Agenda item

To consider the recommendations made by Executive, at their meeting held on 14 February 2019, in relation to:

 

a)   the Financial Strategy 2019/20 to 2023/24

 

b)   the Capital Financing & Investment Strategy

 

c)   the Capital Budget 2019/20 to 2023/24 (formerly Capital Programme 2019/20 and 2023/24)

 

d)   the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Prudential Indicators for 2019/20 to 2023/24

 

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

 

Note:

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

 

https://democracy.york.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=733&MId=11007

 

 

Councillor Gillies moved and Councillor Waller seconded as follows below, the Executive’s recommendations from its meeting on 14 February 2019 relating to the setting of the Council’s budget from 2019/20 to 2034/24 and incorporating the:

 

i) Financial Strategy 2019/20 to 2023/24

ii) Capital Financing and Investment Strategy

iii) Capital Budget 2019/20 to 2023/24

iv) Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Prudential Indicators 2019/20 to 2023/24

 

Capital Financing and Investment Strategy

Executive recommends that Council:

 

Approve the capital and investment strategy at Annex A

 

Reason: To meet the statutory obligation to comply with the Prudential Code 2017

 

Capital Budget 2019/20 to 2023/24 (formerly Capital Programme 2019/20 and 2023/24)

 

Executive recommends that Council:

 

i.        Agree to the revised capital programme of £579.762m that reflects a net overall increase of £185.898m (as set out in paragraph 89 table 13 and in Annex A). Key elements of this include:

 

a)      New Schemes funded by Prudential borrowing totalling £28.960mas set out in tables 3 and summarised in table 13

b)      New Schemes funded by a combination of both Prudential borrowing and external funds of £28.7m as set out in table 4 and summarised in table 13;

c)      Extension to existing schemes of £7.372m funded by Prudential borrowing as set out in table 5 and summarised in table 13;

d)      Extension of prudential borrowing funded Rolling Programme schemes totalling £6.903m as set out in table 5 and summarised  in table 13;

e)      Extension of externally funded Rolling Programme schemes totalling £7.941m as set out in table 6 and summarised in table 13;

f)       An increase in HRA funded schemes totalling £106.022m funded from a combination HRA balances/Right to Buy receipts as set out in table 7 and summarised in table 13

 

ii.       Note the total increase in Council borrowing as a result of new schemes being recommended for approval is £46.385m the details of which are considered within this report and the financial strategy report

 

iii.      Approve the full re-stated programme, as set out in table 13 and summarised in Annex B, totalling £579.762m and covering the financial years 2019/20 to 2023/24.

 

Reason: In accordance with the statutory requirement to set a capital budget for the forthcoming financial year.

 

Revenue Budget (Financial Strategy 2019/20 to 2023/24)

 

Executive recommends that Council:

 

(i)      approve the budget proposals outlined in the Financial Strategy report and in particular;

 

a.      The net revenue expenditure requirement of 123.372m

b.      A council tax requirement of £90.066m

c.       The revenue growth proposals as outlined in the body of the report

d.      The 2019/20 revenue savings proposals as outlined in annex 2

e.      The fees and charges proposals as outlined in annex 3

f.       The Housing Revenue Account (HRA) budget set out in annex 4, the HRA savings proposals set out in annex 5 and the 30 year HRA Business Plan set out in annex 6

g.      The dedicated schools grant proposals outlined from paragraph 173

h.      The use of £100k of funds previously set aside in a Public Health Grant Reserve, to fund one off investment and £51k New Homes Bonus to fund recurring expenditure, as outlined in paragraph 83;

i.        The use of the remaining £522k New Homes Bonus funding and £300k funding from the business rates pool to create a Service Risk Reserve for future use, as outlined in paragraph 84

j.        The use of £1.5m funding from the LCR and NWY business rates pools to allocate into the venture fund, to deal with future cashflow or revenue implications regarding major planned developments including Castle Gateway, and Castle Museum, as referred to in the Capital Strategy report, and to be subject to future reports to the Executive

(ii)      note that the effect of approving the income and expenditure proposals included in the recommendations would result in a 3.25% increase in the City of York Council element of the council tax, 1.5% of which would relate to the social care precept.

