Agenda item

Executive Board considered a report of the Operational Director, Finance, on the Budget 2014/15.

 

RECOMMENDED: That Council adopt the resolution as set out in Appendix A of the report, which included setting the budget at £108.234m, the Council Tax requirement of £37.101m (before Parish, Police and Fire precepts) and the Band D Council Tax for Halton of £1,181.56.

 

 

The Executive Board had considered a report setting out a recommendation to Council in respect of the Budget, Capital Programme and Council Tax for 2014/15. Since then the Cheshire Fire Authority and the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner had set their budgets and council tax precepts and these had been included in the report to full Council.

 

          The report included detail on the following:-

 

·       Medium Term Financial Strategy;

·       Budget Consultation

·       Review of the 2013/14 Budget;

·       2014/15 Budget;

·       the Local Government Finance Settlement;

·       Budget Outlook;

·       Halton’s Council Tax;

·       Parish Precepts;

·       Average Council Tax;

·       Police Precept;

·       Fire Precept;

·       Total Council Tax;

·       Capital Programme;

·       Prudential Code; and

·       School Budgets.

 

The Executive Board had recommended that Council adopt the resolution set out in Appendix A of the report, which included setting the budget at £108.243m and the Band D Council Tax for Halton (before Parish, Police and Fire precepts) of £1,181.56.

 

Councillor Wharton, Resources Portfolio Holder, thanked all the Officers involved for their support in producing this budget and wished to record his thanks to the Members of the Executive Board, the Budget Working Group and the Chairs of the Policy and Performance Boards for their contribution.

 

The Mayor advised that, following the introduction of the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014, there was now a requirement for Councils to adopt the practice of recorded votes on matters relating to budget setting, and that each Members’ vote be recorded in the minutes of the meeting. Therefore, it was

 

RESOLVED: That a recorded vote be taken.

 

The following Councillors voted for the motion:

 

Councillors Baker, D Cargill, E Cargill, Cassidy, Cole, Dennett, Edge, Fry, Gerrard, Harris, P Hignett, R Hignett, S Hill, V Hill, Howard, Jones, Lea, M Lloyd Jones, P Lloyd Jones, C Loftus, K Loftus, Logan, A Lowe, J Lowe, Macmanus, A McInerney, T McInerney, Nelson, Osborne, Parker, Philbin, C Plumpton Walsh, N Plumpton Walsh, Polhill, Ratcliffe, Roberts, Rowe, Sinnott, G Stockton, J Stockton, Thompson, Wainwright, Wallace, Wharton, Woolfall, Wright and Zygadllo.

 

There were no votes against the motion  and no abstentions.

 

RESOLVED: That

 

1)    the policies outlined in the report be adopted, including the Budget for 2014/15, the savings set out in Appendix B and the Capital Programme set out in Appendix F;

 

2) it be noted that at the meeting on 11^th December 2013 the Council agreed the following:

 

(a)      The Council Tax Base 2014/15 for the whole Council area is 31,400 (item T in the formula in Section 31B(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the Act) and

 

(b)      For dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish precept relates, be set out as follows:

 

Parish	Tax Base
Hale	643
Daresbury	150
Moore	316
Preston Brook	319
Halebank	494
Sandymoor	950

 

          being the amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 6 of the Regulations, as the amounts of its Council Tax Base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which special items relate.

 

3) calculate that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own   purposes for 2014/15 (excluding Parish precepts) is £37,100,984.

 

4) in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Sections 31 to 36), the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2013/14 and agreed as follows:

 

(a)      £313,613,399 – being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the said Act, taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils.

 

 

(b)      £276,451,820 – being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

 

(c)      £37,161,579 – being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year (item R in the formula in Section 31A(4) of the Act).

 

(d)      £1,183.49 – being the amount at 3(c) above (item R), all divided by item T (2 above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts).

