Agenda item

In accordance with The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, all local authorities must record in their minutes how each Councillor voted (or abstained from voting) on the question of Budget and Council tax setting at the ‘Budget Decision Meeting’ of the Council. This rule will therefore apply and a recorded vote will be taken on this item.

To consider report C/21/12 which presents the Executive’s proposed revenue budget; capital programmes and the Programme for Growth for 2022-23.

The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources provided a presentation on the Executive’s proposed revenue budget, capital programmes and the Programme for Growth for 2022/23. The proposed budget also set out recommendations for formal Council Tax setting. The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources also drew Members’ attention to the update note which had been circulated concerning the Selby Gateway Project.

The key elements of the presentation were as follows:

·         This would be the last budge for Selby District Council before the new North Yorkshire unitary authority was established next year. The aim was to deliver on the Council Plan and support a smooth transition to the new Council.

·         There continued to be challenges on the delivery of the Council plans due to Covid-19, capacity issues, inflation, supply chain and other market issues.

·         The proposed budget delivered the necessary financial investment to meet the Council’s stated priorities, balanced the investment of cash windfalls with future financial sustainability, and allocated resources and reserves to support financial resilience and manage risk as the transition continue to the new unitary authority.

·         Savings would be delayed to 2024/25 which would be post Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).

·         The General Fund (GF) had a net revenue budget of £22.6m with a precept of just over £6m.It was noted that due to the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 and LGR, the budget included substantial contingencies.

·         It was proposed that there would be a freeze in the Band D charge for Council Tax which meant it would remain ay £183.22 for 2022/23. Additionally, Members were informed that the tax base had show a 2.19% growth.

·         The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) had a net revenue budget of £8.3m with a surplus of £4.3 for major repairs. It was noted that the Executive had previously approved a 4.1% increase in Council rents.

·         Some of the budget risks included ongoing impacts of Covid-19 on services such as leisure, the new Government funding formula in development and a review of the New Homes Bonus.

·         There was significant service investment planned for the next three years in the GF and HRA Capital Programmes and the Programmes for Growth.

A query was raised whether the forthcoming call-in consideration of the proposed funding for leisure services had an impact on how the budget was considered. The Lead Executive Member for Finance and Resources explained that a contingency amount had been included in the budget therefore it would not preclude the decision on the budget.

In line with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, the Chairman explained that a recorded vote needed be taken on the proposals which had been put forward, as outlined in the report.

The voting for the proposals was as follows:

For the proposal: 26

Councillors K Arthur, G Ashton, D Brook, D Buckle, J Cattanach, I Chilvers, J Chilvers, M Crane, S Duckett, K Ellis, K Franks, T Grogan, M Jordan, C Lunn, D Mackay, J Mackman, R Musgrave, W Nichols, B Packham, C Pearson, N Reader, C Richardson, J Shaw-Wright, S Shaw-Wright, R Sweeting and P Welch

Against the proposal: 0

RESOLVED:

i)     To approve the revenue budgets, savings, capital programme and programme for Growth at Appendices A to E;

ii)    To approve that Council Tax be frozen at £183.22 for a Band D property for 2022/23;

iii)  To approve the formal Council Tax resolution set out in Appendix I;

iv)  To approve the revised income bands for the Council Tax Support Scheme 22/23 as laid out in points 2.11 and 2.12 of the report.

REASON FOR DECISION:

To enable the Council to set its budget and Council Tax and agree revisions to the Council Tax Support Scheme for the coming financial year.