Agenda item

Councillor Coley submits a report asking Cabinet to approve a 3 year corporate budget strategy, 3 year departmental revenue strategies for each department and a general fund budget for 2006/07, for recommendation to Council.

The full appendices are attached for Members of the Cabinet.  Further copies are available on the City Council's website at www.leicester.gov.uk/cabinet or by contacting Committee Services on 252 6028/22.

The relevant minute extracts from Committees are attached to the report.  Any minutes extracts not yet available will be circulated before the Cabinet meeting.

Councillor Coley submitted a report asking Cabinet to approve a 3 year corporate budget strategy, 3 year departmental revenue strategies for each department and a general fund budget for 2006/07, for recommendation to Council.  Further to the report, he circulated some proposed amendments to the proposals in the report as follows:-

The relevant minute extracts of Scrutiny Committees had been circulated to the Cabinet.

The Chief Finance Officer noted that further to the report the comments of UNISON, TCC, NUT and Leicester University had been circulated to Cabinet members and a summary of petitions received had also been circulated.

He noted that the current year's budget monitoring exercise was showing that the position remained very tight in 2005/06 but was anticipated to be contained within overall resources.  The budget monitoring for 2005/06 had not identified any issues that needed to be reflected in the 2006/07 budget.  The most significant area of change since previous information provided to Cabinet was in respect of Social Care and Health transport costs, which had increased significantly.  The Corporate Director would manage these pressures within the overall Departmental resources for 2006/07, as she routinely managed other areas of risk.  Corporate reserves estimates remained as included in the budget report.  He also referred to financial pressures facing the Performing Arts Centre, about which Members had been written.  Further to the report, it was noted that tax increases for the police and fire authority had been set, the Police precept being a rise of 4.99% and the Fire Authority precept a rise of 4.92%.  With these taken into account and the proposals being put forward by the Cabinet Lead, the Council Tax increase would be 2.98%.

Members noted the overall tax increase and that the proposed increase was the lowest of any unitary authority who had participated in 'The Times' survey.  It was noted that the police and fire authority tax increases had increased the total city tax and that these decisions had been taken by those authorities and not the Council

RESOLVED:

(1)that the corporate budget strategy for 2006/07 to 2008/09, the draft departmental revenue strategies prepared by each director, and the draft overall budget for 2006/07 as described in this report be agreed for recommendation to Council, subject to the variations outlined above

(2)that the Chief Finance Officer be asked to prepare a formal budget and council tax resolution, based on the above recommendation and consequent prudential indicators, for Council approval

(3)that subject to the approval of the budget by the Council on 22 February and the Council’s normal procedures, to authorise corporate directors to take any action necessary to deliver their departmental revenue strategies for 2007/08 to 2008/09

(4)that the Director of Regeneration and Culture, be authorised, in consultation with the Cabinet lead, to vary the detailed proposals for management savings set out in her departmental revenue strategy, provided such changes achieve equal savings and do not impact upon front-line service delivery

(5)that the Director of Adult Services, be authorised, in consultation with the Cabinet lead, to determine a programme of spending for the new monies provided for crime and disorder

(6)that the Directors of Adults’ and Children’s services be authorised to spend £0.4m set-aside for initial costs of the new departments

(7)that Council be recommended that the approved budget form part of the policy and budget framework of the Council, and that future amendments shall require the approval of full Council, subject to the following:

the Cabinet may authorise the addition, deletion or virement of sums within the budget up to a maximum amount of £1m for a single purpose;

flexibilities and permissions provided in finance procedure rules;

(8)that the schedule of determinations to the Council’s finance procedure rules as shown at Appendix 6 be approved

(9)that Council be recommended, subject to its approval of the budget, that the elements of the budget shown at Appendix 7 to the report be controllable budget lines for the purposes of Finance Procedure Rule 4.3.6 (being the level at which the budget is disaggregated for the purposes of applying the Council’s virement rules)

(10)that Council be recommended to approve the treasury strategy included as Appendix 8 and the investment strategy included at Appendix 9 to the report

(11)that Council be recommended to delegate authority to the Chief Finance Officer to vary components within the Council’s overall borrowing limit (the “authorised limit”) which relate to borrowing and other forms of finance

(12)that the role of the member reference group be extended to oversee the Regeneration and Culture Review and the Cabinet Lead for Resources give guidance to officers on any response to the Lyons Review and funding proposals for 2008/09; and

(13) that a review of the Council’s approach to subsidised bus services be commissioned.