Issue - meetings

To consider the Medium Term Financial Plan.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the emerging draft Medium Term Financial Plan to 2022/23, as set out Report Item 8 to the Cabinet, be approved to form the basis of the Council’s 2019/20 General fund Budget to be reported in February 2019; and

(b)       That, subject to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel supporting the Asset Maintenance and Replacement Programme for 2019/20, the commencement of the initial preparatory works be approved.

The Cabinet considered the latest projections for the Council’s financial position to the year 2022/23. 

Prior to the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, the Prime Minister had already made 2 key announcements that affected the Council’s finances, removing the borrowing cap on local authority Housing Revenue Accounts and suggesting that times of austerity were over.  The Autumn Statement had not however included any measures that would assist District Councils.

Members were advised that the provisional financial settlement for 2019/20 should be announced on 6 December 2018.  The Medium Term Plan currently made the assumption that negative support grant of £612,000 would apply in 2019/20, but it was hoped that the Treasury would respond to the pressure from local government to improve this position.  With the provisional financial settlement the Council should also hear if the bid for the Hampshire Wide Business Rates pilot had been successful.  Any benefits arising from the success of that bid would be included in the next Medium Term Plan.

The 3 yearly actuarial review of the Hampshire Pension Fund would take place in 2019/20.   For the period 2017/18 - 2020/21 the Council’s employee contributions were increasing by 1% per annum.  Current financial indications suggested that future increases would not be necessary, or at least of a much lesser degree.

Since August the budget deficit position for 2019/20 had been reduced to £109,000, as set out in Table 2 to Report item 8 to the Cabinet.  The projected budget shortfall over the period to 2022/23 had also improved, having reduced from £1.35 million to £1.136 million. It was proposed to further eliminate this budget gap through savings from the review of the delivery of Leisure and the generation of additional commercial and residential property income.  Any shortfall would be met from reserves, to maintain flexibility to develop further plans.    Further details were set out in Appendix 1 to Report item 8 to the Cabinet.

Members were updated on the ICT investment and asset maintenance and replacement programmes.  Members were requested to approve the overall asset management and replacement programme budget in advance of consideration of the full programme by the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel, to allow initial preparatory works to begin.  Members were also advised of the projected use of General Fund reserves in 2018/19.  The annual review of the Housing Revenue Account business plan would be considered in February 2019.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the emerging draft Medium Term Financial Plan to 2022/23, as set out Report Item 8 to the Cabinet, be approved to form the basis of the Council’s 2019/20 General Fund Budget to be reported in February 2019; and

(b)       That, subject to the Corporate Overview and Scrutiny Panel supporting the Asset Maintenance and Replacement Programme for 2019/20, the commencement of the initial preparatory works be approved.