Agenda item

A  The Budget 2003/04

Received a comprehensive report on the subject of the Revenue and capital budgets and Council Tax to be levied for the year 2003/04.

The Executive considered the implications of alternative levels of expenditure including the effects on the Council Taxpayers, the needs and resources of the area and other factors affecting the Council’s aggregate requirements including its Revenue and Capital estimates.  It reaffirmed that the budget requirement should be set at £205,200,000.

Agreed to recommend to the Assembly:

1.  That the following, as submitted in the Annual Estimates Book, be approved: -

(a)  the revised revenue estimates for the year 2002/2003 and the revenue estimates for 2003/2004.

(b)  the capital programme for the year 2003/2004 and, in principle, for 2004/05 to 2007/08.

2.  That it be noted that at its meeting on 17 December 2002 the Assembly calculated the amount of 51,921 as its Council Tax Base for the year 2003/2004 in accordance with regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 made under Section 33(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

3.  That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2003/2004 in accordance with Sections 32 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992: -

(a)  £414,608,609  being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32(2) (a) to (e) of the Act.

(b)  £209,408,609  being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32(3) (a) to (c) of the Act.

(c)  £205,200,000  being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 32 (4) of the Act, as its budget requirement for the year.

(d)  £162,430,596  being the aggregate of the sums which the Council estimates will be payable for the year into its General Fund in respect of redistributed non-domestic rates, revenue support grant reduced by the amount of the sums which the Council estimates will be transferred in the year from its General Fund in accordance with Section 97 (4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and increased by the amount of any sum which the Council estimates will be transferred from its collection Fund to its General Fund pursuant to the directions under Section 98 (4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1998 made on the 7 February 1994.

(e)  £823.74  being the amount at 3 (c) above less the amount at 3 (d) above, all divided by the amount at (2) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 33 (1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year.

(f)  Valuation Bands

being the amounts given by multiplying the amount at 3 (e) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5 (1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in valuation band ‘D’ calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36 (1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

4.  That it be noted that for the year 2003/2004 the amounts which the Mayor of London has calculated in accordance with Section 47 of the 1992 Act, as amended by Section 92 of the 1999 Act, as the amounts of Council Tax for the financial year beginning on 1 April 2003 for each category of dwelling are as follows: -

5.  That, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 3 (f) and 4 above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30 (2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2003/2004 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below: -

Valuation Bands

B  Medium Term Financial Strategy

Agreed to recommend the Assembly to adopt the budget strategy for the future years set out in section 12 of the report.

C  Statutory Requirements for Borrowing Limits

Agreed in accordance with the requirements of Section 45 of Part IV of the Local Government and Housing Act 1989, to recommend the Assembly that:

1.  The overall borrowing limit for 2003/04 be £26.4m to cover the estimated outstanding debt remaining after the premature repayment of external debt during 1992/93 (This is currently financed from internal funds).

2.  The amount of money which the Council borrows by way of short term money be limited to £5.3m being 20% of the total borrowing limit (In practice, no such borrowing is likely in 2003/04).

3.  The limit on the proportion of borrowing by means of loans at variable rates of interest be £3m (In practice no such loans are likely to be raised during 2003/04).

Agreed that at present no cuts in funding or changes in arrangements for school crossing patrols is made, and a full risk assessment is carried out.