Agenda item

Executive Board - 22nd February 2007 - Budget 2007/08

The Executive Board considered the attached report setting out a recommendation to Council in respect of the Budget, Capital Programme and Council Tax for 2007/08.

 

RECOMMENDED: That

 

(1)    the Council adopt the resolution set out in Appendix A, which includes setting the budget at £95.041m and the Band D Council Tax for Halton (before Parish, Police and Fire precepts) of £1,043.45; and

 

(2)    the mover and seconder of the Motion submitted by the Liberal Democrat Group to full Council on 21st February 2007, and referred to the Executive Board under Standing Order No. 6(4), be afforded the opportunity by Full Council to resubmit the Motion as an amendment to the substantive Budget Motion.

Minutes:

            The Executive Board had considered a report setting out a recommendation to Council in respect of the Budget, Capital Programme and Council Tax for 2007/08. Information was provided for Members in respect of:

 

·        the Local Government Finance Settlement;

·        the Budget 2007/08;

·        the Budget Outlook;

·        the Capital Programme;

·        Halton’s Council Tax;

·        Parish Precepts;

·        Average Council Tax;

·        Police and Fire Precepts;

·        Total Council Tax; and

·        the Prudential Code.

 

The Executive Board had recommended that Council adopt the resolution set out in Appendix A of the report, which included setting the Budget at £95.041m and the Band D Council Tax for Halton (before Parish, Police and Fire precepts) of £1,043.45.

 

In addition, the Board had recommended that the mover and seconder of the Motion submitted by the Liberal Democrat Group to full Council on 21st March 2007, and referred to the Executive Board under Standing Order No. 6(4), be afforded the opportunity by Full Council to resubmit the Motion as an amendment to the substantive Budget Motion.

 

The following motion was moved and seconded by Councillor Wharton and Councillor McDermott respectively:

 

That

 

1.         the policies outlined in this paper be adopted, including the Budget for 2007/08, the growth and savings set out in Appendix B, the Capital Programme set out in Appendix C, and Prudential Indicators set out in Appendix D;

 

2.         it be noted that, at the meeting on 13th December 2006, the Council agreed the following:

 

(a)       for 2007/08, in accordance with the Local Government Act 2003 and with regulations made under Section 33(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, a Council Tax Base of 37,392, being the amount calculated by the Council in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992, as its Council Tax Base for the year, and

 

(b)       for the Parishes, the Council Tax base for each Parish for the year 2007/08 be set as follows:

 

Parish

Tax Base

 

 

Hale

722

Daresbury

140

Moore

352

Preston Brook

331

 

            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.         in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Sections 32 to 36), the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2007/08 and agreed as follows:

 

(a)       £271,145,384 – being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32(2)(a) to (e) of the said Act;

 

(b)       £176,077,219 – being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32(3)(a) to (c) of the said Act;

 

(c)        £95,068,165 – being the amount calculated by the Council for the year 2007/08 in accordance with Section 32(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as its budget requirement for the year;

 

(d)       £56,024,551 – being the aggregate of the sums which the Council estimates will be payable for the year into its General Fund in respect of redistributed Non-Domestic Rates (£47,973,592) and Revenue Support Grant (£8,050,959);

 

(e)       £1,044.17 – being the amount at 3(c) above less the amount at 3(d) above all divided by the amount at 2(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 33(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year;

 

(f)         £26,965 – being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, each individual Parish precept being:

 

 

£

 

 

Hale

17,565

Daresbury

  3,000

Moore

  2,900

Preston Brook

  3,500

 

(g)       £1,043.45 Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the basic amount of Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates;

 

(h)        Part of the Council’s Area

 

 

£

 

 

Hale

1,067.78

Daresbury

1,064.88

Moore

1,051.69

Preston Brook

1,054.02

 

            being the amounts given by adding to the amounts at 3(g) 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 Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings of its area to which one or more special items relate;

 

 (i)        Part of the Council’s Area

 

Band

Hale

Daresbury

Moore

Preston

Brook

All other

Parts

of the

Council’s

Area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

£

£

£

£

£

 

 

 

 

 

 