 

Reason: To ensure a legally balanced budget is set

 

Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Prudential Indicators

 

Executive recommends that Council approve;

 

i.        The proposed treasury management strategy for 2019/20 including the annual investment strategy and the minimum revenue provision policy statement;

 

ii.       The prudential indicators for 2019/20 to 2023/24 in the main body of the report;

 

iii.      The specified and non-specified investments schedule (Annex B)

iv.      The scheme of delegation and the role of the section 151 officer (Annex D)

 

Reason: To enable the continued effective operation of the treasury management function and ensure that all Council borrowing is prudent, affordable and sustainable.

 

Labour Amendment

 

Councillor Neil Barnes moved, and Councillor Looker seconded, an amendment as follows to those recommendations, on behalf of the Labour Group :

 

Capital Budget 2019/20 to 2023/24

 

In paragraph 42 (i), first line delete ‘£579.762m’ and replace with

‘£586.262m’

 

In paragraph 42 (i), second line delete ‘£185.898m’ and replace with ‘£192.398m’

 

Under paragraph 42 (i), insert new sub paragraphs:

 

(g)     Include a new scheme to invest £1m per annum in highways renewal with specific target to address pothole repairs and reconstruction of residential street (b&c) road surfaces (4 year investment), funded by prudential borrowing.

 

(h)     Include a new scheme to invest £0.5m per annum in a programme to support new or existing capital schemes with initiatives that enable energy efficiency and a low carbon city (5 year investment increasing scale of proposed One Planet Council programme), funded by prudential borrowing.

 

In paragraph 42 (ii), second line delete ‘£46.385m’ and replace with ‘£52.885m’

 

In paragraph 42 (iii), second line delete ‘£579.762m’ and replace with ‘£586.262m’

 

 

Revenue Budget

 

In sub paragraph (a) delete ‘£123.372m’ and replace with ‘£124.452m’

 

In sub paragraph (b) delete ‘£90.066m’ and replace with ‘£91.146m’

 

In sub paragraph (c) add at the end of the sentence ‘subject to the following amendments;

 

      An additional £40k to reduce fly-tipping response time to next day (from current 6 day response time)

      An additional £80k to increase street-cleaning (2FTE and vehicles) in areas outside of city centre

      An additional £150k to reverse previous bus subsidy cuts, targeting routes that service outlying suburbs and villages

      An additional £50k to appoint a Homelessness support worker

      An additional £200k for establishment of Inclusive Growth Fund to support York’s local economy and build community wealth

      An additional £20k to increase trees budget and sign up to Northern Forest scheme

      An additional £100k to expand youth provision services, and support for targeted projects on eliminating holiday hunger and reducing antisocial behaviour

      An additional £20k to end period poverty in York schools

      An additional £40k to exempt care leavers from council tax until aged 25

      An additional £150k for establishment of centralised grants scheme for voluntary and charitable organisations

      An additional £75k to appoint an Inclusion Lead (1FTE) to tackle attainment gap in education, make effective use of pupil premium and increase access to arts

      An additional £50k investment in Citizens Advice York services, targeting fuel poverty and pressures on residents as a result of Universal Credit introduction

      An additional £105k to support the 2019/20 revenue cost of additional prudential borrowing (£1,500k capital amendment in 2019/20 and £6,500k overall with a total revenue cost of £455k, funded by prudential borrowing)

 

In paragraph 43 (ii) third line, delete ‘3.25%’ and replace with ‘4.49%’.