 

(e)      £60,595 – being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act, each individual Parish precept being:

 

	£
Hale	15,400
Daresbury	3,475
Moore	4,300
Preston Brook	8,000
Halebank	13,820
Sandymoor	15,600

 

(f)       £1,181.56 being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by item T (2(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates.

 

(g)      Part of the Council’s Area

 

	£
Hale	1,205.51
Daresbury	1,204.73
Moore	1,195.17
Preston Brook	1,206.64
Halebank	1,209.54
Sandymoor	1,197.98

 

          being the amounts given by adding to the amounts at 3(e) above the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council’s area mentioned above divided in each case by the amount at 2(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings of its area to which one or more special items relate.

 

(h)      Part of the Council’s Area

 

Band	Hale	Daresbury	Moore	Preston Brook	Halebank	Sandymoor	All other Parts of the Council’s Area
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
A	803.68	803.16	796.78	804.43	806.36	798.66	787.71
B	937.62	937.01	929.58	938.50	940.75	931.76	918.99
C	1,071.57	1,070.88	1,062.38	1,072.57	1,075.15	1,064.88	1,050.28
D	1,205.51	1,204.73	1,195.17	1,206.64	1,209.54	1,197.98	1,181.56
E	1,473.40	1,472.45	1,460.76	1,474.78	1,478.33	1,464.20	1,444.13
F	1,741.29	1,740.17	1,726.36	1,742.93	1,747.12	1,730.42	1,706.70
G	2,009.19	2,007.89	1,991.95	2,011.07	2,015.90	1,996.64	1,969.27
H	2,411.02	2,409.46	2,390.34	2,413.28	2,419.08	2,395.96	2,363.12

 

          being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 3(f) and 3(g) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in Valuation Band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands.

 

5)       it is further noted that for the year 2014/15 the Cheshire Police and Crime Commissioner has stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

          Police Precept 2014/15

 

	£
A	102.14
B	119.16
C	136.19
D	153.21
E	187.26
F	221.30
G	255.35
H	306.42

 

6)       it is further noted that for the year 2014/15 the Fire Authority have stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with the Local Government Act 2003 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

          Fire Precept 2014/15

 

	£
A	46.06
B	53.74
C	61.41
D	69.09
E	84.44
F	99.80
G	115.15
H	138.18

 

7)       that, having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 3(i), 4 and 5 above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2014/15 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

Band	Hale	Daresbury	Moore	Preston Brook	Halebank	Sandymoor	All other Parts of the Council’s Area
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
A	951.88	951.36	944.98	952.63	954.56	946.86	935.91
B	1,110.52	1,109.91	1,102.48	1,111.40	1,113.65	1,104.66	1,091.89
C	1,269.17	1,268.48	1,259.98	1,270.17	1,272.75	1,262.48	1,247.88
D	1,427.81	1,427.03	1,417.47	1,428.94	1,431.84	1,420.28	1,403.86
E	1,745.10	1,744.15	1,732.46	1,746.48	1,750.03	1,735.90	1,715.83
F	2,062.39	2,061.27	2,047.46	2,064.03	2,068.22	2,051.52	2,027.80
G	2,379.69	2,378.39	2,362.45	2,381.57	2,386.40	2,367.14	2,339.77
H	2,855.62	2,854.06	2,834.94	2,857.88	2,863.68	2,840.56	2,807.72

 

          being satisfied that:

 

(a)      The total amount yielded by its Council Taxes for the said financial year will be sufficient, so far as is practicable, to provide for items mentioned at 3(a) to (c) above; and, to the extent that they are not, to be provided for by any other means.

 

(b)      Those amounts which relate to a part only of its area will secure, so far as is practicable, that the precept or portion of a precept relating to such part will be provided for only by the amount yielded by such of its Council Taxes as relate to that part.

 

8)       the Operational Director, Finance, be authorised at any time during the financial year 2014/15 to borrow on behalf of the Council by way of gross bank overdraft such sums as he shall deem necessary for the purposes of this paragraph, but not such that in any event the said overdraft at any time exceeds £10m (£0.5m net) as the Council may temporarily require.