A

   711.85

   709.92

   701.12

   702.68

   695.63

B

   830.49

   828.24

   817.98

   819.79

   811.57

C

  949.14

   946.56

   934.83

   936.91

   927.51

D

1,067.78

1,064.88

1,051.69

1,054.02

1,043.45

E

1,305.07

1,301.52

1,285.40

1,288.25

1,275.33

F

1,542.35

1,538.16

1,519.11

1,522.48

1,507.21

G

1,779.63

1,774.80

1,752.81

1,756.70

1,739.08

H

2,135.56

2,129.76

2,103.38

2,108.04

2,086.90

 

            being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 3(g) and 3(h) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, 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 Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands;

 

4.         it is further noted that for the year 2007/08 the Police Authority has stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Authority, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

 

£

 

 

A

  77.35

B

  90.25

C

103.14

D

116.03

E

141.81

F

167.60

G

193.38

H

232.06

 

5.         it is further noted that for the year 2007/08 the Fire Authority has stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Authority, in accordance with the Local Government Act 2003, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

 

£

 

 

A

  40.67

B

  47.44

C

  54.22

D

  61.00

E

  74.56

F

  88.11

G

101.67

H

122.00

 

6.         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 2007/08 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

Band

Hale

Daresbury

Moore

Preston

Brook

All other

Parts

of the

Council’s

Area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

£

£

£

£

£

 

 

 

 

 

 

A

   829.87

   827.94

   819.14

   820.70

   813.65

B

   968.18

   965.93

   955.67

   957.48

   949.26

C

1,106.50

1,103.92

1,092.19

1,094.27

1,084.87

D

1,244.81

1,241.91

1,228.72

1,231.05

1,220.48

E

1,521.44

1,517.89

1,501.77

1,504.62

1,491.70

F

1,798.06

1,793.87

1,774.82

1,778.19

1,762.92

G

2,074.68

2,069.85

2,047.86

2,051.75

2,034.13

H

2,489.62

2,483.82

2,457.44

2,462.10

2,440.96

 

 

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 (d) 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; and

 

7.         the Operational Director – Financial Services be authorised at any time during the financial year 2007/08 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 (£1.5m net) as the Council may temporarily require.

 

The following amendment to the substantive motion was moved and seconded by Councillor Redhead and Councillor C. Inch respectively:

 

“The Liberal Democrat group of Halton Borough Council proposes that Council Tax increase should be minimised.

 

The rise should be kept in line with inflation to ensure that people on pensions (30% of Halton households) and hard working families are not disadvantaged. Following the poor and unfair Government settlement every effort must be made to reduce any increase.

 

With this in mind the following proposals are submitted for approval:

 

Energy Savings

190

 

The Council proposed a 10% reduction in energy in reference to the appointment of an Energy Officer. This should be implemented as agreed by the Corporate PPB.

 

 

 

Cost of Energy Officer

(50)

 

Executive Board

56

 

This should be re-organised to match the directorate structure. Last year the Opposition position was removed but the Board decided to re-allocate responsibilities and maintain 11 posts. A structure with 6 posts is recommended.

 

 

Councillor Allowances

12

 

The council should vote to freeze councillors’ allowances to protect front line services.

 

 

Joint Area Review

90

 

We do not believe the addition of two posts to prepare for the audit next March is a justification for an increase in council tax. Hence these posts if necessary must be self-financed.

 

 

Advertising, Marketing and Promotion

120

 

A 15% reduction is proposed, to protect council services and employment. The £931,000 the council spent on this area last year is not appropriate in the current climate.

 

 

 

Citizens Advice Bureau

(60)

 

Cutting the grant to the CAB will impact those with the most severe hardships and concerns. The CAB provides an essential front line service, which should be protected.

