Agenda item

Budget 2020/21

 

          To consider and adopt the resolutions contained the joint reports of the Executive Member for Finance and Investment and the Corporate Director of Finance and Systems, presented to the Executive on 19 February 2020 and set out (a) - (d) below.

 

          To set and approve the Council Tax Requirement for the District for the year beginning 1 April 2020, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended.

 

          To set and approve, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended, the amounts as the amounts of the Council Tax for the year 2020/2021 for each of the categories of dwellings included in the respective valuation bands A to H.

Minutes:

(Note: PROCEDURAL ARRANGEMENTS - In respect of the main item of business on the agenda, the Mayor announced that the Leader of the Council (or his nominee) would have a maximum of 15 minutes to make the initial speech and a further maximum of 15 minutes to summarise the debate. The Leader of the Main Opposition Group (or his nominee) would have a maximum of 15 minutes, whereas, the Leaders of the Minority Opposition Groups (or their respective nominees) would each have a maximum of 10 minutes to make their initial speeches. Each Opposition Group Leader (or their respective nominees) would each have a further maximum of 5 minutes to summarise on behalf of their respective Groups.

 

The Mayor also outlined the approach for dealing with amendments, indicating that notice should be given during the initial speeches. Should any amendments be made to the main motion, they were to be dealt with in the order in which notice was given and when called upon were to be moved without further comment. Time for seconders of amendments and for all other speeches would be restricted to a maximum of 3 minutes.)

 

The Executive Member for Finance presented a number of reports setting out the proposed budget for the forthcoming year which had been recommended by the Executive at its meeting held earlier that evening.

 

It was moved and seconded that the Executive’s recommendations set out in each of the following reports: Executive’s Revenue Budget Proposals 2020/21 and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2021/22 – 2022/23; Capital Strategy, Capital Programme and Prudential and Local Indicators 2020-2023; Treasury Management Strategy 2020/21 – 2022/23; Fees, Charges and Allowances 2020/21, be approved subject to the inclusion of the following:

 

Due to the late publication of the Final Local Government Finance Settlement, Council delegate authority to the Corporate Director of Finance and Systems in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and Investment to vary the level of Budget Support Reserve needed to balance the 2020/21 revenue budget in the event of any change at final settlement.

 

and that the Council sets and approves the amounts as the amounts of the Council Tax for the year 2020/2021, in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended, for each of the categories of dwellings included in the respective valuation bands A to H.

 

Councillor Myers responded to the Motion on behalf of the Conservative Group and gave notice of an amendment. Councillor Newgrosh, on behalf of the Liberal Democrats Group and then Councillor Coggins, on behalf of the Green Party Group also responded to the Motion.

 

Dealing with the amendment signified, it was moved and seconded as an amendment that:

 

The Council notes the request of the Executive to consider and adopt the resolutions contained the joint reports of the Executive Member for Finance and the Corporate Director of Finance and Systems, presented to the Executive on 19 February 2020.

 

        The Council agrees these recommendations, subject to the following amendments:

1.           The installation of 100, 50-kilowatt electric vehicle charging stations for residents, businesses and visitors to Trafford.


The Government has announced that the sale of new petrol and diesel driven vehicles, as well as hybrid vehicles, will be banned from 2035, possibly 2032. Research shows that the greatest barrier to people switching to all electric vehicles is the fear of running out of battery power and being stranded. A typical electric car takes 8 hours to charge from 7-kw home charging points.

For many electric cars, drivers can add up to 100 miles of range in half an hour from 50-kilowatt rapid charger. Trafford will need to host at least 5,000 rapid charge points to begin to meet our share of the national demand, some of which will be satisfied by off-road, private provision. This amendment will make a large contribution to reducing the number of fossil fuel vehicles in Trafford and our carbon footprint.

 

        The revenue impact of this amendment can be contained with the existing budget. There would, however, be a revenue income from customers of the chargers. The unit costs of rapid chargers vary between £2,000 and £5,000 which would be offset by grants from the Government.

 

2.           Increase removal of old street trees which are currently uprooting pavements and replace with ornamental trees on a 5 for 2 basis.

In many of Trafford’s roads, forest trees have grown to a point where they have uprooted pavements and now prevent pedestrians from passing without stepping into the road.  This particularly impacts on the elderly, those who are disabled and residents with prams. 

Replacing the trees and repairing the footway will improve safety, reduce insurance claims against the Council from damage to private property and improve the street scene. Planting five trees for every two removed, will improve carbon dioxide absorption as the trees mature.

The revenue costs of this amendment can be contained within the existing budget.

3.           Introduce CCTV in areas prone to fly-tipping.

Last year, more than one million incidences of fly-tipping were dealt with by councils in England. The estimated cost of clearing up this waste was more than £60 million. Uncontrolled illegal waste disposal can be hazardous to the public, especially if it contains toxic material or asbestos. There could be a risk of damage to watercourses and soil quality from the dumped waste.

