Members to give notice of any interest and the nature of that interest relating to any item on the agenda in accordance with the adopted Code of Conduct.

No declarations were made.

To receive and, if so determined, to approve as a correct record the Minutes of the meetings held on 18^th September 2023 and 25^th September 2023.

RESOLVED: That the minutes of the meetings held on the 18^th September 2023 and the 25^th September 2023 be approved as an accurate record.

A maximum of 15 minutes will be allocated to public questions submitted in writing to Democratic Services (democratic.services@trafford.gov.uk) by 4 p.m. on the working day prior to the meeting. Questions must be relevant to items appearing on the agenda and will be submitted in the order in which they were received.

The Head of Legal and Governance read out four questions which had been received from a member of the public and the Executive Member for Finance Change and Governance provided responses at the meeting which would be provided in writing to the member of the public and captured below.

Question 1 - On page 52 of the report in the following paragraph

“The Council has a budget from Business Rates income of approximately £80m and due to the complexities in the system such as the uncertainty surrounding a potential downturn in the general economy along with the forthcoming business rate reset, the importance of maintaining a suitable balance in this reserve cannot be underestimated. The underlying balance of £5.66m will be used to mitigate against these significant risks."

Should the word underestimated read overestimated?

The Executive Member Executive Member for Finance Change and Governance responded.

“The use of the term is to emphasise the importance of maintaining the reserve at a prudent level sufficient to mitigate the risk of a shortfall in this significant income stream.  In comparison with other reserves, the estimated balance of £5.66m although material, is considered to be the lowest required balance given the significance of the income derived from business rates.”

Question 2 - Given the perceived current difficulties of the Government to bring down the various measures of the Rate of Inflation, despite the projections made by the ONS please could the Executive Member for Finance give an opinion of the level of confidence being placed on the assumption for General Inflation as applicable to 2024 – 2025?

The Executive Member Executive Member for Finance Change and Governance responded.

“The assumptions underpinning the rates of inflation in these budget figures for general and contractual inflation range between 3 and 7% and reflect the range of increases dependant on the type of contract and the agreed contractual terms specific to each contract. Some contracts contain increases measured at CPI/RPI using specific times (eg Sept CPI) whilst others are based on estimates of forecast inflation. The Bank of England forecast assumes their target of 2% will be reached by late 2024. The assumptions in the draft budget will be updated based on latest forecasts during the preparation of the final budget report.”

Question 3 - Turning to Pay Inflation given the continuing pressure on Public Sector Pay by the awards being made in the Private Sector coupled with the re-emergence of significant action by the unions could the Executive Member for Finance give an opinion of the level of confidence being placed on the assumption for Pay Inflation as applicable to 2024 – 2025.

The Executive Member Executive Member for Finance Change and Governance responded.

“Estimating the level of pay inflation has been recognised as a risk in the preparation of the draft budget. Average pay awards over the previous two years were in the region of 6%, largely reflecting the increases in the national and real living wage rates. The current assumption for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 45.

To consider any matters referred by the Council or by the Overview and Scrutiny Committees.

Councillor Acton informed the Committee that the budget Scrutiny Committee had agreed two dates of the 28^th and 30^th November 2023 to look at the budget proposals as part of the budget scrutiny process and welcomed all Councillors to attend the meetings and feed into the process.

Councillor Acton informed the Committee that the Scrutiny Committee had recently had a briefing on Access to Council Services which had raised some concerns with Members and he informed the Committee that an short interim report with recommendations would be submitted to the Executive in December.

Councillor Butt informed the Committee that the Health Scrutiny Committee were continuing with the Task and Finish group looking at social prescribing and they were also looking at access to IVF treatments across Trafford.

To consider a report from the Executive Member for Finance, Change, and Governance and the Director of Finance and Systems.

a)    That the 2024/27 proposed budget strategy, including the 2024/25 draft revenue budget and the 2025/27 MTFS be approved and the income and savings proposals be included for the purposes of consultation only (where necessary) and these proposals will also be referred to the Scrutiny Committee for their consideration;

b)    That the proposal to increase Council Tax by 4.99% in 2024/25 (comprising 2.0% adult social care precept and 2.99% general increase) and by 2.99% for the remaining years of the MTFS 2025/27 be noted;

c)    That the assumptions made in setting the MTFS in Section 4 and the degree of uncertainty be noted;

d)    That the remaining budget gap for the years 2025/26 to 2026/27 be noted;

e)    That the commentary of the Director of Finance and Systems, the Council’s statutory S151 officer, regarding the financial sustainability of the Council in Section 1 be noted. 

f)     It was noted that the draft proposals are subject to various consultation exercises, further analysis of reserves, savings and income including impact assessments, potential future movements in core funding and specific grants, revised costings and robustness assessments.

g)    It was note that the review of the Capital Programme which is ongoing and the prioritisation process to be undertaken to compile an affordable capital programme 2024/25 to 2026/27.

h)    That the continued use of flexible use of capital receipts to support in part the cost of the Modernisation Team in developing the Council’s Finance and Change Programme for 2023/24 and 2024/25 be noted.

