Agenda item

Report of the Executive Director Corporate Resources and Customer Services.

 

Further to Minute No. 103 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 11 February 2021 the Council considered the joint report of the Chief Executive and the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services that provided:

 

·       an assessment of the Council’s current financial position and approach to the 2021/22 Budget Plan and preparation for the three-year budget period 2022/23 to 2024/25;

·       an update on the Government’s announcement of resources that were available to the Council for 2021/22;

·       the Council’s current financial position and the assumptions built into the Medium-Term Financial Plan;

·       the proposed Budget for 2021/22; and

·       the proposed Capital Programme for 2021/22.

 

The report set out the financial strategy of the Council and the national and local financial context within which it was operating and indicated that the Council had a statutory requirement to remain financially sustainable and to balance its budget every year.

 

The report also indicated that the Council’s Framework for Change Programme was a comprehensive and ambitious programme that sought to support the delivery of the Council’s core purpose; and that as would be expected with a programme of this size and complexity that spanned a number of financial years, the detailed proposals had been and would continue to be the subject of change as they were developed and ultimately implemented. 

 

It was moved by Councillor Fairclough, seconded by Councillor Hardy 

 

That:

 

(A)          in respect of the Budget 2021/22 and Medium-Term Financial Plan from 2022/23 to 2024/25:

 

(1)           the update of the Medium-Term Financial Plan for the period 2021/22 to 2024/25, be noted;

(2)           the Revenue Budget for 2021/22 and authorisation for officers to undertake all of the necessary actions to implement the budget changes and proposals as detailed within the report, be approved;

 

(3)           the continuation of the Framework for Change 2020 Programme (as described in Section 3) and agreement to the commencement of all appropriate activity as detailed, including for example, consultation with employees and engagement with partners and contractual changes as the programme develops, be approved;

(4)           the current levels of trade union facility time and associated arrangements for the whole period of the budget plan for 2021/22 – 2024/25, be approved;

(5)           it be noted that officers will comply with agreed HR policies and procedures including relevant consultation with Trade Unions and reports to the Cabinet Member Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services as required;

(6)           the Schools’ Forum decisions on the Dedicated Schools Grant and Individual School Budgets (Section 12), be noted;

(7)           the allocation of specific grants as detailed in the report (Section 13), be noted;

(8)           the overall Council Tax resolution for 2021/22 including Police, Fire, Mayoral and Parish Precepts, be approved;

 

(B)          in respect of the Capital Programme 2021/22 to 2022/23:

 

(1)           the supplementary capital estimate of £12.750m for the Street Lighting Asset Project detailed in Section 17 of the report be approved; and

 

(2)           all of the remaining capital schemes as detailed in Section 17 of the report along with the full list of other projects in Appendix C of the report, be approved for inclusion within the Capital Programme.

 

 

Councillors Fairclough, Pugh, Brough and McCann each gave a statement expressing the views of their political groups on the content of the report and the budget proposals.

 

Following debate on the report, an amendment was moved by Councillor Pugh, seconded by Councillor Keith:

 

That the budget proposals set out in the report be amended by the addition of the following recommendation:

 

Gully Cleansing

 

Recognising

 

(1)      the many significant adjustments made in this budget due to Covid and other unexpected pressures 

(2)      the increasing risks of flooding caused by Climate Change

(3)      that in excess of 95% of the borough’s gullies are only cleared once a year

 

The Council allocates an additional 40K to fund additional gully cleansing in areas that have proved particularly susceptible to surface flooding to be funded at the discretion of Cabinet by the use of any of the following budget mechanisms or combination thereof

                                

(a)   reducing the £1.5M planned contribution to balances

 (b) reducing the provision for ICT contract inflation

 (c) increasing the vacancy management target

 (d) varying the contribution from the school closure fund

    

OR

 

 by any other means consistent with the Budget priorities laid out in Sec 11 of the     Council’s Agenda allowing an extra 7,500 gullies in flooding hotspots to be cleared more than once a year.  

  

Following debate and in accordance with Rule 97 of Chapter 4 in the Constitution, the voting on the Amendment was recorded and the Members of the Council present at the time, voted as follows:

 

FOR THE AMENDMENT:

 

Councillors Brodie-Browne, Brough, Dawson, Dodd, Evans, Gannon, Irving, Keith, Lewis, Morris, O’Hanlon, Pitt, Pugh, Pullin, Sathiy, Shaw, Lynne Thompson and Sir Ron Watson.

