The Executive Board considered the attached report. Please note that the Cheshire Police precept is still awaited. Once this has been received, a revised report will be circulated.

 

RECOMMENDED: That the resolution set out in Appendix A be adopted, which includes setting the budget at £101.895m and the Band D Council Tax for Halton (before Parish, Police and Fire precepts) of £1,079.97.

The Executive Board had considered a report setting out a recommendation to Council in respect of the Budget, Capital Programme and Council Tax for 2008/09. Since then, the Cheshire Police and Fire Authorities had set their budgets and council tax precepts and an updated report had been circulated for Members’ attention providing information in respect of:

 

·          the Local Government Finance Settlement;

·          the Budget 2008/09;

·          the Budget Outlook;

·          the Capital Programme;

·      Halton’s Council Tax;

·          Parish Precepts;

·      Average Council Tax;

·          Police and Fire Precepts;

·          Total Council Tax;

·          the Prudential Code; and

·                    Capital Financing.

 

The Executive Board had recommended that Council adopt the resolution set out in Appendix A of the report, which included setting the Budget at £101.895m and the Band D Council Tax for Halton (before Parish, Police and Fire precepts) of £1,079.97.

 

The Corporate Services Portfolio Holder, officers and Members were all thanked for their work in producing this budget. In addition, the involvement of the Halton 2000 Citizens’ Panel, and the comments of each of the Area Forums, a list of which had been tabled for Council’s consideration, was noted.

 

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

 

“That:

 

1.         The policies outlined in this paper be adopted, including the Budget for 2008/09, 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.         That it be noted that at the meeting on 12th December 2007 the Council agreed the following:

 

(a)       For 2008/09, 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 37,762 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 2008/09 be set as follows:

 

Parish	Tax Base
Hale	724
Daresbury	140
Moore	349
Preston Brook	339
Halebank	510
Sandymoor	816

 

            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 2008/09 and agreed as follows:

 

(a)       £288,942,717 – 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)       £187,362,000 – 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)       £101,580,717 – being the amount calculated by the Council for the year 2008/09 in accordance with Section 32(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as its budget requirement for the year.

 

(d)       £60,762,844 – 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 (£53,337,790) and Revenue Support Grant (£7,425,054).

 

(e)       £1,080.92 – 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)         £36,017 – 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	15,412
Daresbury	3,000
Moore	4,000
Preston Brook	3,605
Halebank	5,000
Sandymoor	5,000

 

(g)       £1,079.97 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	1,101.26
Daresbury	1,101.40
Moore	1,091.43
Preston Brook	1,090.60
Halebank	1,089.77
Sandymoor	1,086.10

 

            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	Halebank	Sandymoor	All other Parts of the Council’s Area
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
A	734.17	734.27	727.62	727.07	726.51	724.07	719.98
B	856.54	856.65	848.89	848.25	847.60	844.75	839.98
C	978.89	979.02	970.16	969.42	968.68	965.42	959.97
D	1,101.26	1,101.40	1,091.43	1,090.60	1,089.77	1,086.10	1,079.97
E	1,345.98	1,346.15	1,333.97	1,332.95	1,331.94	1,327.45	1,319.96
F	1,590.71	1,590.91	1.576,51	1,575.31	1,574.12	1,568.81	1,559.96
G	1,835.43	1,835.67	1,819.05	1,817.67	1,816.28	1,810.17	1,799.95
H	2,202.52	2,202.80	2,182.86	2,181.20	2,179.54	2,172.20	2,159.94

 

            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 2008/09 the Police Authority have 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	90.50
B	105.58
C	120.67
D	135.65
E	165.92
F	196.08
G	226.25
H	271.50

 

5.         It is further noted that for the year 2008/09 the Fire Authority have 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	41.81
B	48.77
C	55.74
D	62.71
E	76.65
F	90.58
G	104.52
H	125.42

 

6.         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 2008/09 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	866.48	866.58	859.93	859.38	858.82	856.38	852.29
B	1,010.89	1,011.00	1,003.24	1,002.60	1,001.95	999.10	994.33
C	1,155.30	1,155.43	1,146.57	1,145.83	1,145.09	1,141.83	1,136.38
D	1,299.72	1,299.86	1,289.89	1,289.06	1,288.23	1,284.56	1,278.43
E	1,588.55	1,588,72	1,576.54	1,575.52	1,574.51	1,570.02	1,562.53
F	1,877.37	1,877.57	1,863.17	1,861.97	1,860.78	1,855.47	1,846.62
G	2,166.20	2,166.44	2,149.82	2.148.44	2,147.05	2,140.94	2,130.72
H	2,599.44	2,599.72	2,579.78	2,578.12	2,576.46	2,569.12	2,556.86

            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.