 

 

Totalling at least a 1% reduction

358”

 

Following debate, the amendment was put to the vote and defeated. The substantive motion was then put to the meeting and carried:

 

RESOLVED: That

 

1.         the policies outlined in this paper be adopted, including the Budget for 2007/08, the growth and savings set out in Appendix B, the Capital Programme set out in Appendix C, and Prudential Indicators set out in Appendix D;

 

2.         it be noted that, at the meeting on 13th December 2006, the Council agreed the following:

 

(a)       for 2007/08, in accordance with the Local Government Act 2003 and with regulations made under Section 33(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, a Council Tax Base of 37,392, being the amount calculated by the Council in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992, as its Council Tax Base for the year, and

 

(b)       for the Parishes, the Council Tax base for each Parish for the year 2007/08 be set as follows:

 

Parish

Tax Base

 

 

Hale

722

Daresbury

140

Moore

352

Preston Brook

331

 

            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.         in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Sections 32 to 36), the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2007/08 and agreed as follows:

 

(a)       £271,145,384 – being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32(2)(a) to (e) of the said Act;

 

(b)       £176,077,219 – being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 32(3)(a) to (c) of the said Act;

 

 (c)       £95,068,165 – being the amount calculated by the Council for the year 2007/08 in accordance with Section 32(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as its budget requirement for the year;

 

(d)       £56,024,551 – being the aggregate of the sums which the Council estimates will be payable for the year into its General Fund in respect of redistributed Non-Domestic Rates (£47,973,592) and Revenue Support Grant (£8,050,959);

 

(e)       £1,044.17 – being the amount at 3(c) above less the amount at 3(d) above all divided by the amount at 2(a) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 33(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year;

 

(f)         £26,965 – being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in Section 34(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, each individual Parish precept being:

 

 

£

 

 

Hale

17,565

Daresbury

  3,000

Moore

  2,900

Preston Brook

  3,500

 

(g)       £1,043.45 Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the basic amount of Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item relates;

 

(h)        Part of the Council’s Area

 

 

£

 

 

Hale

1,067.78

Daresbury

1,064.88

Moore

1,051.69

Preston Brook

1,054.02

 

            being the amounts given by adding to the amounts at 3(g) 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 Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the basic amounts of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings of its area to which one or more special items relate;

 

 (i)        Part of the Council’s Area

 

Band

Hale

Daresbury

Moore

Preston

Brook

All other

Parts

of the

Council’s

Area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

£

£

£

£

£

 

 

 

 

 

 

A

   711.85

   709.92

   701.12

   702.68

   695.63

B

   830.49

   828.24

   817.98

   819.79

   811.57

C

  949.14

   946.56

   934.83

   936.91

   927.51

D

1,067.78

1,064.88

1,051.69

1,054.02

1,043.45

E

1,305.07

1,301.52

1,285.40

1,288.25

1,275.33

F

1,542.35

1,538.16

1,519.11

1,522.48

1,507.21

G

1,779.63

1,774.80

1,752.81

1,756.70

1,739.08

H

2,135.56

2,129.76

2,103.38

2,108.04

2,086.90

 

            being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at 3(g) and 3(h) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, 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 Local Government Finance Act 1992, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings listed in different valuation bands;

 

4.         it is further noted that for the year 2007/08 the Police Authority has stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Authority, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

 

£

 

 

A

  77.35

B

  90.25

C

103.14

D

116.03

E

141.81

F

167.60

G

193.38

H

232.06

 

5.         it is further noted that for the year 2007/08 the Fire Authority has stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Authority, in accordance with the Local Government Act 2003, for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

 

£

 

 

A

  40.67

B

  47.44

C

  54.22

D

  61.00

E

  74.56

F

  88.11

G

101.67

H

122.00

 

6.         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 2007/08 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

Band

Hale

Daresbury

Moore

Preston

Brook

All other

Parts

of the

Council’s

Area

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

£

£

£

£

£

 

 

 

 

 

 

A

   829.87

   827.94

   819.14

   820.70

   813.65

B

   968.18

   965.93

   955.67

   957.48

   949.26

C

1,106.50

1,103.92

1,092.19

1,094.27

1,084.87

D

1,244.81

1,241.91

1,228.72

1,231.05

1,220.48

E

1,521.44

1,517.89

1,501.77

1,504.62

1,491.70

F

1,798.06

1,793.87

1,774.82

1,778.19

1,762.92

G

2,074.68

2,069.85

2,047.86

2,051.75

2,034.13

H

2,489.62

2,483.82

2,457.44

2,462.10

2,440.96

 

 

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 (d) 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; and

 

7.         the Operational Director – Financial Services be authorised at any time during the financial year 2007/08 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 (£1.5m net) as the Council may temporarily require.

Supporting documents: