Agenda and minutes

Venue: Meeting Room 1, Abbey House, Abbey Close, Abingdon, OX14 3JE

Contact: Steve Culliford, Democratic Services Email:  steve.culliford@southandvale.gov.uk 

Items
No. Item

55.

Apologies for absence

To record apologies for absence. 

Minutes:

Councillors Andy Crawford and Neil Fawcett had sent their apologies for absence. 

56.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 200 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 10 November 2023.  

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to adopt as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 10 November 2023 and agree that the chair signs them as such. 

57.

Declarations of interests

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, other registrable interests and non-registrable interests or any conflicts of interest in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.

Minutes:

None

58.

Urgent business and chair's announcements

To receive notification of any matters which the chair determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chair.

Minutes:

None

59.

Public participation

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. 

Minutes:

None

60.

Recommendations and updates from other committees

To consider any recommendations to Cabinet from other committees. 

Minutes:

Cabinet noted updates from the Scrutiny Committee, the Joint Scrutiny Committee, and the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee. 

 

Councillor Hayleigh Gascoigne, chair of the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee, asked if the Cabinet member for environmental services and waste could provide an update after the Cabinet meeting on the previously proposed maintenance depot at Great Western Park and if there were any plans going forward.  The committee was unable to make a recommendation to Cabinet without the facts. 

61.

Corporate Performance Report and the Climate Action Plan Performance Report - Quarter 2, 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 17 MB

To consider the head of policy and programmes’ report. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the corporate performance report and climate action plan performance report for quarter 2, 2023/24. 

 

Cabinet welcomed the reports, which highlighted the council’s achievements and the matters where further work was required.  This provided evidence of the council’s work.  Overall, the council was ahead of schedule against its corporate plan objectives; members were proud of this.  Officers were thanked for their work in compiling the reports.  Members and officers were working on the next corporate plan to set more measurable targets and to introduce shorter performance reports. 

 

RESOLVED: to note the Corporate Performance Report and Climate Action Plan Performance Report for quarter 2, 2023/24. 

62.

Budget Monitoring - quarter 2 2023/24 pdf icon PDF 240 KB

To receive an update from the head of finance. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the head of finance’s report, being the budget monitoring report for April to September 2023. 

 

Cabinet noted that there was a forecasted overspend at the financial year end of £1.2 million, but estimated increases in treasury income should largely offset this.  This showed that the council’s finances were stable. 

 

RESOLVED to note the Budget Monitoring Report for April to September 2023. 

63.

Budget setting 2024/25 pdf icon PDF 218 KB

To consider the head of finance's report. 

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the head of finance’s report, being the budget setting update report for 2024/25. 

 

The report set out the starting position for the council to set its 2024/25 budget.  There would be inflationary pressures but there was likely to be treasury income from high interest rates.  The government had published its draft settlement figure for the Vale at an increase of 3.81 per cent, although there was no clarity for later years.  This left uncertainty in compiling the medium term financial plan, which covered the next five years.  A revenue and capital budget challenge was underway, to analyse the draft figures in detail before Cabinet would be required to recommend its draft budget to Council in February 2024. 

 

Cabinet noted that the council would be limited to increasing its council tax by £5 per Band D property in 2024/25; any further increase would require a referendum.  As for business rates, the council could only retain a small proportion of the total collected, the remainder being retained by the government and distributed to other councils.  Members asked that the mechanics of business rates’ retention was more widely publicised. 

 

Members also asked that the council’s low cost per resident was more widely communicated.  The council was efficient in providing its services for low cost compared to some other councils. 

 

Members thanked the officer for his report. 

 

RESOLVED to note the budget setting report 2024/25. 

 

Contact us - Democratic services

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01235 422520
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Vale of White Horse District Council
Abbey House, Abbey Close,
Abingdon
OX14 3JE