Agenda item

A video highlighting the Borough’s key developments and initiatives during the year was shown before the Cabinet Member for Finance, Performance and Core Services introduced the Council’s proposed budget framework for 2020/21 which incorporated the following:

• The General Fund revenue budget for 2020/21
• The level of Council Tax for 2020/21
• The Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2020/210 to 2023/24
• The draft Capital Investment Programme for 2020/21 to 2023/24; and
• An update on the Dedicated Schools Grant and Local Funding Formula for Schools.

The Cabinet Member provided the context to this year’s budget and specifically the Prime Minister recent announcement referred to in the Leader’s Statement about the so called ‘levelling up’ by redistributing monies through the review of the Fair Funding Formula. Based on an analysis of the implications of the government’s thinking conducted by the LGA it is suggested that despite being one of the most deprived communities in the country the Borough stands to lose more than £3m.

He outlined the challenges that Barking & Dagenham has faced over the decades and those currently as a result of the Government’s austerity measures over the past ten years which in stark terms shows that for every £1 of funding available in 2010 we now have 33p to meet our needs. Viewed against the backdrop of some of the lowest land values in London, the second highest population growth in London and with one of the youngest boroughs in the country means local residents continue to face huge challenges in terms of unemployment, poor educational attainment as well as chronic health outcomes.

Turning to this year’s budget proposals the Cabinet Member explained that whilst the Council strives to deliver basic services like collecting rubbish and fixing potholes, its biggest costs concern social care with out of every £1 spent 70p going towards supporting the elderly and vulnerable children who cannot live at home with their families. The Council’s social care budget has fallen by £8m since 2016 and the overspend on children in care is on par with London as a whole. Whilst Barking and Dagenham is doing more with less money the budget situation coupled with increasing pressure on the NHS means social care services are increasingly needing to step in. On top of this are mounting pressures in other services such as housing and homelessness.

For more than a decade the government has made huge cuts to the Council’s funding and whilst for many years a council tax freeze was maintained the cumulative impact of the freeze has eroded the tax base to the extent that for every £1 the Council spends only 16p is generated from Council Tax.

Nonetheless without it the Council would struggle even more to provide services, and therefore it was proposed to increase Council Tax by 3.99%. which included 1.99% for general Council services raising an additional £1.2m, plus a further 2% specifically ring-fenced as an adult social care precept which overall represented an increase of 95p per week for the average family in Band D. 

The Cabinet Member commented on the 2020/21 budget consultation that had taken place during January 2020, which included both face-to-face events with the local community and local businesses and a Facebook live Q&A session. The interaction across social media generated a significant response with surprisingly only a small number of residents opposing increasing the Council tax or paying a little more towards adult social care costs.

The Cabinet Member summed up where the Council was today and that whilst much had been achieved there was still much to do. He highlighted a number of the positive things happening including the continued Summer of Festivals which next year will mark the 100^th anniversary of the Becontree Estate, the growing redevelopment opportunities including the relocation of London’s iconic markets, the Film Studio in Dagenham, UCL Pearl, the state of the art research centre, the growing Youth Zone, a first in London as well as the launch of Beam Energy and the provision of more community food clubs to help residents save money on their shopping bills.

He emphasised the importance of getting the basics right including making the streets cleaner, investment in new street cleaning vehicles and bin trucks, the successful launch of a white goods collection service, enforcement initiatives including the Borough-wide landlord licensing scheme and ‘Wall of Shame’ videos, the prevention of nearly 480 households from becoming homeless, continuing to build new affordable homes for local people, initiating community participation and engagement projects such as the Good Neighbour Guide, as well as achieving Good or Outstanding Ofsted ratings in 9 out of 10 of Schools. 

The Cabinet Member said that although 2020/21 would be another tough year for the Council both in terms of maintaining savings and services, the focus would be to continue tackling poverty and disadvantage and delivery for all.  He concluded the budget presentation by highlighting what the Council had achieved despite all the financial difficulties and challenged this government to play their part by giving the Council fair funding.

A number of comments followed the presentation including:

·  Ensuring that the Council is clear what is meant by affordable housing in the context of the offer to local residents,

·  With the development of up to 50,000 new homes in the Borough and the increased deployment of CPZ’s it is important to use these debates to put pressure on the public transport operators, particularly the rail providers,

·  In acknowledging residents’ concerns about the level of serious crime in the Borough it should not be forgot that under this government more than 1,000 Police Officers have been lost across the BCU in the last decade and which this Council will continue to campaign for more resources. 

·  In that respect paid thanks to the work of the London Mayor who has campaigned to get both more Police Officers and Fire Fighters as well as keep fare increases down, and finally

·  Paid tribute to the staff and the Unions who have had to work under very trying conditions over the past decade due to the austerity imposed by this government.   

In accordance with paragraph 10.3.2 of Part 2, Chapter 3 of the Council Constitution, the budget was put to a recorded vote and was agreed as follows:

For: Councillors Achilleos, Akwaboah, Alasia, Ashraf, Aziz, Bankole, Bremner, Princess Bright, Sade Bright, Butt, Carpenter, Chand, Channer, Dulwich, Fergus, Freeborn, Geddes, Ghani, Jamu, Jones, Kangethe, Keller, Khan, Lumsden, Martins, McCarthy, Miah, Miles, Mullane, Oluwole, Paddle, Perry, Quadri, Rahman, Ramsay, Chris Rice, Lynda Rice, Ingrid Robinson, Paul Robinson, Darren Rodwell, Saleem, Shaukat, Turner, Twomey, Phil Waker and Worby (46)

Against: None (0)

Abstain: None (0)

The Assembly resolved to:

(i)  Approve a base revenue budget for 2020/21 of £155.796m, as detailed in Appendix A to the report,

(ii)  Approve the adjusted Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) position for 2020/21 to 2023/24 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, Performance and Core Services, to finalise any contribution required to or from reserves in respect of the 2020/21 budget, pending confirmation of levies and further changes to Government grants prior to 1 April 2020,

(iv)  Approve the Statutory Budget Determination for 2020/21 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, an Adult Social Care precept of 2.00% and the final Council Tax proposed by the Greater London Assembly (3.6% increase), as detailed in Appendix D to the report,

(v)  Note the update on the current projects, issues and risks in relation to Council services, as detailed in sections 9-12 of the report,

(vi)  Approve the Council’s draft Capital Programme for 2020/21 totalling £318.006m, of which £72.540m are General Fund schemes, as detailed in Appendix E to the report,

(vii)  Approve the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy as set out in Appendix F to the report,

(viii)  Note the update on Dedicated Schools Funding and approve the Local Funding Formula factors as set out in section 15 and Appendix G; and

(ix)  Note the Chief Finance Officer’s Statutory Finance Report as set out in section 15 of the report, which includes a recommended minimum level of reserves of £12m.