 

AGAINST THE AMENDMENT:

 

Councillors Atkinson, Blackburne, Bradshaw, Brennan, Byrom, Carr, Carragher, Cluskey, Cummins, Dowd, Doyle, Fairclough, Friel, Grace, Halsall, Hardy, Howard, John Kelly, John Joseph Kelly, Killen, Lappin, McCann, McGinnity, McKinley, Moncur, Murphy, Myers, O’Brien, Robinson, Roche, Roscoe, John Sayers, Yvonne Sayers, Spencer, Anne Thompson, Tweed, Viedman, Waterfield, Webster and The Mayor

 

The Mayor declared that the Amendment was lost by 18 votes to 40.

 

Following the vote on the amendment, a further amendment was moved by Councillor Pugh, seconded by Councillor Brodie-Browne:

 

Democratic Services

 

Recognising

 

(1)        the huge democratic deficit that exists in Sefton

 

(2)    the need in all parts of the borough to provide the opportunity for citizen to cross question their elected representatives on local schemes and provision, facilitating public scrutiny and input

 

 

The Council allocates a sum of 20K to Democratic Services to cover the part-year cost of reintroducing Area Committee to be funded at the discretion of Cabinet by the use of any of the following budget mechanisms or combination thereof

                                

  (a) reducing the £1.5M planned contribution to balances

  (b) reducing the provision for ICT contract inflation

  (c) increasing the vacancy management target

  (d) varying the contribution from the school closure fund

    

OR

 

by any other means consistent with the Budget priorities laid out in Sec 11 of the Council’s Agenda.

 

Following debate and in accordance with Rule 97 of Chapter 4 in the Constitution, the voting on the Amendment was recorded and the Members of the Council present at the time, voted as follows:

 

FOR THE AMENDMENT:

 

Councillors Brodie-Browne, Brough, Dawson, Dodd, Dutton, Evans, Irving, Keith, Lewis, Morris, O’Hanlon, Pitt, Pugh, Pullin, Sathiy, Shaw, Lynne Thompson and Sir Ron Watson.

 

AGAINST THE AMENDMENT:

 

Councillors Atkinson, Blackburne, Bradshaw, Brennan, Byrom, Carr, Carragher, Cluskey, Cummins, Dowd, Doyle, Fairclough, Friel, Gannon, Grace, Halsall, Hardy, Howard, John Kelly, John Joseph Kelly, Killen, Lappin, McCann, McGinnity, McKinley, Moncur, Murphy, Myers, O’Brien, Robinson, Roche, Roscoe, John Sayers, Yvonne Sayers, Spencer, Anne Thompson, Tweed, Viedman, Waterfield, Webster and The Mayor

 

The Mayor declared that the Amendment was lost by 18 votes to 41.

 

Following the vote on the above amendment, a further amendment was moved by Councillor Pugh, seconded by Councillor Lynne Thompson:

 

School Deficits

 

The Council 

 

(1)           notes that at the start of the global Covid pandemic accumulated revenue debts carried by hospitals were written off in order to enable the NHS to concentrate on dealing with the emergency

 

(2)           recognises that Sefton schools have also a difficult task ahead of them dealing with the consequences of Covid and prolonged lockdown

 

(3)           believes that parity of treatment should be extended to the Educational sector and that should be done through an upwards adjustment of the Dedicated Schools Grant for Sefton and for all Councils

 

(4)           agrees to write to the Secretary of State for Education and the Chancellor of the Exchequer requesting such a change. 

Following further debate with the agreement of Councillor Pugh, the Mover of the Amendment, it was unanimously

 

RESOLVED:

 

That the Amendment be withdrawn.

