Agenda item

To consider the report of the head of finance.

The committee considered the head of finance’s report.  This brought together all relevant information to allow Cabinet to recommend to Council a revenue budget for 2019/20 and a capital programme for 2019/20 to 2023/24.   The report also recommended the prudential indicators to be set by the Council in accordance with ‘the Prudential Code’, introduced as part of the Local Government Act 2003 and included the Medium Term Financial Plan (MFTP), which provided details of the forward budget model for the next five years. 

William Jacobs, head of finance, introduced the report. Also present to answer questions were Councillor Robert Sharp, the Cabinet member for finance, Mark Stone, chief executive, Simon Hewings, strategic finance manager, and Richard Spraggett, senior finance business partner.

The report highlighted the uncertainty regarding future funding due to, amongst other things:

·         whilst 2019/20 was the final year of the New Homes Bonus (NHB) scheme in its current form, it was not yet known what income would be receivable in future under a revised NHB scheme or a replacement scheme,

·         future funding received from the retained business rates scheme would depend upon the outcome of the Government’s “Fair Funding” review of local government funding.

The Government was currently consulting on the “Fair Funding” review and would be consulting on a replacement NHB scheme in due course.

Members expressed concern that the use of reserves to balance the MFTP was not sustainable beyond the medium term. In response the head of finance reported that the council had commissioned the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) to support it in challenging the budget, which had resulted in approximately £500,000 base budget reductions being identified. These savings did not affect frontline service delivery.

RESOLVED: to note the report