 2017-18 and reduce further to an estimated £0.772 million in 2018-19.