Agenda item - Financial Strategy 2011-2017

This report presents the Financial Strategy for 2011-2017, including the detailed Revenue Budget proposals for 2011/12, and asks Members to recommend to Council approval of the budget proposals as outlined in the report and set out in detail within the financial strategy.

A copy of this report will be sent to all Members.

RESOLVED: (i) That the Equalities Impact Assessment on the budget be noted.

(ii) That priority be given to growth expected to have a positive effect on older and younger people who are disabled, and their carers.

(iii) That the savings expected to have a negative effect on the groups mentioned above be noted.

(iv) That, regarding increases in fees and charges, particularly in adult social care, Officers be asked to make appropriate provision for people from the groups above, especially those who have limited financial means.

(v) That, in cases where service provision is passed on to independent providers, Officers be asked to ensure that contractual agreements ensure that people from the groups above receive the same level of service as before, or better.

(vi) That, having considered:

a. Expenditure pressures facing the Council in 2011/12, as detailed at Annex 1, including the loss of departmental grant income;

b. The impacts in 2011/12 of the growth requirements and savings proposals outlined in Annexes 3 and 4;

c. Medium term financial factors facing the Council, as outlined in the report;

d. The level of reserves projected to be held at 31 March 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017 (Annex B);

e. The significant future pressures identified;

f. The statutory advice from the Director of Customer and Business Support Services;

g. The need to ensure that any adjustments to these proposals are self-balancing within the requirements laid down by the Director of Customer and Business Support Services, as the Council’s responsible financial officer;

It be

RECOMMENDED:That Council approve the budget proposals outlined in the report of the Director of Customer and Business Support Services and set out in detail within the financial strategy, in particular:

(i) the net revenue expenditure requirement for 2011/12 of £125,728k (£123,900k after deducting the grant assistance to keep the council tax rise to zero), as set out in Annex 1;

(ii) the housing revenue account proposals outlined in Annex 6;

(iii) the dedicated schools grant proposals outlined in the report;

(iv) the revenue growth proposals of £9,394k on-going for 2011/12, plus one-off growth of £442k, outlined in Annex 3, subject to the following amendments:

a)reduce growth proposals by £301k as follows:

· CORG04 - Corporate contingency reduce from £400k to £99k

b)include new growth proposals totalling £824k as follows:

· one-off investment in highways maintenance of £657k to be funded from reserves

· Winter maintenance budget for ward committees in the sum of £40k

· Jobs fighting fund in the sum of £98k

· Revenue impact of capital programme amendment for street lighting in the sum of £5k

· Revenue impact of capital programme amendment for photovoltaic scheme in the sum of £9k

· Revenue impact of capital programme amendment for highways maintenance in the sum of £15k

resulting in revised figures of £9,260k for ongoing growth in 2011/12, plus one-off growth of £1,099k;

(v)the revenue savings proposals of £21,170k for 2011/12 outlined in Annex 4, subject to the following amendments;

a)reduce saving proposals by £100k as follows:

· ACES12 - reduce saving for review of young people’s service from £200k to £100k to help sustain the Urbie bus, skatepark and Duke of Edinburgh schemes.

b)reject savings proposals totalling £34k as follows:

· CSTS43 / SCTED04 Welcome to Yorkshire in the sum of £34k

resulting in a revised figure of £21,036k;

(vi) use of prior year collection fund surplus of £1,000k;

(vii) in terms of the Council’s reserves, the use in 2011/12 of £657k from general reserves for highways maintenance.

(viii) note the medium term financial strategy projections that indicate the need for savings/efficiencies in future years of £10m per annum,

REASON: In order to set a balanced budget, taking into account the priorities and considerations identified by the Executive.

Members considered a report which presented the Financial Strategy for 2011-2017, including the detailed Revenue Budget proposals for 2011/12, and asked them to recommend the proposals to Council.

The report presented a balanced budget for 2011/12, key features of which included:

Transfer of £14,404k grant income from service specific and area based grants into formula grant calculations
Removal of direct service grant funding amounting to £5,729k, supported by savings proposals

Revenue investment of £9,836k

A net revenue budget of £123,900k
Funding for pupil-led aspects of education (primarily schools) of £107,076k, to be met by the Dedicated Schools Grant.

The latest estimate of the budget position for 2011/12 was set out in Annex 1 to the report. Annex 2 summarised the same information on a directorate basis. The corporate, priority investment and directorate spending pressures, including recommended revenue growth proposals of £9,836k, were outlined in Annex 3. Revenue savings proposals, totalling £21,170k for 2011/12, were set out in Annex 4. If accepted, the recommended income and expenditure proposals would result in a zero per cent increase in the City of York element of the council tax.

Executive Members responded individually to issues within their own portfolio areas and responded to the comments made under Public Participation / Other Speakers. Reference was made to the Equalities Impact Assessment (EIA) produced on the budget, which had been circulated to Members and Officers. The EIA has since been published on-line as an additional annex to the report. It was then: