Issue - meetings

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services presented a report on the Council’s Budget Framework 2021/22 and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2021/22 to 2024/25.

The Cabinet Member advised that the Council had incurred significant costs with regard to the response to COVID-19 and supporting residents through the pandemic and, whilst Government grant funding had been received to cover some of that expenditure, it would take the Council a number of years to recover from the full cost of COVID-19, especially on the back of 10 years of austerity cuts by the Government.  However, he remained confident that despite all the difficulties, the Council would once again deliver a balanced budget and his  message to residents was that the Council was on their side and would continue to do everything possible to protect the most vulnerable, build more truly affordable homes, create new jobs, provide more job opportunities for residents, particularly the young, and promote social responsibility and civic pride. 

The Cabinet Member also alluded to the Government’s budget announcement and expressed his disappointment that the additional £20 for those in receipt of Universal Credit was only announced today, when it could have been made much sooner to put residents’ minds at rest.  The Government’s offer of a mere 1% pay rise to NHS staff was also an insult to all those who had gone above and beyond to keep people safe.

The Cabinet Member highlighted some of the key achievements over the last year, the Medium Term Financial Strategy forecasts and the Council’s future investment plans which would help to fund essential Council services going forward.  The Assembly noted, however, that against the backdrop of COVID-19 expenditure and in order to deliver the Council’s vision and aspirations, it would be necessary to increase the level of Council Tax for 2021/22 by the maximum (unrestricted) levels of 1.99% for general services and 3% for social care.  Those increases equated to an average annual rise of £64.11 for those living in a ’Band D’ property.  The Greater London Authority had also announced an increase of 9.5% to its precept, which covered support services such as the London Fire Brigade and the Metropolitan Police, meaning that the overall Council Tax charge for a Band D property would increase by a total of £95.70 to £1,712.57.

The Cabinet Member referred to the outcome of the public consultation on the draft budget proposals which was carried out in January, with residents being supportive of the Council’s plans to continue to support its most vulnerable residents.  There was also clear support for increased street cleansing, improvement to parks and leisure facilities, support for local businesses and efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour and grime crime in the Borough.  He also commended the scrutiny of the budget proposals by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and other backbench Members who were present at the meeting on 26 January 2021. 

During the debate, several Members commented on the Government’s budget announcement which would impact hardest on ordinary, working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 58

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services introduced the Council’s proposed budget framework for 2021/22 which incorporated the following:

-  Proposed General Fund revenue budget for 2021/22;

-  Proposed level of Council Tax for 2021/22;

-  Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2021/22 to 2024/25;

-  Draft capital investment programme 2021/22 to 2024/25; and 

-  Update on the Dedicated Schools Grant and Local Funding Formula for Schools.

The Cabinet were reminded that the budget framework for 2021/22 was prepared in the context of unprecedented uncertainty arising from the continuing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact on the community of COVID-19 had resulted in financial pressures to the Council throughout 2020/21 which would have implications for years to come.

The Cabinet Member for Educational Attainment and School Improvement raised concerns that the census data for pupil premium, based on the take up of free school meals, had been moved back, potentially creating a huge loss for schools.  This would mean that during a time of increasing child poverty, funding for the most vulnerable children in schools was being reduced.

The Cabinet Member for Health Integration and Social Care raised concerns that the Government’s lack of support for social care and recent decision to reform the NHS following the pandemic may put more obligations on the Council, without additional resources being provided.

Cabinet resolved to recommend the Assembly to:

(i)  Approve a base revenue budget for 2021-22 of £174.326m, as detailed in Appendix A to the report;

(ii)  Approve the adjusted Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) position for 2021-22 to 2024-25 allowing for other known pressures and risks at the current time, as detailed in Appendix B to the report, including the revised cost of borrowing to accommodate the capital costs associated with the implementation of the MTFS;

(iii)  Note the observations made by the Overview and Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on 26 January 2021 in respect of the Cabinet’s savings and growth proposals for 2021/22 and beyond and the outcome of the public consultation on the budget proposals, as set out in section 14 of the report;

(iv)  Approve the budget savings and growth proposals for 2021/22 and beyond, as detailed in section 8 and Appendix C to the report;

(v)  Delegate authority to the Chief Financial Officer, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services, to finalise any contribution required to or from reserves in respect of the 2021-22 budget, pending confirmation of levies and further changes to Government grants prior to 1 April 2021;

(vi)  Approve the Statutory Budget Determination for 2021-22 as set out at Appendix D to the report, which reflects an increase of 1.99% on the amount of Council Tax levied by the Council, an Adult Social Care precept of 3.00% and the final Council Tax proposed by the Greater London Assembly (9.5% increase), as detailed in Appendix E to the report;

(vii)  Note the update on the current projects, issues and risks in relation to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81