Agenda item

Report of the Chief Executive and Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services

Further to Minute No. 133 of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 8 February 2024, the Council considered the report of the Executive Director of Corporate Resources and Customer Services that set out:

 

·       An assessment of the Council’s current financial position and approach to the 2024/25 Budget Plan and preparation for the additional two-year budget period 2025/26 to 2026/27.

·       An update on the Government’s announcement of resources that are available to the Council for 2024/25.

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

·       The proposed Budget for 2024/25; and,

·       The proposed Capital Programme for 2024/25 to 2026/27.

 

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

 

The following appendices were attached to the report:

 

·       Individual School Budgets 2024/25

·       Budget Saving Proposals

·       Draft Council Budget Summary 2024/25

·       Capital Programme 2024/25 – 2026/27

 

The Council also considered supplementary notes on the final charges set by levying bodies and the final demands set by all precepting authorities (including parishes) and a copy of the draft Council Tax resolution for 2024/25, which had been published prior to the Council meeting.

 

It was moved by Councillor Atkinson, seconded by Councillor Fairclough:

 

That:

 

Budget 2024/25 and Medium-Term Financial Plan from 2025/26 to 2026/27

 

(1)      the update of the Medium-Term Financial Plan for the period 2024/25 to 2026/27 be noted;

 

(2)      the Revenue Budget for 2024/25 be approved, and officers be authorised to undertake all of the necessary actions to implement the budget changes and proposals as detailed within the report;

 

(3)      the release of the Environmental Warranty Earmarked Reserve and the transfer of the amount released to General Balances, as set out at Section 9 of the report, be approved;

 

(4)      the commencement of all appropriate activity required to implement the budget savings proposals as detailed in the report, including for example, consultation with employees and engagement with partners and contractual changes as the programme develops, 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 & Corporate Services) as required.

 

(6)      the Schools’ Forum decisions on the Dedicated Schools Grant and Individual School Budgets, as set out at Section 12 of the report, be noted;

 

(7)      the allocation of specific grants as detailed in the report, as set out at Section 13, be approved;

 

(8)      subject to the recommendations above, the overall Council Tax resolution for 2024/25 including Police, Fire, Mayoral and Parish Precepts, be approved;

 

Capital Programme 2024/25 to 2026/27

 

(9)      the full list of projects in Appendix D to the report be approved for inclusion within the Capital Programme;

 

(10)    a supplementary capital estimate for £7.387m for the Corporate Essential Maintenance Programme Phase 2 funded by capital receipts, as set out at Section 17 of the report, be approved;

 

(11)    a supplementary capital estimate for £1.865m for Green Sefton Equipment and Machinery funded by prudential borrowing, as set out at Section 17 of the report, be approved; and

 

(12)    a supplementary capital estimate for £0.400m for the ICT Data Centre Move, funded by capital receipts, be approved.

 

Councillors Pugh, Prendergast, and Atkinson 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 Lloyd-Johnson:

 

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

 

SOUTHPORT PIER REFURBISHMENT

 

Council, on 15^th September 2022, approved a Supplementary Capital Estimate of £3m, funded through Prudential Borrowing, for a scheme to replace the decking of Southport Pier.

 

A subsequent report to Cabinet in June 2023 highlighted that more extensive work would be required and that costs of the scheme could exceed an additional £10m.  It was agreed that engagement would take place with partners to secure additional funding to complete the scheme, as well as ongoing maintenance costs.

 

Southport Pier is a critical visitor attraction that holds significant importance to Sefton’s economy and brand. It is also a Grade-II listed structure.  The Pier has now been closed since December 2022.

 

It is proposed that the Council allocates a further £2m to the scheme, funded by Prudential Borrowing, which would cost £0.140m per year in additional borrowing costs.

 

This will be funded by the following currently vacant posts being deleted from the Council’s staffing establishment:

 

Economic Growth & Housing	Housing Standards	Compliance Officer
Highways and Public Protection	Transport and Highways Infrastructure	Senior Engineer Development Control
Operational In-House Services	Green Sefton	FCERM Risk Management Officer (0.2)
Operational In-House Services	Green Sefton	Information & Technical Assistant

 

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, Dodd, Evans, Keith, Lloyd-Johnson, Prendergast, Pugh, Riley, Shaw, Lynne Thompson and Sir Ron Watson.