 

7. The Operational Director – Financial Services be authorised at any time during the financial year 2008/09 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 Councillors Redhead and Sly respectively:

 

“As part of the Budget setting process for 2008/09 we would like to propose the following amendment to item 3 (a) on the Agenda for the full council meeting of 5^th March 2008.

 

These savings were submitted to the Executive Board prior to the budget being set.

 

Energy Saving Programme – as recommended last year (programme should be in its second year by now)	50,000
Advertising, Marketing and Promotion. – as last year (balance required to deliver a 15% reduction - 11.6% achieved)	12,000
Executive Board (reduction to 6 posts in line with Directorate structure)	57,000
Freeze Councillors allowances for one year	12,000
No special allowance paid to Vice Chairs	30,000
Invest to Save – Productivity target for KPMG Partners	75,000
Voluntary Sector – Do not cut this valuable area	(72,000)
Fund Voluntary Sector spending by reducing Priorities Fund in view of the new LAA shape yet to be agreed.	72,000
TOTAL EXTRA SAVINGS	£ 237,000

 

This would reduce the Council Tax increase from the 3.5% as per the proposal down to 2.9%.”

 

            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 2008/09, 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.         That it be noted that at the meeting on 12th December 2007 the Council agreed the following:

 

(a)       For 2008/09, 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 37,762 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 2008/09 be set as follows:

 

Parish	Tax Base
Hale	724
Daresbury	140
Moore	349
Preston Brook	339
Halebank	510
Sandymoor	816

 

            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 2008/09 and agreed as follows:

 

(a)       £288,942,717 – 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)       £187,362,000 – 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)       £101,580,717 – being the amount calculated by the Council for the year 2008/09 in accordance with Section 32(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as its budget requirement for the year.

 

(d)       £60,762,844 – 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 (£53,337,790) and Revenue Support Grant (£7,425,054).

 

(e)       £1,080.92 – 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)         £36,017 – 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	15,412
Daresbury	3,000
Moore	4,000
Preston Brook	3,605
Halebank	5,000
Sandymoor	5,000

 

(g)       £1,079.97 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	1,101.26
Daresbury	1,101.40
Moore	1,091.43
Preston Brook	1,090.60
Halebank	1,089.77
Sandymoor	1,086.10

 

            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	Halebank	Sandymoor	All other Parts of the Council’s Area
	£	£	£	£	£	£	£
A	734.17	734.27	727.62	727.07	726.51	724.07	719.98
B	856.54	856.65	848.89	848.25	847.60	844.75	839.98
C	978.89	979.02	970.16	969.42	968.68	965.42	959.97
D	1,101.26	1,101.40	1,091.43	1,090.60	1,089.77	1,086.10	1,079.97
E	1,345.98	1,346.15	1,333.97	1,332.95	1,331.94	1,327.45	1,319.96
F	1,590.71	1,590.91	1.576,51	1,575.31	1,574.12	1,568.81	1,559.96
G	1,835.43	1,835.67	1,819.05	1,817.67	1,816.28	1,810.17	1,799.95
H	2,202.52	2,202.80	2,182.86	2,181.20	2,179.54	2,172.20	2,159.94

 

            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 2008/09 the Police Authority have 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	90.50
B	105.58
C	120.67
D	135.65
E	165.92
F	196.08
G	226.25
H	271.50

 

5.         It is further noted that for the year 2008/09 the Fire Authority have 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	41.81
B	48.77
C	55.74
D	62.71
E	76.65
F	90.58
G	104.52
H	125.42

 

6.         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 2008/09 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	866.48	866.58	859.93	859.38	858.82	856.38	852.29
B	1,010.89	1,011.00	1,003.24	1,002.60	1,001.95	999.10	994.33
C	1,155.30	1,155.43	1,146.57	1,145.83	1,145.09	1,141.83	1,136.38
D	1,299.72	1,299.86	1,289.89	1,289.06	1,288.23	1,284.56	1,278.43
E	1,588.55	1,588,72	1,576.54	1,575.52	1,574.51	1,570.02	1,562.53
F	1,877.37	1,877.57	1,863.17	1,861.97	1,860.78	1,855.47	1,846.62
G	2,166.20	2,166.44	2,149.82	2.148.44	2,147.05	2,140.94	2,130.72
H	2,599.44	2,599.72	2,579.78	2,578.12	2,576.46	2,569.12	2,556.86

            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.

 

7.         The Operational Director – Financial Services be authorised at any time during the financial year 2008/09 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.