Issue - meetings

This report presents the 5 year capital programme budget for the period 2010/11 to 2014/15 including new capital schemes and appropriate funding arrangements, and asks Members to recommend it to Budget Council for approval.

Copies of this report will be sent to all Members.

RECOMMENDED:(i) That Council approve the revised capital programme of £235.191m (amended from £234.916m), including specifically the inclusion in the programme of new schemes totalling £89.065m, as set out in the ‘growth’ column in Annex B to the report, plus a further Street Lighting Improvement scheme of £0.250m and £0.025m for further investment in the targeted home insulation programme to continue the £0.100, scheme commenced during 2009/10; the whole programme comprising:

a)     the bids recommended in paragraph 70 (table 5), totalling £7.618m and including the allocation of receipts to Access York Phase 1;

b)     the additional externally funded schemes in paragraph 77 (table 8), totalling £72.860m;

c)      the use of prudential borrowing for the IT development plan in paragraph 79 (table 9), totalling £5.141 and containing specific schemes of £1.141, with the remaining £4m subject to further approval and for the capital element of the More for York programme as in paragraph 80, totalling £210k;

d)     the use of HRA balances to fund HRA capital schemes, as set out in paragraph 81 (table 10), totalling £3.236m;

e)     an additional scheme of Street Lighting Improvements of £250k, on an Invest to Save basis, with a view to achieving energy / carbon savings, the repayment period to be determined by the Director of Resources;

f)        an additional scheme of £25k to continue the existing area based programme for home insulation grants in designated areas with the lowest SAP ratings and the highest incidence of fuel poverty.

                        (ii)        That Council note the overall funding position identified in the report, which highlights a current shortfall in resources over the next five years, which the Council will need to address through increased revenue contributions in the medium term.

                        (iii)       That Council endorse the principle of postponing asset sales until such time as the market picks up sufficiently to allow optimum values to be realised.

                        (iv)       That Council approve the full re-stated programme as summarised in Annex B to the report and as amended by recommendation (i) above, totalling £235.191m up to 2014/15.

REASON:      To set a balanced capital programme, as required by the Local Government Act 2003.

Members considered a report which presented the current position of the 2009/10 – 2013/14 capital programme, highlighted the existing funding position and associated pressures, and examined the bids received as part of this year’s Capital Resource Allocation Model (CRAM) process.

The current approved programme for 2009-2013 amounted to £213.230m, financed by £87.029m of external funding and Council controlled resources of £126.201m.  The programme included three key elements – schemes fully funded by government departments, politically imperative schemes (mostly funded from corporate resources and including York Pools and the Administrative Accommodation project) and rolling programme schemes.  In terms of the funding position for the programme, the capital receipts target was the most challenging ever faced by the Council.  A detailed review of all approved asset sales had given a bottom line position of a £3.772m deficit over five years, due mainly to the current state of the property market.  Suggested measures to address this were set out in paragraphs 14 to 17.

A total of 59 bids had been received under the CRAM process, of which 40 were fully funded, 6 were rolling programme bids and 13 required additional discretionary resources.  The bids were detailed in paragraphs 21 to 65 of the report and summarised in Annex A.  Schemes recommended for approval were set out in paragraphs 70 (table 5) and 77 (table 8).  Proposed financing of the IT development plan and the More for York programme through prudential borrowing was outlined in paragraphs 78-80.

Members discussed and agreed some additions to the bids recommended for approval in the report.  They then

RECOMMENDED:(i) That Council approve the revised capital programme of £235.191m (amended from £234.916m), including specifically the inclusion in the programme of new schemes totalling £89.065m, as set out in the ‘growth’ column in Annex B to the report, plus a further Street Lighting Improvement scheme of £0.250m and £0.025m for further investment in the targeted home insulation programme to continue the £0.100m scheme commenced during 2009/10; the whole programme comprising:

a)     the bids recommended in paragraph 70 (table 5), totalling £7.618m and including the allocation of receipts to Access York Phase 1;

b)     the additional externally funded schemes in paragraph 77 (table 8), totalling £72.860m;

c)      the use of prudential borrowing for the IT development plan in paragraph 79 (table 9), totalling £5.141m and containing specific schemes of £1.141m, with the remaining £4m subject to further approval and for the capital element of the More for York programme as in paragraph 80, totalling £210k;

d)     the use of HRA balances to fund HRA capital schemes, as set out in paragraph 81 (table 10), totalling £3.236m;

e)     an additional scheme of Street Lighting Improvements of £250k, on an Invest to Save basis, with a view to achieving energy / carbon savings, the repayment period to be determined by the Director of Resources;

f)        an additional scheme of £25k to continue the existing area based programme for home insulation grants in designated areas with the lowest SAP ratings and the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 163