The Executive Member for Finance, Change, and Governance gave an in-depth introduction to the report covering the details of the information and proposals contained within the report and providing a broader context to the proposals and the budgetary challenges the Council faced. The Committee were asked to note the national context with the rise in Local Authorities publishing section 114 notices and the local context with Trafford receiving the lowest funding within Greater Manchester.

The Executive Member for Finance, Change, and Governance drew the Committee’s attention to elements of the report including; the proposed raise of Council Tax, the Council’s duties listed in section 1.1 of the report, the rise in demand for Council Services, the projected overspend for the year, the Council’s lobbying efforts for more funding, the loss of the dividend from Manchester Airport, the Council’s level of reserves, and the key budgetary risks the Council faced.

The Executive Member for Finance, Change, and Governance noted the difficulties of digesting and understanding the information provided within the report given the technical nature and level of detail provided. However, the Executive Member stated that setting the budget was one of the key jobs that local Councillor had to do and urged all Councillors to invest their time and efforts in taking part in the budget process and welcomed all Councillors input into the process.

The Executive Member for Finance, Change, and Governance thanked the officers who had prepared the report for their hard work and dedication both in managing the budget and in communicating their work to the Committee.  The Executive Member for Finance, Change, and Governance concluded the introduction by welcoming the levelling up funding that the Council were to receive and stating that the Council would be able to level up further if they received a fairer level of funding in general.

Following the introduction, the Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture, and Heritage, the Executive Member for Children and Young People, The Executive Member for Highways, Environmental, and Traded Services, The Executive Member for Economy and Regeneration, The Executive Member for Health and Care, and the Executive Member for Climate Change all thanked the Executive Member for Finance, Change, and Governance and finance Officers for all the hard work they had done in preparing the budget proposals and the report for the Committee. The Executive Members raised a number of points around the financial challenges the Council faced including the need to meet the Councils duties to support children and adults, the impact of inflation upon the school cleaning service, how Trafford received the lowest funding per capita out all 150 local authorities in England, that Trafford was a very low spending Council, and that the removal of all discretionary services provided by the Council would not be adequate to resolve the budget gap the Council faced.

The Leader thanked the Executive Members for their contributions and expressed that Trafford had a unique story to tell around the boroughs finances and the challenges it faced. The  ...  view the full minutes text for item 47.

To consider a report from the Executive Member for Communities and Safety.

1)    That the content of the report be noted;

2)    That the approval of the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy which includes the amendments detailed at 3.19 be recommended to Council;

3)    That the delegation of authority to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Member for Communities and Safety to bring the implementation date for vehicle age and emission standards (for existing licensed vehicles) forward from 1^st April 2026 should it be deemed appropriate in support of the Clean Air agenda be recommended to Council.

The Executive Member for Communities and Safety introduced the item by explaining the journey of the policies development leading to them being presented to the Committee. The Executive Member drew the Committees attention to the main aims and objectives of the licensing standards and the benefits that their implementation would deliver. The Committee were asked to note the issues that had caused the delay to the policy being drafted and that the policy included a series of amendments. The Executive Member then proceeded to read out the most salient amendments including those to the minimum standards and spoke about the restrictions on age of vehicles, emission standards, and the impact that they would have upon the clean air programme. The Executive Member concluded her introduction by reading out the recommendations and thanking the officers who had prepared the report.

The Executive Member for Leisure, Arts, Culture, and Heritage welcomed the report and the changes that it would implement especially around agreed minimum standards across greater Manchester, speaking from her own experience as a regular user of taxis.

The Leader then opened to floor to comments and questions from all Members in attendance.

Councillor Evans raised a concern about the implementation of emissions standards and the impact it could have on the drivers within the borough. The Corporate Director of Place assured the Committee that the Council were aware of the changes that Taxi Drivers faced and that the Council would proceed with implementation with due diligence. 

Councillor Frass noted the issues around vehicles which were licensed within other areas who operated within Trafford and asked if there was anything that could be done to tackle the safeguarding concerns. The Corporate Director of Place stated that the Council had limited powers to tackle the issue and encouraged users to use Greater Manchester licensed taxis and to report any issues with a taxi to their licensing authority.

Following the conclusion of discussions, the Leader moved the recommendations of the report and they were approved.

RESOLVED:

1)    That the content of the report be noted;

2)    That the approval of the proposed Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Licensing Policy which includes the amendments detailed at 3.19 be recommended to Council;

3)    That the delegation of authority to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Member for Communities and Safety to bring the implementation date for vehicle age and emission standards (for existing licensed vehicles) forward from 1^st April 2026 should it be deemed appropriate in support of the Clean Air agenda be recommended to Council.