Agenda item

To consider the recommendations made by the Executive, at their meeting on 15 February 2011, in relation to:

 

a)                   the Council’s Capital Programme Budget for 2011/12 – 2015/16

b)                   the Council’s Revenue Budget proposals for 2011/12 and

c)                    the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Prudential Indicators for 2011/12-2015/16

 

These recommendations are set out in the attached report and will be moved by the Executive Leader.

 

Note:

The original reports to Executive, on which their recommendations are based, were circulated to all Members on 4 February 2011 and can be found on the Council’s website, here:

 

http://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=102&MId=5505&Ver=4

Executive Recommendations

 

Cllr Waller moved, and Cllr Runciman seconded, the recommendations of the Executive in respect of the Council’s Capital Programme Budget for 2011/12-2015/16, Financial Strategy for 2011-2017 (including detailed Revenue Budget proposals for 2011/12) and Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Prudential Indicators for 2011/12-2015/16, set out in the report at page 3 of the Council papers, as follows:

 

“Capital Budget

15. The Executive recommends that Council:

(i)            agree to the revised capital programme of £175.318m, that reflects a net overall increase of £18.891m (as set out in the ‘growth’ column of Annex A with the amendments totalling £2.616m set out in (d) and (e) below).  Key elements of this include;

a)      the bids recommended in paragraph 114 (table 5) totalling £7.205m, subject to the following amendment:

·        the timing of Yearsley Pool energy solution moved to 2012/13 from 2011/12 to permit thorough investigation of necessity and appropriate technology

b)   the schemes funded form external resources in paragraph 122 (table 8) totalling £3.629m

c)     the revised prudential borrowing profile for the IT development plan in paragraph 126 (table 9) totalling £3.750m that shows a decrease of £250k per annum in years 11/12 - 14/15 and an extension of the programme by £750k in 2015/16 containing specific schemes

d)     the use of HRA balances to fund HRA capital schemes as set out in paragraph 130 (table 10) totalling £5.691m subject to the following amendment;

·        the inclusion of £700k (including work at The Glebe) towards a building insulation programme, including the fitting of double glazed windows, to commence in 2011/12 to bring the increase in the HRA capital programme to £6.391m

e)     the inclusion of the following new/amended schemes totalling £1.916m with a revenue implication of £29k in 2011/12:

·        £1.000m in 2012/13 to be utilised in conjunction with the Environment Agency for the provision of the Leeman Road flood defences

·        an additional £50k p.a.(to the £80k p. a. already included in the LTP line) allocation for the street lamppost replacement programme from 2011/12 to 2015/16, totalling £250k

·        £100k p.a. from 2011/12 to 2015/16 to fund an energy generation project which will exploit modern technologies such as photovoltaic cells and which is aimed at providing an additional revenue stream, through the sale of energy, by utilising the availability of new “feed in” tariffs, totalling £500k

·        an additional capital investment in structural highways of £166k for 2011/12.

ii)            Note that the revenue implications of the above amendments in 2011/12 are £29k, to be reflected in the revenue budget proposals

iii)            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;

iv)            approve the full restated programme as summarised in Annex A totalling £175.318m (£172.702m plus £2.616m amendments) up to 2015/16.

Revenue Budget

15. The Executive recommends 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 saving 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,

Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Prudential Indicators

16. The Executive recommends that Council approve:

(i)            The proposed Treasury Management Strategy for 2011/12 including the annual investment strategy and the minimum revenue provision policy statement;

(ii)            The Prudential Indicators for 2011/12 to 2015/16 (Annex A);

(iii)            The Specified and Non-specified investments schedule (Annex D);

(iv)            The Scheme of Delegation and the Role of the Section 151 Officer (Annex F)”

 

Labour Amendment

 

Cllr Alexander then moved, and Cllr Simpson-Laing seconded, an amendment to the above recommendations on behalf of the Labour Group, as follows:

 

“Capital Budget

 

“In paragraph 15(i):

-         After ‘programme of’, delete ‘£175.318m’ and insert ‘174.930m

-         After ‘increase of’, delete ’18.891m’ and insert ’18.503m’

-         After ‘amendments totalling, delete ‘2.616m’ and insert ‘3.682m’

-         In sub-paragraph a), insert a second bullet point as follows:

·        delay the £2.5m West of York Salvage and Recycling Centre by one year as no business plan has been received, resulting in a revenue saving of £0.222m in 2011/12

-         In sub-paragraph e):

o       , after ‘schemes totalling’, delete ‘1.916m’ and insert ‘2.982m’

o       after ‘implication of’, delete ‘£29k’ and insert £92k

o       in the first bullet point, after ‘flood defences’ insert ‘and in addition £0.356m from the sale proceeds of the land purchased for the new Acomb office to be used for Leeman Road Flood Defences and Clementhorpe and other Flood Defences (predicated on Government contribution)’

o       after the last bullet point, insert: ‘and the further inclusion of:

