RESOLVED:

1.    That the new draft savings/income proposals (Appendix 3a) and associated draft equalities impact assessments (Appendix 4) put forward by officers be agreed and referred to the Overview and Scrutiny panels and Commission in February 2021 for consideration and comment as part of the Savings Information Pack.

2.    That the latest amendments to the draft Capital Programme 2021-2025 be agreed and referred to the Overview and Scrutiny panels and Commission in February 2021 for consideration and comment as part of the Savings Information Pack.

3.    That the proposed amendment to saving proposal ENV2021- 04 be agreed and referred to the Overview and Scrutiny panels and Commission in February 2021 for consideration and comment as part of the Savings Information Pack.

The Chair advised that items 10 and 11 would be considered together although the minutes are set out separately for ease of reference.

The Cabinet Member for Finance presented the report which set out the draft Business Plan for 2021-25 and apologised for the lateness of the report, which had been due to officers working to ensure Members had the most up to date financial information.  He also thanked all Scrutiny Members for their flexibility in changing the timetable due to the late settlement announcements and spending review.  Unfortunately following those late announcements, a gap in the budget for the next year remained and the Council would be required to make additional savings, due to failure of government to recompense the Council for supporting residents through the pandemic.  Those savings would be considered at the respective Scrutiny Panels and a special Overview and Scrutiny Commission in mid-February. 

The report also recommended levying the Adult Social Care precept and raising council tax to the maximum allowed without a referendum, which was not a decision which had been taken lightly and would not have been taken had it been avoidable, in view of the ongoing impact of the pandemic on many residents.  Even with the additional measures, a gap of nearly £6m remained in 2022/23, rising to £11.5m in the following year.  He drew the Cabinet’s attention to the DSG deficit and the impact of the Government’s lack of a solution to address the deficit, which affected all local authorities and it was important to press the Government for a plan.

The Chair thanked the Cabinet Members and the officers involved.

The Director of Corporate Services advised that due to the current risks, it had been decided to not participate in the business rate pool for the next year, along with a number of other boroughs, although this would be kept under review.  Further work would be carried out on actions to mitigate the increase in the DSG deficit and there was some use of reserves proposed to reduce the budget gap.  There would be a further round of budget scrutiny with the final business plan and equalities assessments coming to the special Cabinet meeting in February for consideration. 

The Chair thanked all those involved for their work on the report, echoed the points made by the Cabinet Member in his presentation and looked forward to considering the comments made by the Scrutiny Panels in the third round of scrutiny which would be considered at the special meeting of the Cabinet in February.

RESOLVED:

1.    That the new draft savings/income proposals (Appendix 3a) and associated draft equalities impact assessments (Appendix 4) put forward by officers be agreed and referred to the Overview and Scrutiny panels and Commission in February 2021 for consideration and comment as part of the Savings Information Pack.

2.    That the latest amendments to the draft Capital Programme 2021-2025 be agreed and referred to the Overview and Scrutiny panels and Commission in February 2021 for consideration and comment as part of the Savings Information Pack.

3.    That the proposed amendment to saving proposal ENV2021- 04 be agreed and referred to the Overview and Scrutiny panels and Commission in February 2021 for consideration and comment as part of the Savings Information Pack.