 

AGAINST THE AMENDMENT: Councillors Atkinson, Bradshaw, Danny Burns, Byrom, Carlin, Carragher, Cluskey, Corcoran, Cummins, Desmond, Dowd, Doyle, Fairclough, Grace, Hansen, Hardman, Hardy, Harrison Kelly, Hart, Harvey, Howard, John Kelly, John Joseph Kelly, Sonya Kelly, Killen, Lappin, Lunn-Bates, Ian Maher, McKee, Moncur, Murphy, Myers, O’Brien, Catie Page, Christopher Page, Richards, Robinson, Roche, Roscoe, Spencer, Spring, Thomas, Tweed, Veidman, Waterfield, Webster and the Mayor.

 

The Mayor declared that the Amendment was lost by 12 votes to 47.

 

In accordance with 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, Bradshaw, Danny Burns, Byrom, Carlin, Carragher, Cluskey, Corcoran, Cummins, Desmond, Dowd, Doyle, Fairclough, Grace, Hansen, Hardman, Hardy, Harrison Kelly, Hart, Harvey, Howard, John Kelly, John Joseph Kelly, Sonya Kelly, Killen, Lappin, Lunn-Bates, Ian Maher, McKee, Moncur, Murphy, Myers, O’Brien, Catie Page, Christopher Page, Richards, Robinson, Roche, Roscoe, Spencer, Spring, Thomas, Tweed, Veidman, Waterfield, Webster and the Mayor.

 

AGAINST THE MOTION: Councillors Brodie-Browne, Brough, Dodd, Evans, Keith, Lloyd-Johnson, Prendergast, Pugh, Riley, Shaw, Lynne Thompson and Sir Ron Watson.

 

The Mayor declared that the Motion was carried by 47 votes to 12 and it was

 

RESOLVED: That:

 

Budget 2024/25 and Medium-Term Financial Plan from 2025/26 to 2026/27

 

(1)      the update of the Medium-Term Financial Plan for the period 2024/25 to 2026/27 be noted;

 

(2)      the Revenue Budget for 2024/25 be approved, and officers be authorised to undertake all of the necessary actions to implement the budget changes and proposals as detailed within the report;

 

(3)      the release of the Environmental Warranty Earmarked Reserve and the transfer of the amount released to General Balances, as set out at Section 9 of the report, be approved;

 

(4)      the commencement of all appropriate activity required to implement the budget savings proposals as detailed in the report, including for example, consultation with employees and engagement with partners and contractual changes as the programme develops, 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 & Corporate Services) as required.

 

(6)      the Schools’ Forum decisions on the Dedicated Schools Grant and Individual School Budgets, as set out at Section 12 of the report, be noted;

 

(7)      the allocation of specific grants as detailed in the report, as set out at Section 13, be approved;

 

(8)      the overall Council Tax resolution for 2024/25 including Police, Fire, Mayoral and Parish Precepts, be approved;

 

(9)      it be noted that at its meeting on 18 January 2024, the Council calculated the following amounts for the year 2024/2025 in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 1992 (as amended):

 

(a)

86,458.90

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	2,079.90
Formby	9,222.30
Hightown	874.00
Ince Blundell	174.00
Little Altcar	450.50
Lydiate	2,110.20
Maghull	6,920.9
Melling	1,118.20
Sefton	327.60
Thornton	772.50

 

(10)         the Council Tax requirement for the Council's own purposes for 2024/2025 (excluding Parish Precepts) is £168,284,468;

 

(11)    the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2024/2025 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

 