 

Following further debate and in accordancewith Rule 97 of Chapter 4 in the Constitution, the voting on the Motion was recorded and the Members of the Council present at the time, voted as follows:

 

FOR THE MOTION

 

Councillors Atkinson, Blackburne, Bradshaw, Brennan, Byrom, Carr, Carragher, Cluskey, Cummins, Dowd, Doyle, Fairclough, Friel, Gannon, Grace, Halsall, Hardy, Howard, John Kelly, John Joseph Kelly, Killen, Lappin,     McCann,  McGinnity, McKinley, Moncur, Murphy, Myers, O’Brien, O’Hanlon, Robinson, Roche, Roscoe, John Sayers, Yvonne Sayers, Spencer, Anne Thompson, Tweed, Viedman, Waterfield, Webster and The Mayor

 

AGAINST THE MOTION

 

Councillors Brodie-Browne, Brough, Dawson, Dodd, Evans, Irving, Keith, Lewis, Morris, Pitt, Pugh, Pullin, Sathiy, Shaw, Lynne Thompson and Sir Ron Watson.

The Mayor declared that the Motion was carried by 42 votes to 16 and it was

 

RESOLVED:           That:

 

(A)          in respect of the Budget 2021/22 and Medium-Term Financial Plan from 2022/23 to 2024/25:

 

(1)           the update of the Medium-Term Financial Plan for the period 2021/22 to 2024/25, be noted;

 

(2)           the Revenue Budget for 2021/22 and authorisation for officers to undertake all of the necessary actions to implement the budget changes and proposals as detailed within the report, be approved;

 

(3)           the continuation of the Framework for Change 2020 Programme (as described in Section 3) and agreement to the commencement of all appropriate activity as detailed, including for example, consultation with employees and engagement with partners and contractual changes as the programme develops, be approved;

(4)           the current levels of trade union facility time and associated arrangements for the whole period of the budget plan for 2021/22 – 2024/25, be approved;

(5)           it be noted that officers will comply with agreed HR policies and procedures including relevant consultation with Trade Unions and reports to the Cabinet Member Regulatory, Compliance and Corporate Services as required;

(6)           the Schools’ Forum decisions on the Dedicated Schools Grant and Individual School Budgets (Section 12), be noted;

(7)           the allocation of specific grants as detailed in the report (Section 13), be noted;

(8)           the overall Council Tax resolution for 2021/22 including Police, Fire, Mayoral and Parish Precepts, be approved;

 

(9)           it be noted that at its meeting on 21^st January 2021, the Council calculated the following amounts for the year 2021/2022 in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 1992 (as amended):

(a)	82,722.10	Band D equivalent properties, for the whole area [item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended]; and
(b)	for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish precept relates as shown in the table below:

 

Parish	Council Tax Base
	(Band D Equivalent Properties)
Aintree Village	2,017.80
Formby	9,010.70
Hightown	855.00
Ince Blundell	166.00
Little Altcar	327.20
Lydiate	2,028.60
Maghull	6,697.70
Melling	1,029.50
Sefton	247.50
Thornton	767.40

 

(10)    the Council Tax requirement for the Council's own purposes for 2021/2022 (excluding Parish Precepts) is £141,828,695.

 

(11)       the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2021/2022 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

 

 

 