 

Following debate and in accordance with the required legal regulation, a named vote was then taken in relation to the Labour Group amendment relating to the setting of the budget, with the following result:

 

For	Against	Abstain
Cllr Neil Barnes	Cllr Aspden	Cllr Craghill
Cllr Stuart Barnes	Cllr Ayre	Cllr D’Agorne
Cllr Boyce	Cllr Brooks	Cllr Derbyshire
Cllr Cannon	Cllr Carr	Cllr Hayes
Cllr Flinders	Cllr Cullwick
Cllr Funnell	Cllr Cuthbertson
Cllr Looker	Cllr Dew
Cllr Danny Myers	Cllr Doughty
Cllr Pavlovic	Cllr Douglas
Cllr Dave Taylor	Cllr Fenton
Cllr Kallum Taylor	Cllr Galvin
Cllr Wells	Cllr Gates
Cllr Williams	Cllr Gillies
	Cllr Hunter
	Cllr Lisle
	Cllr Mason
	Cllr Mercer
	Cllr Keith Myers
	Cllr Rawlings
	Cllr Reid
	Cllr Richardson
	Cllr Runciman
	Cllr Shepherd
	Cllr Steward
	Cllr Waller
	Cllr Warters
	Cllr Orrell
13	27	4

 

 

The labour amendment was declared lost.

 

Green Party Amendment

 

Councillor D’Agorne then moved, and Councillor Taylor seconded, an amendment to the above recommendations as follows, on behalf of the Green Group:

 

Capital Budget 2019/20 to 2023/24

 

In paragraph 42 (i), first line delete ‘£579.762m’ and replace with

‘£556.362m’

 

In paragraph 42 (i), second line delete ‘£185.898m’ and replace with ‘£162.498m’

 

Under paragraph 42 (i), insert new sub paragraphs:

 

g)      Removal of the £28m scheme for the York Outer Ring Road, partly funded by £2.8m of CYC prudential borrowing

 

h)      Include a new scheme to invest £500k in a City Centre and Local Centres Disabled Access Investment Fund to improve capital facilities for people with disabilities, funded by prudential borrowing

 

i)        Include a new scheme to invest £500k in a Pedestrian Priority Programme for residential areas including new pedestrian crossings, improved junctions, drop kerbs and pavement re- surfacing, funded by prudential borrowing

 

j)        Include a new scheme to invest £500k in a Cycling Investment Fund to develop a dedicated, primarily offroad Dutch-style cycle network, starting with filling in the gaps and to make best use of other matching transport funds, funded by prudential borrowing

 

k)       Include a new scheme to invest a further £450k in Gully and Drainage Maintenance, funded by prudential borrowing

 

l)        Include a new scheme to invest £500k in setting up an ongoing Better Bus Fund to improve the physical infrastructure that supports more reliable, affordable, comprehensive and attractive bus services, funded by prudential borrowing

 

m)     Include a new scheme to invest £100k in developing the capacity to introduce secure overnight parking at Park & Ride sites, funded by prudential borrowing

 

n)      Include a new scheme to invest £50k (£150k over 3 years) in a Clean Air Project Officer to support capital schemes relating to the Council’s Clean Air Strategy including the new Clean Air Zone, anti-idling measures, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and exclusion of heavy delivery vehicles from the city centre, funded by prudential borrowing

 

o)      Include a new scheme to invest £500k in setting up an Affordable Energy Fund to invest in energy efficiency and renewables, future proofing Council owned buildings and helping to tackle fuel poverty through improving private sector properties, including grants to private sector landlords in return for proof of high standards of property maintenance, funded by prudential borrowing

 

p)      Include a new scheme to invest £50k in a Green Spaces Development Worker to work across Council departments, with other agencies and with residents to coordinate capital improvements to green infrastructure assets across the city, funded by prudential borrowing

 

q)      Include a new scheme to invest £500k in play infrastructure to fill in gaps in play and recreation provision for young children, older children and teenagers, funded by prudential borrowing

 

r)       Include a new scheme to invest £50k (£100k over 2 years) in a Sustainable Schools Pilot Programme to support York schools to improve capital investment in energy efficiency and sustainability of their buildings and grounds to save money and improve the learning experience, funded by prudential borrowing