§         replace damaged bins primarily in 2011/12 in the City Centre with high quality replacements - £0.075m

§         increase Access York contribution to £0.496m over two years by adding a further contribution of £0.203m in 2011/12

§         increase expenditure in 2011/12 on road and footpath repair - £0.060m

§         introduce smaller recycling boxes for single occupancy terraced houses and flats in the City Centre (to yield higher recycling rates and save £0.111m each year) - £0.150m

§         capitalisation totalling £0.222m, comprising:

·        NH304 Slurry Seal Footpath - £0.067m

·        NH403 50% of Surface Dressing - £0.087m

·        NH404 50% of Asphalt Repairs - £0.057m

·        NH405 50% of Concrete Patching - £0.011m

-         Add a further sub-paragraph:

‘f) Remove the following schemes from the Capital Programme, releasing a revenue saving of £0.129m:

·        the Acomb Office project (to retain the existing office) - £1.394m

·        the Library Square Scheme - £0.060m.

In paragraph 15(ii):

- Delete ‘£29k’ and insert ‘a saving of £0.259m’.

In paragraph 15(iv):

-         After ‘totalling’, delete ‘£175.318m and insert ‘174.930m’

-         In brackets, after ‘plus’, delete £2.616m and insert ‘£3.682m’.

 

Revenue Budget

 

“In paragraph 16(iv):

-         In sub-paragraph a):

o       after ‘proposals by’, delete ‘£301k’ and insert £0.589m’

o       add a second bullet point:

§         by a further £0.288m as a result of the revenue implications of the proposed Capital Programme changes as set out in paragraph 15(i), a), e) and f).

-         In sub-paragraph b):

o       after ‘proposals totalling’, delete ‘£824k’ and insert ‘£1.030m’

o       delete the second bullet point, beginning ‘winter maintenance’

o       insert the following additional bullet points:

§         pump prime additional Apprenticeships - £0.025m

§         pump prime development of Statutory Bus Partnership with measures for Air Quality Improvements (6 months) - £0.158m

§         recycling promotion in poor performing areas (to yield increased recycling rates and a £0.111m saving) - £0.030m

§         small grant to North Yorkshire Credit Union specifically for a Facilitation Officer - £0.010m

§         small grant to Older People’s Assembly - £0.002m

§         small grant to York Disabled Workers’ Co-operative - £0.001m

§         increase Respite Care provision - £0.020m

o       after ‘revised figures of’, delete ‘9.260k’ and insert ‘£9.178m’.

In paragraph 16(v):

-         In sub-paragraph a):

o       delete ‘£100k’ and insert ‘£0.505m’

o       insert the following additional bullet points:

§         ACES12 – further reduce cuts to Young People’s Services - £0.050m

§         ACES13 – reduce cuts to review of Advice and Guidance (Connexions for youth unemployment) - £0.080m

§         ACES23 – limit planned rise in Adult Social Services personal support, day care activities and transport to 50% of the proposed saving (predicated on policy change) - £0.175m

§         ACES64 – reduce cuts to Short Breaks for Disabled Children - £0.100m

-         In sub-paragraph b) (formerly paragraph (vi):

o       after ‘savings proposals totalling’, delete ‘£34k’ and insert ‘£0.263m’

o       insert the following additional bullet points:

§         ACES58 – reject cut to Health and Disability Assessment - £0.005m

§         ACES75 – reject cut to Disabled Children’s Childcare Equipment - £0.014m

§         ACES84 – reject cut to Teenage Pregnancy Budget - £0.005m

§         CANS104 – reject removal of development capacity for Yearsley Pool Management Team - £0.015m

§         CANS110 – reject cut to Raceday Toilets - £0.005m

§         CANS16 – reject scaling back of Library Service Staff - £0.040m

§         CANS33 – reject cut to re-alignment of Homelessness Prevention - £0.015m

§         CSTS15 - reject cut to Subsidised Bus Services and use funding for a review to move some services to commercial providers - £0.050m

§         CTS45 – reject increase in Respark charges - £0.012m

§         OCES04 – reject 80% cut in Holocaust Memorial Day Budget - £0.004m

§         OCES07 – reject cut to ‘Talk About’ and use for the organising of ‘York’s Fairness Commission’ - £0.003m

§         ACES60 – reject cut to Respite Care - £0.005m

§         CANS114 – reject cut of 10 % to Ward Committee budgets to maintain budgets to 2010/11 levels without prescription for Winter Maintenance – £0.056m

-         insert the following additional sub-paragraphs:

‘c) Make an increase in the value of the following savings, totalling £0.258m:

·        CANS01 – increase reduction in Agency Staff to ‘save’ permanent jobs from redundancy - £0.125m

·        CANS119 – increase recycling rates to 47.3% (with reference to capital amendment for smaller recycling boxes) - £0.111m

·        CANS83 – increase savings in Car Park Maintenance from £0.005m to £0.015m, resulting in an additional saving of £0.010m

·        CANS98 – increase savings in Anti-Skid Tarmac from £0.008m to £0.020m, resulting in an additional saving of £0.012m.