(a)	£636,901,681	Being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils.
(b)	-£493,864,785	Being the aggregate amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.
(c)	£143,036,896	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 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year (item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act).
(d)	£1,729.13	Being the amount at 3(c) above (item R), divided by the amount at 1(a) above (item T), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish Precepts).
(e)	£1,208,201	Being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish Precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.
(f)	£1,714.52	Being the amount at 3(d) above, less the amount given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by the amount at 1(a) above (item T), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates.
(g)	The amounts below, being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 3(f) above the amounts of thespecial items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council's area mentioned above divided in eachcase by the amount at 1(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Actas basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which specialitems relate.
	Parish Aintree Village Formby Hightown Ince Blundell Little Altcar Lydiate Maghull Melling Sefton Thornton		£  1,790.44  1,724.48  1,735.57  1,728.98  1,724.48  1,800.44  1,821.16  1,749.54  1,754.92  1,723.64
(h)	The amounts below being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 3(f) and 3(g) above by thenumber which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in aparticular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listedin valuation Band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as theamounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in differentvaluation bands.
	Property Valuation Band Proportion of Band D A 6/9 B 7/9 C 8/9 D 9/9 E 11/9 F 13/9 G 15/9 H 18/9   £ £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Parish                                   Aintree Village 1,193.63 1,392.56 1,591.50 1,790.44 2,188.32 2,586.19 2,984.07 3,580.88                   Formby 1,149.65 1,341.26 1,532.87 1,724.48 2,107.70 2,490.92 2,874.13 3,448.96                   Hightown 1,157.05 1,349.89 1,542.73 1,735.57 2,121.25 2,506.93 2,892.62 3,471.14                   Ince Blundell 1,152.65 1,344.76 1,536.87 1,728.98 2,113.20 2,497.42 2,881.63 3,457.96                   Little Altcar 1,149.65 1,341.26 1,532.87 1,724.48 2,107.70 2,490.92 2,874.13 3,448.96                   Lydiate 1,200.29 1,400.34 1,600.39 1,800.44 2,200.54 2,600.64 3,000.73 3,600.88                   Maghull 1,214.11 1,416.46 1,618.81 1,821.16 2,225.86 2,630.56 3,035.27 3,642.32                   Melling 1,166.36 1,360.75 1,555.15 1,749.54 2,138.33 2,527.11 2,915.90 3,499.08                   Sefton 1,169.95 1,364.94 1,559.93 1,754.92 2,144.90 2,534.88 2,924.87 3,509.84                   Thornton 1,149.09 1,340.61 1,532.12 1,723.64 2,106.67 2,489.70 2,872.73 3,447.28                   All Other Parts of the Council's Area 1,143.01 1,333.52 1,524.02 1,714.52 2,095.52 2,476.53 2,857.53 3,429.04

(12)                   

Note that for the year 2021/2022 the major precepting authorities have stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

			Property Valuation Band
Proportion of	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
Band D	6/9	7/9	8/9	9/9	11/9	13/9	15/9	18/9
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Precepting Authority
Merseyside Fire & Rescue Authority	54.67	63.78	72.89	82.00	100.22	118.44	136.67	164.00
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner	151.31	176.53	201.75	226.97	277.41	327.85	378.28	453.94
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority	12.67	14.78	16.89	19.00	23.22	27.44	31.67	38.00

 

 

(13)                  the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the table below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2021/2022 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings; and

 

			Property Valuation Band
Proportion of	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
Band D	6/9	7/9	8/9	9/9	11/9	13/9	15/9	18/9
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
Parish
Aintree Village	1,412.28	1,647.65	1,883.03	2,118.41	2,589.17	3,059.92	3,530.69	4,236.82
Formby	1,368.30	1,596.35	1,824.40	2,052.45	2,508.55	2,964.65	3,420.75	4,104.90
Hightown	1,375.70	1,604.98	1,834.26	2,063.54	2,522.10	2,980.66	3,439.24	4,127.08
Ince Blundell	1,371.30	1,599.85	1,828.40	2,056.95	2,514.05	2,971.15	3,428.25	4,113.90
Little Altcar	1,368.30	1,596.35	1,824.40	2,052.45	2,508.55	2,964.65	3,420.75	4,104.90
Lydiate	1,418.94	1,655.43	1,891.92	2,128.41	2,601.39	3,074.37	3,547.35	4,256.82
Maghull	1,432.76	1,671.55	1,910.34	2,149.13	2,626.71	3,104.29	3,581.89	4,298.26
Melling	1,385.01	1,615.84	1,846.68	2,077.51	2,539.18	3,000.84	3,462.52	4,155.02
Sefton	1,388.60	1,620.03	1,851.46	2,082.89	2,545.75	3,008.61	3,471.49	4,165.78
Thornton	1,367.74	1,595.70	1,823.65	2,051.61	2,507.52	2,963.43	3,419.35	4,103.22
All Other Parts of the Council's Area	1,361.66	1,588.61	1,815.55	2,042.49	2,496.37	2,950.26	3,404.15	4,084.98

 

(14)                  the Council's basic amount of Council Tax for 2021/2022 is not deemed to be excessive in accordance with the principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992; and

 

 

(B)                         in respect of the Capital Programme 2021/22 to 2022/23

 

 

 

 

(1)               the supplementary capital estimate of £12.750m for the Street Lighting Asset Project detailed in Section 17 of the report be approved; and

 

(2)               all of the remaining capital schemes as detailed in Section 17 of the report along with the full list of other projects in Appendix C of the report, be approved for inclusion within the Capital Programme.