Catching and successfully prosecuting fly-tippers is difficult but CCTV evidence forms an important part of the legal process.  Installing CCTV in area prone to illegal tipping will act as a deterrent, improve the street scene and improve public safety.

The impact on the revenue budget for installing and managing 14 cameras is £12,600. The capital cost is £160,000.

4.           Proactively offer grants for resident groups that take on litter picking.

There are many residents’ groups in Trafford that voluntarily give up their time to pick up other peoples’ litter.  In addition to consumables such as bags, the groups need reach-grabbers, yellow vests, etc.  Many residents would be prepared join a litter picking groups.  These grants would fund websites and leaflet drops that would allow the groups to communicate with and build assistance among local residents.

There is no capital cost associated with this amendment. The impact on the revenue budget for four grants would be £16,000. 

5.           Give grants to Friends of Parks that will increase membership.

Friends groups help Trafford Council by giving a valuable insight into the needs and aspirations of the local community. They can help gain funding for restoration and conservation projects and can give opinions on proposed plans for the parks and open spaces.  However, many groups struggle to attract new member.  This grant would fund a simple website, leaflets drops and an electronic membership program for the Friends of Parks that would allow them to communicate with their local residents and park users.

There is no capital cost associated with this amendment. The impact on the revenue budget for twenty-eight ‘Friends Grants’ would be £112,000. 

 

The overall costs of these amendments are given in the table.

 

Amendment

Impact on

Revenue Budget

Impact on

Capital Budget

Rapid electric chargers

 

*£500,000

Planting more street trees

 

£100,000

Tackling fly-tipping

£12,600

£160,000

Supporting litter picking

£16,000

 

Supporting Friends of Parks

£112,000

 

Borrowing for capital expenditure

£52,440

 

Total

£193,040

£760,000

 

*Offset by Government grant. In addition, there would be a revenue income from customers

 

The total revenue requirement to deliver these amendments would be funded from the Budget Support Reserve.”

 

Following a debate on the matter, the amendment was put to the vote and declared lost.

 

It was moved and seconded as a second amendment that:

 

“The Council notes the resolutions and recommendations set out in the Budget papers before Council this evening.

 

The Council agrees these recommendations, subject to the following amendments:

 

1.           The installation of 100, 50-kilowatt electric vehicle charging stations for residents, businesses and visitors to Trafford.


The Government has announced that the sale of new petrol and diesel driven vehicles, as well as hybrid vehicles, will be banned from 2035, possibly 2032. Research shows that the greatest barrier to people switching to all electric vehicles is the fear of running out of battery power and being stranded. A typical electric car takes 8 hours to charge from 7-kw home charging points.

For many electric cars, drivers can add up to 100 miles of range in half an hour from 50-kilowatt rapid charger. Trafford will need to host at least 5,000 rapid charge points to begin to meet our share of the national demand, some of which will be satisfied by off-road, private provision. This amendment will make a large contribution to reducing the number of fossil fuel vehicles in Trafford and our carbon footprint.

 

        The revenue impact of this amendment can be contained with the existing budget. There would, however, be a revenue income from customers of the chargers. The unit costs of rapid chargers vary between £2,000 and £5,000 which would be offset by grants from the Government. The cost allocated to this would be up to £500,000 of capital expenditure, with associated revenue spend implications to satisfy repayment of the capital outlay.

 

2.           Introduce CCTV in areas prone to fly-tipping.

Last year, more than one million incidences of fly-tipping were dealt with by councils in England. The estimated cost of clearing up this waste was more than £60 million. Uncontrolled illegal waste disposal can be hazardous to the public, especially if it contains toxic material or asbestos. There could be a risk of damage to watercourses and soil quality from the dumped waste.

Catching and successfully prosecuting fly-tippers is difficult but CCTV evidence forms an important part of the legal process.  Installing CCTV in area prone to illegal tipping will act as a deterrent, improve the street scene and improve public safety.

The impact on the revenue budget for installing and managing 14 cameras is £12,600. The capital cost is £160,000.”

 

Following a debate on the matter, the second amendment was put to the vote and declared carried and the consequential changes to the Substantive Motion were reported as follows:

 

a)    Approves the 2020/21 net Revenue Budget of £175.26 million.

 

j)   Approves the Capital Strategy, Prudential and Local Indicators and overall level of the Capital Programme and Asset Investment Fund of £369.38 million (as detailed in the Capital Strategy, Capital Programme and Prudential Indicators 2020-23) of which £262.77 million relates to 2020/21; including the proposal in relation to £107.58 million of new prudential borrowing.

 

u)  The budget gap for the two years 2021/22, £15.07 million and 2022/23, £5.66 million.