‘d) Insert new savings totalling £0.294m, as follows:

·        reduce staff mileage allowance to HMRC guidance levels (part year effect) - £0.072m

·        capitalisation, totalling £0.222m, of:

o       NH304 - Slurry Seal Footpath - £0.067m

o       NH403 – 50% of Surface Dressing - £0.087m

o       NH404 – 50% of Asphalt Repairs - £0.057m

o       NH405 – 50% of Concrete Patching - £0.011m

-         after ‘revised figure’ delete ‘£21.036k’ and insert ‘£20.954m’.”

 

On being put to the vote, the above amendment was declared LOST.

 

Conservative amendment

 

Cllr Gillies then moved, and Cllr Healey seconded, the following amendment to the Executive recommendations, on behalf of the Conservative Group:

 

“Capital Budget

 

In paragraph 15(i):

-         in sub-paragraph a), insert an additional bullet point:

·        ‘re-schedule the expenditure on Acomb Office from 2011/12 to 2012/13, releasing £124k of revenue in 2011/12

In paragraph 15(ii):

- delete ‘£29k’ and insert ‘a reduction of £95k’.

 

Revenue Budget

 

In paragraph 16(iv):

-  in sub-paragraph a):

o       after ‘growth proposals by’, delete ‘£301k’ and insert ‘£412k’

o       in the first bullet point, delete ‘£99k’ and insert ‘by £288k to £112k’

o       insert an additional bullet point:

§         by £124k as a result of the revenue implications of the proposed Capital Programme changes as set out in paragraph 15(i)a)

-         in sub-paragraph b):

o       after ‘growth proposals totalling’, delete ‘824k’ and insert ‘£1.102k’

o       after ‘reserves’ in the first bullet point, insert ‘to be held in contingency but earmarked – and only released following submission of a report from officers detailing spend’

o       insert the following additional bullet points:

§         apprentice / graduate trainee schemes – four trainees at a cost of £100k

§         ‘Promoting York’ fund in the sum of £50k

§         investment in music into OPH also to include sheltered housing at a cost of £10k

§         caretaking for youth café which would provide them with basic caretaking for the building but still leave them to run and manage the remainder of the operation - £25k

§         fund to pump-prime initiatives in the voluntary sector which will enable council costs to be reduced in future years - £93k

-         after ‘revised figures of’ in the final sentence, delete ‘£9.260k’ and insert ‘£9.427k’.

In paragraph 16(v):

- in sub-paragraph a):

o       after ‘savings proposals by’, delete ‘£100k’ and insert ‘£200k’

o       Insert an additional bullet point as follows:

§         ACES99 – reduce saving for two year olds’ nursery pilot from £213k to £113k to allow funding for two year old childcare, say £4k per child and twenty children

- add a further sub-paragraph:

  ‘c) Insert new savings totalling £267k as follows:

o       reduce car mileage allowance to HMRC level and remove staff Park & Ride passes - (half year costs) £117k

o       reduce cost of Union Conveners’ budgets - £50k

o       targeted reduction in Neighbourhood Management Unit, including savings through administration and reducing number of issues of Your City / Your Ward – £100k

- after ‘revised figure’ at the end of the paragraph, delete ‘£21.036`k’ and insert ‘£21.203k’.

In paragraph 16(vii):

- after ‘highways maintenance’, insert ‘to be held as an earmarked sum in contingency’

Add a further paragraph 16(ix):

‘Request a review of the data capture questionnaires for personalisation assessments to be undertaken during 2011/12 with a view to delivering savings in staff time’.”

 

Amended Recommendations

 

The recommendations, as amended, now read as follows:

 

“Capital Budget

15. The Executive recommends that Council:

(i)            agree to the revised capital programme of £175.318m, that reflects a net overall increase of £18.891m (as set out in the ‘growth’ column of Annex A with the amendments totalling £2.616m set out in (d) and (e) below).  Key elements of this include;

a)      the bids recommended in paragraph 114 (table 5) totalling £7.205m, subject to the following amendment:

·        the timing of Yearsley Pool energy solution moved to 2012/13 from 2011/12 to permit thorough investigation of necessity and appropriate technology

