Issue - meetings

To consider the development of the Medium Term Financial Plan for the period 2016 to 2010 and the annual budget for 2016/2017.

RESOLVED:

That the emerging draft Medium Term Financial Plan 2016 to 2020, as set out in report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be approved to form the basis of the Council’s 2016/17 General Fund budget, to be reported to the Cabinet on 3 February 2016.

The Cabinet considered the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan in the light of the Government’s provisional local government finance settlement for 2016/17.  In addition to the settlement for 2016/17 the Council had been given an indication of the likely funding from Government until 2020.

The settlement for 2016/17, at £8.519 million, represented a reduction of 9.8% compared to the 2015/16 settlement, and was £554,000 less than the financial projections that had been reported to the Cabinet on 7 October 2015 (Minute 26 refers).  The projected reduction by 2020 was 42.3% against the settlement for 2015/16.

There was also a significant change in Government policy with the withdrawal of the Council Tax Freeze Grant so that local authorities were no longer financially supported to freeze Council Tax.  The Council Tax referendum limit remained at 2%.

It was projected that there would be further reductions in the funding that would be available to the Council in the short and medium terms through a lower than expected increase in the business rates multiplier; reduced Revenue Support Grant and New Homes Bonus payments; together with the introduction of a supplementary business rates tariff in 2019/20.

The cumulative effect was that the total funding available in 2016/17 would be £19.723 million, a reduction of £734,000 against the funding available in 2015/16.   A number of additional budget requirements had also been identified, as set out in Appendix 2 to the report considered by the Cabinet.  A number of actions had already been taken to close the budget gap, and this process would continue to ensure that the residual identified gap of £483,000 would be closed before the budget for 2016/17 was finalised in February.

RESOLVED:

That the emerging draft Medium Term Financial Plan 2016 to 2020, as set out in report Item 4 considered by the Cabinet, be approved to form the basis of the Council’s 2016/17 General Fund budget, to be reported to the Cabinet on 3 February 2016.