 

v)  That the Capital Programme for 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 is to be set at an indicative £262.77 million, £60.37 million and £46.24 million respectively (indicative at this stage as a number of capital grants not yet known).

 

The Council proceeded to debate the substantive Motion and then, in accordance with procedures agreed at the outset of the debate, the Political Group Leaders summarised the essential views of their respective group and responded to some of the issues that had arisen from the debate.

 

The Substantive Motion was then put to a recorded vote, in accordance with the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014. The result was as follows:

 

Those in favour of the substantive Motion: Councillors Acton, Adshead, Anstee, Dr. Barclay, Bennett, Miss Blackburn, Boyes, Brotherton, Bunting, Butt, Carey, Dr. Carr, Carter, Mrs. Churchill, Cordingley, Dillon, Duffield, Evans, Freeman, Mrs. Haddad, Harding, Hartley, Holden, Hynes, Jarman, Lally, Lamb, Mitchell, Morgan, Myers, New, Patel, K. Procter, Rigby, Ross, Slater, Taylor, Thomas, Thompson, Walsh, A. Western, D. Western, Whitham, Whyte, Williams, Winstanley, Wright and Mrs. Young.

 

Those against the substantive Motion: Councillors Coggins, Jerrome and Welton.

 

Those choosing to abstain: Councillors Brophy, Minnis and Newgrosh. 

 

With the result of the vote being 48 in favour and 3 against, with 3 abstentions, the Substantive Motion was declared carried.

 

        RESOLVED:

 

(1)        That the Council:

 

a)     Approves the 2020/21 net Revenue Budget of £175.26 million.

 

b)     Approves the 2021/22 to 2022/23 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) including the income and savings proposals.

 

c)     Approves the calculation of the Council Tax Requirement as summarised in Section 9.1 of the Revenue Budget Proposals report and the formal Council Tax Resolution set out at (2) below.

 

d)     Approves the proposal to increase Council Tax by 3.99% in 2020/21:

       

·      1.99% general increase in the ‘relevant basic amount’ in 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23, and

·      2% for the ‘Adult Social Care’ precept in 2020/21.

 

e)     Approves the planned application of earmarked reserves as detailed in Section 6, Paragraph 6.4.2 of the Revenue Budget Proposals report.

 

f)      Approves the Fees and Charges for 2020/21 and those relating to Registration of Births, Death and Marriages also shown for 2021/22, as set out in the Fees and Charges booklet.

 

g)     Delegates authority jointly to each Corporate Director in consultation with the Corporate Director of Finance and Systems to amend fees and charges during 2020/21 in the event of any change in VAT rate, as appropriate.

 

h)     Delegates authority jointly to each Corporate Director in consultation with the Corporate Director of Finance and Systems to amend fees and charges during 2020/21 where the economics of the charge levels have changed (e.g. costs have risen unexpectedly), or for commercial reasons.

 

i)      Approves the proposal to maintain the minimum level of General Reserve for 2020/21 at £7.0 million, the same level as in 2019/20 (Section 6.6 of the Revenue Budget Proposals report).

 

j)      Approves the Capital Strategy, Prudential and Local Indicators and overall level of the Capital Programme and Asset Investment Fund of £369.38 million (as detailed in the Capital Strategy, Capital Programme and Prudential Indicators 2020-23) of which £262.77 million relates to 2020/21; including the proposal in relation to £107.58 million of new prudential borrowing.

 

k)     Approves the Treasury Management Strategy 2020/21 to 2022/23, including the debt strategy (Section 3), the Treasury Investment Strategy (Section 5) and the Prudential Indicators, including the Authorised Limit (as required by Section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003, Operational Boundary, Minimum Revenue Provision and investment criteria, as set out in Appendix 3 of the report.

 

l)      Approves the proposed distribution of Dedicated Schools Grant as recommended by the School Funding Forum and Executive, as summarised in Section 8 and detailed in Annex J of the Revenue Budget Proposals report.

 

m)    Due to the late publication of the Final Local Government Finance Settlement, delegates authority to the Corporate Director of Finance and Systems, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and Investment to vary the level of Budget Support Reserve needed to balance the 2020/21 revenue budget in the event of any change at final settlement.

 

That in recommending approval of the above, the Council confirms that it has taken into consideration:

 

n)     The objective assessment by the Corporate Director of Finance and Systems of the robustness of budget estimates and adequacy of the financial reserves (Section 6 and Annex I of the Revenue Budget Proposals report).

 

o)     The Executive’s response to the Scrutiny Committee’s recommendations to the budget proposals as included in a separate report considered at the Executive meeting held on 19 February 2020.

 

p)     The Council’s Public Sector Equality duty.

 

q)     The results of the consultation on the budget proposals where required.