(a)	£726,174,566	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)	-£556,415,925	Being the aggregate amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.
(c)	£169,758,641	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)	£1,963.46	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)	£1,474,173	Being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish Precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.
(f)	£1,946.41	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 the special items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council's area mentioned above divided in each case by the amount at 1(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act as basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which special items relate.
	Parish Aintree Village Formby Hightown Ince Blundell Little Altcar Lydiate Maghull Melling Sefton Thornton		£  2,030.32  1,959.00  1,975.01  1,963.65  1,959.00  2,054.03  2,070.11  1,981.87  1,992.20  1,961.94
(h)	The amounts below being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 3(f) and 3(g) 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.
	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 1,353.55 1,579.14 1,804.73 2,030.32 2,481.50 2,932.68 3,383.87 4,060.64                   Formby 1,306.00 1,523.67 1,741.33 1,959.00 2,394.33 2,829.67 3,265.00 3,918.00                   Hightown 1,316.67 1,536.12 1,755.56 1,975.01 2,413.90 2,852.79 3,291.68 3,950.02                   Ince Blundell 1,309.10 1,527.28 1,745.47 1,963.65 2,400.02 2,836.38 3,272.75 3,927.30                   Little Altcar 1,306.00 1,523.67 1,741.33 1,959.00 2,394.33 2,829.67 3,265.00 3,918.00                   Lydiate 1,369.35 1,597.58 1,825.80 2,054.03 2,510.48 2,966.93 3,423.38 4,108.06                   Maghull 1,380.07 1,610.09 1,840.10 2,070.11 2,530.13 2,990.16 3,450.18 4,140.22                   Melling 1,321.25 1,541.45 1,761.66 1,981.87 2,422.29 2,862.70 3,303.12 3,963.74                   Sefton 1,328.13 1,549.49 1,770.84 1,992.20 2,434.91 2,877.62 3,320.33 3,984.40                   Thornton 1,307.96 1,525.95 1,743.95 1,961.94 2,397.93 2,833.91 3,269.90 3,923.88                   All Other Parts of the Council's Area 1,297.61 1,513.87 1,730.14 1,946.41 2,378.95 2,811.48 3,244.02 3,892.82

 

(12)    it be noted that for the year 2024/2025 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	60.83	70.97	81.11	91.25	111.53	131.81	152.08	182.50
Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner	176.65	206.09	235.53	264.97	323.85	382.73	441.62	529.94
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 2024/2025 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings:

 

			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	1,603.70	1,870.98	2,138.26	2,405.54	2,940.10	3,474.66	4,009.24	4,811.08
Formby	1,556.15	1,815.51	2,074.86	2,334.22	2,852.93	3,371.65	3,890.37	4,668.44
Hightown	1,566.82	1,827.96	2,089.09	2,350.23	2,872.50	3,394.77	3,917.05	4,700.46
Ince Blundell	1,559.25	1,819.12	2,079.00	2,338.87	2,858.62	3,378.36	3,898.12	4,677.74
Little Altcar	1,556.15	1,815.51	2,074.86	2,334.22	2,852.93	3,371.65	3,890.37	4,668.44
Lydiate	1,619.50	1,889.42	2,159.33	2,429.25	2,969.08	3,508.91	4,048.75	4,858.50
Maghull	1,630.22	1,901.93	2,173.63	2,445.33	2,988.73	3,532.14	4,075.55	4,890.66
Melling	1,571.40	1,833.29	2,095.19	2,357.09	2,880.89	3,404.68	3,928.49	4,714.18
Sefton	1,578.28	1,841.33	2,104.37	2,367.42	2,893.51	3,419.60	3,945.70	4,734.84
Thornton	1,558.11	1,817.79	2,077.48	2,337.16	2,856.53	3,375.89	3,895.27	4,674.32
All Other Parts of the Council's Area	1,547.76	1,805.71	2,063.67	2,321.63	2,837.55	3,353.46	3,869.39	4,643.26

 

(14)    the Council's basic amount of Council Tax for 2024/2025 is not deemed to be excessive in accordance with the principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992;

 

Capital Programme 2024/25 to 2026/27

 

(15)    the full list of projects in Appendix D to the report be approved for inclusion within the Capital Programme;

 

(16)    a supplementary capital estimate for £7.387m for the Corporate Essential Maintenance Programme Phase 2 funded by capital receipts, as set out at Section 17 of the report, be approved;

 

(17)    a supplementary capital estimate for £1.865m for Green Sefton Equipment and Machinery funded by prudential borrowing, as set out at Section 17 of the report, be approved; and

 

(18)    a supplementary capital estimate for £0.400m for the ICT Data Centre Move, funded by capital receipts, be approved.