Issue - meetings

The Corporate Director of Finance and Resources (CDFR) gave a short presentation covering:

·  Policy house – the Council’s vision and priorities

·  Budget process successes

·  The Council’s plans for making savings

·  The impact of grant cuts

·  The risks in balancing this budget

The key messages from the presentation are that:

o  This is a balanced budget for 2011/12

o  The policy led approach will continue to ensure that the budget reflects Member and community priorities

o  The size of reductions creates risks in planned savings

o  The reserves position is better than last year but cannot be reduced due to budget risks

o  More savings will need to be found for 2012/13 onwards

o  New legislation (localism, housing, benefits) and the Olympics in 2012 will have an impact

Councillor Geddes, the Cabinet Member for Finance, Revenues and Benefits, introduced the budgetary framework for 2011/12 report, setting out:

Ø  the three year Council Plan

Ø  the Medium Term Financial Strategy and a two year summary level financial model for the council

Ø  a four year capital investment programme

Ø  detailed annual revenue estimates for revised 2010/11 and 2011/12, and

Ø  the proposed level of council tax for 2011/12

In presenting the detail the Cabinet Member thanked the CDFR and her staff for their support during the budget preparation process, as well as the Members and members of the public who had taken part in the consultation process.

He confirmed that the Council was facing cuts of £20.2 million over the next two years and noted that many officers had been lost to the Council through the voluntary redundancy scheme, which would inevitably lead to a higher workload for those remaining.

He was pleased to note that this Council is in the forefront in working across borough boundaries, as exemplified by the Assembly’s agreement to working with Thurrock Council as detailed earlier in this meeting and by the series of meetings that he and Councillor Channer had arranged with various other councils.

Despite the severe cuts imposed by the Coalition Government, the Cabinet Member was pleased to confirm that this Council:

-  is continuing to invest in our schools,

-  will be opening a  Skills Centre for 14-19 year olds,

-  has one of the best adult care services in the UK,

-  is working to reduce the housing waiting list,

-  will have a £9m sports facility in Mayesbrook Park as a result of the 2012 Olympics,

-  will be freezing Council Tax for a third consecutive year,

-  will not be closing libraries, and

-  will not be closing children’s centres or leisure centres.

In finalising the report, the Cabinet Member stated that Members and officers across all departments are taking collective responsibility for this balanced budget and that the Council’s priority is to build a fairer, prosperous and aspirational Barking and Dagenham.

The Chair invited members to comment on the budget proposals.

Members noted their concerns at the aggressive cuts imposed by the Coalition Government, in the face of which  ...  view the full minutes text for item 60

Received a report from the Cabinet Member for Finance, Revenues and Benefits on the proposed budgetary framework for 2011/12 incorporating the following:-

• The three-year Council Plan;
• The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and a two-year summary level financial model for the Council,
• The four-year Capital Investment Programme,
• The detailed annual revenue estimates for 2010/11 and 2011/12; and
• The proposed level of Council Tax for 2011/12

The Cabinet Member confirmed that the Council is facing a reduction of approximately £20m in its resources over the next two years.  To this end, a range of savings options are proposed for 2011/12 to address the immediate budget gap and the MTFS also identifies detailed savings options for 2012/13 and 2013/14.  The Cabinet Member explained that difficult decisions have had to be made to ensure that a robust budget is set which protects core services and provides value for money to local residents, while also achieving, for the third consecutive year, a freeze to Council Tax levels for residents.

The proposed Capital Investment Programme similarly focuses the limited capital resources on the Council’s priorities, the principle schemes being the school expansion and improvement programme, Housing Futures and Council House New Build projects.

It was also noted that some assumptions have been made in the estimates for 2011/12 as not all Government grant allocations have been confirmed at this point in time, and therefore the final report to the Assembly on 23 February 2011 may include some updated information.

Agreed, in order to assist the Council to achieve all of its Community Priorities through the setting of a prudent budget and Council Tax, to:-

(i)  Recommend the Assembly to approve:

(a)  The Council Plan “Building a Better Life for All” as set out at Appendices A and B to the report;

(b)  The Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2011/12 - 2013/14 as set out at Appendices C and D to the report;

(c)  The Capital Investment Programme for 2010/11 - 2014/15 as set out at Appendix G to the report;

(d)  The savings summary for 2010/11 - 2013/14, revised budget for 2010/11 and base budget for 2011/12 as set out at Appendices E, J and K to the report;

(e)  The position on reserves as set out in paragraph 2.7 of the report;

(f)  The Council’s Prudential Indicators as set out in Appendix H to the report.

(g)  A freeze in Council Tax levels for 2011/12, for the third year in succession, as set out at Appendices L and M to the report (subject to the final precept announcement for the Greater London Authority);

(ii)  Authorise the Corporate Director of Finance and Resources, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Revenues and Benefits and subject to further reports to the Cabinet on the detail of the proposals, to:

(a)  allocate initial savings targets across all services for the 2012/13 budget process, to commence in April 2011;

(b)  allocate Invest to Save Funds to support departments in achieving savings following receipt and acceptance of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 110