 

That in addition, the Council notes the following:

 

r)      The approval on 18 January 2020 under delegated powers by the Corporate Director of Finance and Systems of the Council Tax Base for 2020/21 at 77,386 Band D equivalents.

 

s)     the calculation of the estimated Council Tax surplus, sufficient to release £(1.216)million to support the Council’s 2020/21 revenue budget and a distribution of £(180,000) and £(70,000) representing the respective shares of the Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner Precept and Mayoral General Precept (including Fire Services). 

 

t)      The base budget assumptions as set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) as detailed in Annex A of the Revenue Budget Proposals report.

 

u)     The budget gap for the two years 2021/22, £15.07 million and 2022/23, £5.66m.

 

v)     That the Capital Programme for 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 is to be set at an indicative £262.77 million, £60.37 million and £46.24 million respectively (indicative at this stage as a number of capital grants not yet known).

 

w)    That the Council Tax figures included in the report for the Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner Precept and Mayoral General Precept (including Fire Services) are the recommended provisional amounts pending their formal approval.

 

(2)        That, as referred to in c) above, the Council calculates the formal Council Tax Resolution as follows:

 

1.

It be noted that on 18th January 2020 the Council calculated

 

 

(a)  the Council Tax Base 2020/21 for the whole Council area as 77,386 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the "Act")] and;

 

 

(b)         1,573 for dwellings in the Parish of Partington;

(c)         125 for dwellings in the Parish of Carrington:

 

to which Parish Precepts relate.

 

 

 

 

 

2.

It is recommended : -

 

That the Council approve the Council Tax Requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2020/21 (excluding Parish precepts) as £103,989,759.

 

 

 

3.

That the Council agrees the calculation of the Aggregate Amounts for the year 2020/21 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

 

 

 

(a)

£491,536,139

being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Parish Councils.

(b)

£387,460,771

being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

(c)

£104,075,368

being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31A(4) of the Act).

(d)

£1,344.89

being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts).

(e)

£85,609

being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.

(f)

 

 

 

 

(g)

 

 

 

 

 

£1,343.78

 

 

 

 

£1,395.82

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no Parish precept relates.

 

Parish of Partington

being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 3(f) above the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council’s area mentioned at 3(e) above divided by the amount at 1(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

(h)

£1,373.78

Parish of Carrington

being the amounts given by adding to the amount at 3(f) above the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council’s area mentioned at 3(e) above divided by the amount at 1(c) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate

 

 

4.

 

 

5.

 

 

 

 

6.

 

The council tax set by Trafford Council includes a 2.0% increase to be spent exclusively on supporting the delivery of adult social care services.

 

That it be noted that for the year 2020/21 the Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner and the Mayoral General (including Fire Services) have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated in the table below.

 

That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate shown in the tables below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2020/21 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

 

 

 

Valuation Bands

Council Tax Schedule
2020/21

Band A
£

Band B
£

Band C
£

Band D
£

Band E
£

Band F
£

Band G
£

Band H
£

Trafford Council (including Adult Social Care Precept)

895.85

1,045.16

1,194.47

1,343.78

1,642.40

1,941.02

2,239.63

2,687.56

Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner Precept

 

 

138.86

162.01

185.15

208.30

254.58

300.87

347.16

416.60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayoral General Precept (including Fire Services)

60.63

70.73

80.84

90.95

111.16

131.37

151.58

181.90

Sub total

1,095.34

1,277.90

1,460.46

1,643.03

2,008.14

2,373.26

2,738.37

3,286.06

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Partington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parish only

34.69

40.48

46.26

52.04

63.60

75.17

86.73

104.08

 

Parish & District only

930.54

1,085.64

1,240.73

1,395.82

1,706.00

2,016.19

2,326.36

2,791.64

 

Aggregate of Council Tax requirements (incl. – Mayoral Precepts)

1,130.03

1,318.38

1,506.72

1,695.07

2,071.74

2,448.43

2,825.10

3,390.14

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parish only

20.00

23.33

26.67

30.00

36.67

43.33

50.00

60.00

 

Parish & District only

915.85

1,068.49

1,221.14

1,373.78

1,679.07

1,984.35

2,289.63

2,747.56

 

Aggregate of Council Tax requirements (incl. – Mayoral Precepts)

1,115.34

1,301.23

1,487.13

1,673.03

2,044.81

2,416.59

2,788.37

3,346.06

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PARISH COUNCIL PRECEPTS

 

2019/20

2020/21

 

 

Parish/Town Council

Tax

Precepts

Council Tax

Tax

Precepts

Council Tax

C Tax

 

Base

£

Band D (£)

Base

£

Band D (£)

Increase

  Partington

1,577

67,023

42.50

1,573

81,859

52.04

22.45%

  Carrington

124

0

N/A

125

3,750

30.00

N/A

TOTAL

1,701

 

 

1,698

85,609

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents: