Agenda item

Report of Deputy Leader/Portfolio Holder for resources and Neighbourhood Regeneration

The decision is not subject to call-in as Councillor Brian Parbutt, Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee, has agreed that the decision is reasonable in all the circumstances and should be treated as a matter of urgency as the Treasury Management Strategy has to be approved at Full Council on 5 March 2018, and the report dispatch date is before the expiry of the call-in period.

The Deputy Leader/Portfolio Holder for Resources and Neighbourhood Regeneration presented the Medium Term Financial Plan, comprising the revenue and capital programme of both the General Fund and the Housing Revenue Account (HRA).

RESOLVED

(1)  in relation to the 2017/18 Forecast Outturn (at Appendix 1 to the report):

(a) to note the current forecast outturn for the 2017/18 General Fund and HRA revenue budgets and capital programmes;

(b) to endorse the allocations from Contingency as set out in Table 3;

(c) to approve the budget virements and reserve movements set out in Table 4 and Appendices B and C;

(2)  in relation to the MTFP 2018/19 – 2020/21 revenue element (at Appendix 2 to the report):

(a) to note the General Fund revenue aspects of the MTFP;

(b) to note, endorse and release phase one updated, phase two and Targeted Intervention consultation proposals as set out in Tables 9 & 10 and detailed within Appendices A & B of the report for formal public consultation;

(c) to note, endorse and recommend to City Council:

i. the General Fund net budget requirement for 2018/19 of £246.363m including the net movement in earmarked reserves as set out in Table 5;

ii. A basic amount of Council Tax level (Band D) of £1,688.45 that will raise a total of £110.406m (an increase of 5.99% consisting of 2.99% basic increase and 3.00% Adult Social Care Precept);

iii. Delegated authority to the appropriate Director to implement all proposals after undertaking necessary consultation;

(3)  in relation to the MTFP 2018/19 – 2022/23 Capital programme element at Appendix 3 to the report, to note, endorse and recommend to City Council:

(a) the Capital Programme as detailed in Appendix D;

(b) the additional key principle for the governance and management of the capital programme as set out in Section 5 and Section 8;

(c) the extension of the rolling programmes as set out in revised General Fund Capital Programme Table 3;

(d) the revised Local Transport Programme as set out in Appendix C;

(4)  in relation to MTFP 2018/19 – 2020/21 HRA Element at Annex 4 to the report:

(a) to note the following changes that impact on the HRA’s financial sustainability include:

(i) reduction of social housing rents by 1% for four years from April 2016;

(ii) implementation of Universal Credit in October 2018;

(iii) addition of fire safety works to Public Sector Housing Capital Programme;

(b) to approve the:

(i) proposed rent decrease of 1.0% for 2018/19;

(ii) continuation of the tenant incentive scheme of up to £100 per annum;

(iii) a proposed increase in general services charges of 2.9%;

(iv) proposed increase to estate & block maintenance service charges £0.97 and £0.47/week respectively;

(v) a working balance of £7.727m to provide for the effects of Universal Credit;

(vi) delegation of authority to Nottingham City Homes (NCH) to award capital contracts up to the value of the scheme/programme as set out in Appendix B of Annex of Annex 4 of the report;

(c) to note, endorse and recommend to City Council the 2018/19 HRA budget;

(5)  in relation to the robustness of the Budget at Annex 5 to the report, to note and endorse the recommendations of the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) in respect of the robustness of the estimates within the budget and the adequacy of reserves;

(6)  in relation to the Budget Consultation 2018/19 at Annex 6 to the report, to note the outcomes of the budget consultation and communication;

(7)  to delegate authority to the Director of Strategic Finance, in consultation with the Deputy Leader, to finalise the MTFP for publication following approval of the relevant elements of the budget by City Council.

Reasons for decisions

To enable Executive Board to approve rent reductions and make recommendations to

City Council for consideration on 5 March 2018 when they meet to set the budget and council tax for 2018/19.

Other options considered

Throughout the budget process, a large number of individual cost reduction,

income and investment options are considered. These in turn impact on the level of reserves. This is a complex process with many iterations and possibilities too numerous to present as discrete options. This presented the final overall package of detailed proposals which together sought to balance levels of investment, cost reduction and an appropriate level of income.