·        re-schedule the expenditure on Acomb Office from 2011/12 to 2012/13, releasing £124k of revenue in 2011/12

b)   the schemes funded form external resources in paragraph 122 (table 8) totalling £3.629m

c)      the revised prudential borrowing profile for the IT development plan in paragraph 126 (table 9) totalling £3.750m that shows a decrease of £250k per annum in years 11/12 - 14/15 and an extension of the programme by £750k in 2015/16 containing specific schemes

d)      the use of HRA balances to fund HRA capital schemes as set out in paragraph 130 (table 10) totalling £5.691m subject to the following amendment;

·        the inclusion of £700k (including work at The Glebe) towards a building insulation programme, including the fitting of double glazed windows, to commence in 2011/12 to bring the increase in the HRA capital programme to £6.391m

e)     the inclusion of the following new/amended schemes totalling £1.916m with a revenue implication of £29k in 2011/12:

·        £1.000m in 2012/13 to be utilised in conjunction with the Environment Agency for the provision of the Leeman Road flood defences

·        an additional £50k p.a.(to the £80k p. a. already included in the LTP line) allocation for the street lamppost replacement programme from 2011/12 to 2015/16, totalling £250k

·        £100k p.a. from 2011/12 to 2015/16 to fund an energy generation project which will exploit modern technologies such as photovoltaic cells and which is aimed at providing an additional revenue stream, through the sale of energy, by utilising the availability of new “feed in” tariffs, totalling £500k

·        an additional capital investment in structural highways of £166k for 2011/12;

 

ii)            note that the revenue implications of the above amendments in 2011/12 are a reduction of £95k, to be reflected in the revenue budget proposals;

 

iii)            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;

 

iv)            approve the full restated programme as summarised in Annex A totalling £175.318m (£172.702m plus £2.616m amendments) up to 2015/16.

 

Revenue Budget

 

16.            The Executive recommends 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 £412k as follows:

·        CORG04 - Corporate contingency reduce from £400k by £288k to £112k

·        by £124k as a result of the revenue implications of the proposed Capital Programme changes as set out in paragraph 15(i)a)

b)      include new growth proposals totalling £1.102k as follows:

·        one-off investment in highways maintenance of £657k to be funded from reserves, to be held in contingency but earmarked – and only released following submission of a report from officers detailing spend

·        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

·        apprentice / graduate trainee schemes – four trainees at a cost of £100k

·        ‘Promoting York’ fund in the sum of £50k

·        investment in music into OPH also to include sheltered housing at a cost of £10k

·        caretaking for youth café which would provide them with basic caretaking for the building but still leave them to run and manage the remainder of the operation - £25k

·        fund to pump-prime initiatives in the voluntary sector which will enable council costs to be reduced in future years - £93k

resulting in revised figures of £9.427k 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 £200k 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

·        ACES 99 – reduce saving for two year olds’ nursery pilot from £213k to £113k to allow funding for two year old childcare, say £4k per child and twenty children

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

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

c)     insertnew savings totalling £267k as follows:

·        reduce car mileage allowance to HMRC level and remove staff Park & Ride passes – (half year costs) £117k

·        reduce costs of Union Conveners’ budgets - £50k

·        targeted reduction in Neighbourhood Management Unit, including savings through administration and reducing number of issues of Your City / Your Ward - £100k

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, to be held as an earmarked sum in contingency.

 

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

 

(ix)            Request a review of the data capture questionnaires for personalisation assessments to be undertaken during 2011/12 with a view to delivering savings in staff time.”

 

A named vote was then requested and taken on the amended recommendations, with the following result:

 

For	Against	Abstained
Cllr Aspden	Cllr Alexander
Clllr Ayre	Cllr Bowgett
Cllr Brooks	Cllr Boyce
Cllr Firth	Cllr Cregan
Cllr Sue Galloway (Lord Mayor)	Cllr Crisp
Cllr Steve Galloway	Cllr D’Agorne
Cllr Galvin	Cllr Douglas
Cllr Gillies	Cllr Fraser
Cllr Healey	Cllr Funnell
Cllr Holvey	Cllr Gunnell
Cllr Hudson	Cllr Hoban
Cllr Hyman	Cllr Hogg
Cllr Kirk	Cllr Horton
Cllr Moore	Cllr Jamieson-Ball
Cllr Morley	Cllr King
Cllr Orrell	Cllr Looker
Cllr Reid	Cllr Merrett
Cllr Runciman	Cllr Potter
Cllr Sunderland	Cllr Scott
Cllr Waller	Cllr Simpson-Laing
Cllr R Watson	Cllr Taylor
Cllr Watt	Cllr B Watson
Cllr Waudby
Cllr Wiseman
24	22	0

 

The recommendations, as amended, were therefore declared CARRIED by 24 votes to 22 and it was

 

RESOLVED:             That the Executive recommendations in respect of the Capital Programme, Financial Strategy and Treasury Management Strategy Statement & Prudential Indicators, as amended by the Conservative amendment, be approved.