 

s)      Include a new scheme to invest £100k in a Local Shopping Parades Fund for measures to improve the street environment infrastructure works and encourage use of local shopping parades, funded by prudential borrowing

 

t)       Include a new scheme to invest £150k in a Waste Reduction Pilot Programme to work with partners to invest in improved recycling infrastructure in the city centre and measures such as improved signage and storage facilities for properties with communal/shared bins, funded by prudential borrowing

 

u)      Include a new scheme to invest £500k in a pilot project to invest in the necessary accommodation and support infrastructure to expand the Housing First approach to a wider group of homeless people, funded by prudential borrowing

 

In paragraph 42 (ii), second line delete ‘£46.385m’ and replace with ‘£47.535m’

 

In paragraph 42 (iii), second line delete ‘£579.762m’ and replace with ‘£556.362m’

 

 

Revenue Budget

 

In sub paragraph (a) delete ‘£123.372m’ and replace with ‘£124.452m’

 

In sub paragraph (b) delete ‘£90.066m’ and replace with ‘£91.146m’

 

In sub paragraph (c) add at the end of the sentence ‘subject to the following amendments;

 

      An additional £116k to support the 2019/20 revenue cost of additional prudential borrowing (£1.65m capital amendment in 2019/20 and £2.3m overall with a total revenue cost of £161k, funded by prudential borrowing)

      An additional £200k investment into public health services – to be allocated via a report to Executive by the Director of Public Health

      An additional £40k investment into a Welfare Outreach Worker to ensure that emergency funding, Council Tax Support and Discretionary Housing Payments are fully taken up by those in most need including those suffering the effects of Universal Credit

      An additional investment of £40k to appoint a 0.8 FTE Mental Health Champion to listen to service users and coordinate the improvement of mental health services in York

      An additional investment of £100k to increase bus subsidy to target evening/weekend services and service gaps

      An additional investment of £150k to fund extension of green waste collections (with option of free compost bin)

      An additional investment of £40k to restore park gardeners to work in conjunction with open spaces officers and volunteers to protect and improve our city parks

      An additional investment of £59k to lock all parks at night (if residents agree)

      An additional £40k investment to create a 0.8 FTE Play Officer post to manage play funds and the installation of new play areas, maximising income from match funding and speeding up implementation

      An additional investment of £40k for an Outdoor Maintenance Fund for new play equipment, outdoor fitness equipment and any other items communities identify where ongoing maintenance is needed.

      An additional £80k investment to fund 2 FTE Youth Workers to work across the city supporting the development of youth clubs and spaces and activities for young people

      An additional £40k investment to fund a 0.8 FTE Climate Change and Sustainability Officer to coordinate partner organisations, businesses and individuals in the city to agree and act on meeting climate emission reduction targets for York

      An additional £40k investment to fund a Waste Reduction and Recycling Officer to support waste reduction initiatives, work with partners to improve city centre recycling and improve domestic waste recycling provision for people with communal bins.

      An additional £40k investment to fund a Housing First Project Officer to identify funding and develop and expand the Housing First approach to a wider group of homeless people

      An additional £40k investment to fund a Corporate Equalities Officer to support equalities work across departments

      An additional £50k one off investment to fund an initial report on the options for providing sufficient sustainable public transport such as light rail/trams to support the proposed level of Local Plan development.

      An additional £50k one off investment to fund an immediate options study on implementing a city wide kerbside Food Waste Collection and extending the range of plastics collected from the kerbside

      An additional £40k one off investment to fund an options study into setting up Re-Use Shops at or close to CYC Household Waste Recycling Centres

      An additional £40k one off investment to fund an feasibility study into innovative options, such as Local Housing Bonds, to provide additional genuinely affordable housing over and above other planned thresholds.

      An additional one off investment to invest £200k in a 6 month pilot of a free city centre shuttle bus to join up key locations in the city including the railway station/York Central, the city centre, the hospital, funded by prudential borrowing

 

In sub paragraph (d) add at the end of the sentence ‘subject to the following amendments;

      Reversal of HHASC7 Small Day Services – £50k

      50% Reversal of HHASC13 Asset Based Review Learning Disabilities and Physical Disabilities - £50k

 

In sub paragraph (e) add at the end of the sentence ‘subject to the following amendments;

      Reinstate 50% discount for low emission vehicles (tax band A-C for vehicles registered 2001- 2017, and those producing less than 110gm/km for those registered since Mar 2017), costing £60k

      Reduce standard respark charge to £60pa for new schemes brought into force after March 2018 with all existing permit charges cut by 10% in 2019 and a further 10% each subsequent year until they are equalised, costing £43k.

      Increasing visitor evening parking charges to £3. Remains free for Minster badge holders, raising £150k

      A 10p/hour increase on all car parks to raise £60k

 In order to increase fees and charges by £107k

 

At the end of paragraph 43 (i), add an additional sub paragraphs;

 

k.       The use of £50k from the Venture Fund to fund a feasibility study for an energy provision company to provide reliable, lower cost and sustainable energy for York residents

 

l.        The use of the £358k from the general fund reserve to fund one off investments

 

In paragraph 43 (ii) third line, delete ‘3.25%’ and replace with ‘4.49%’.

 

Following debate and in accordance with the required legal regulations, a named vote was then taken in relation to the Green Group amendment, with the following result.

 

For	Against	Abstain
Cllr Craghill	Cllr Aspden
Cllr D’Agorne	Cllr Ayre
Cllr Hayes	Cllr Neil Barnes
Cllr Dave Taylor	Cllr Stuart Barnes
	Cllr Boyce
	Cllr Brooks
	Cllr Cannon
	Cllr Carr
	Cllr Cullwick
	Cllr Cuthbertson
	Cllr Derbyshire
	Cllr Dew
	Cllr Doughty
	Cllr Douglas
	Cllr Fenton
	Cllr Flinders
	Cllr Funnel
	Cllr Galvin
	Cllr Gates
	Cllr Gilies
	Cllr Hunter
	Cllr Lisle
	Cllr Looker
	Cllr Mason
	Cllr Mercer
	Cllr Danny Myers
	Cllr Keith Myers
	Cllr Pavlovic
	Cllr Rawlings
	Cllr Reid
	Cllr Richardson
	Cllr Runciman
	Cllr Shepherd
	Cllr Steward
	Cllr Kallum Taylor
	Cllr Waller
	Cllr Warters
	Cllr Wells
	Cllr Williams
	Cllr Orrell
4	40	0

 

The Green amendment was declared LOST.

 

The required named vote, in accordance with legal regulations, was then taken on the original motion as unamended, with the following result:

 

For	Against	Abstain
Cllr Aspden	Cllr Neil Barnes
Cllr Ayre	Cllr Stuart Barnes
Cllr Brooks	Cllr Boyce
Cllr Carr	Cllr Cannon
Cllr Cullwick	Cllr Craghill
Cllr Cuthbertson	Cllr D’Agorne
Cllr Derbyshire	Cllr Flinders
Cllr Dew	Cllr Funnell
Cllr Doughty	Cllr Hayes
Cllr Douglas	Cllr Looker
Cllr Fenton	Cllr Danny Myers
Cllr Galvin	Cllr Pavlovic
Cllr Gates	Cllr Dave Taylor
Cllr Gillies	Cllr Kallum Taylor
Cllr Hunter	Cllr Warters
Cllr Lisle	Cllr Wells
Cllr Mason	Cllr Williams
Cllr Mercer
Cllr Keith Myers
Cllr Rawlings
Cllr Reid
Cllr Richardson
Cllr Runciman
Cllr Shepherd
Cllr Steward
Cllr Waller
Cllr Orrell
27	17	0

 

The original motion was then declared CARRIED and it was:

 

Resolved:  That the Executive recommendations in respect of the Capital Strategy, Financial Strategy and Treasury Management Strategy Statement and Prudential Indicators for 2019/20 to 2023/24 be approved. 1