Agenda item

Budget 2022/23

·            To consider and adopt the resolutions contained the joint reports of the Executive Member for Finance and Governance and the Director of Finance and Systems, presented to the Executive on 16 February 2022 and set out (a) - (d) below.

 

        To set and approve the Council Tax Requirement for the District for the year beginning 1 April 2022, 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 2022/2023 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 and Governance 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:

 

(a)       Executive’s Revenue Budget Proposals 2022/23 and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2023/24 – 2024/25, including the revised precept figures as circulated and set out the updated Annex J to the report.

(b)       Capital Strategy, Asset Investment Strategy, Capital Programme and Prudential and Local Indicators 2022-2025;

(c)       Treasury Management Strategy 2022/23 – 2024/25; and

(d)       Fees, Charges and Allowances 2022/23,

 

and that the Council sets and approves the amounts as the amounts of the Council Tax for the year 2022/2023, 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 Morgan responded to the Motion on behalf of the Conservative Group. Councillor Newgrosh responded to the Motion on behalf of the Liberal Democrats Group and gave notice of an amendment and Councillor Jerrome responded to the Motion on behalf of the Green Party Group.

 

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

 

This Council agrees to reduce the upper limit for borrowing in its Asset Investment Strategy from £500 million to £400 million over the next 3 financial years.

 

This Council recognises that a phased reduction in borrowing is in line with the longer term aims of the Asset Investment Strategy.”

 

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

 

The Council proceeded to debate the substantive Motion.

 

(Note: During the debate on the substantive Motion, the time being 8:03 p.m., the Mayor indicated that speeches would now be limited to a maximum of two minutes per speaker.)

 

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, Bennett, Brotherton, G. Carter, K. Carter, Coggins, Cordingley, Dillon, Freeman, Gilbert, Harding, Hartley, Hassan, Haughey, Hynes, Jerrome, Longden, Maitland, New, O’Sullivan, Patel, Ross, Slater, Taylor, Thomas, Thompson, Walsh, Welton, A. Western, D. Western, Whitham, Whyte, Williams and Winstanley.

 

Those against the substantive Motion: Councillors Miss Blackburn, Boyes, Butt, Carey, Chalkin, Evans, Holden, Lamb, Mirza, Morgan, Myers, Whetton and Mrs. Young.

 

Those choosing to abstain: Councillors Brophy and Newgrosh.

 

With the result of the vote being 35 in favour and 13 against, with 2 abstentions, the Substantive Motion was declared carried.

 

          RESOLVED:

 

(1)       That the Council:

 

a)      Approves the 2022/23 net Revenue Budget of £192.57 million.

 

b)      Approves the 2023/24 to 2024/25 Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) including the income and savings proposals.

 

c)      Notes the arrangements proposed in relation to an enhanced Finance and Change Programme and the establishment of a Finance and Change Board which will work with the Executive on the development of sustainable budget plans to support the Council in meeting the financial challenges from 2023/24 onwards.

 

d)      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.

 

e)      Approves the proposal to increase Council Tax by 2.99% in 2022/23:

         

·       1.99% general increase in the ‘relevant basic amount’ in 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25, and

·       1% for the ‘Adult Social Care’ precept in 2022/23.

 

f)       Approves the planned application of earmarked reserves as detailed in Section 7 of the Revenue Budget Proposals report.

 

g)      Approves the Fees and Charges for 2022/23 and those relating to Registration of Births, Death and Marriages and Allotments also shown for 2023/24, as set out in the Fees and Charges booklet.

 

h)      Delegates authority jointly to each Corporate Director in consultation with the Director of Finance and Systems to amend fees and charges which are within their respective delegated powers during 2022/23 in the event of any change in VAT rate, as appropriate.

 

i)       Delegates authority jointly to each Corporate Director in consultation with the Director of Finance and Systems to amend fees and charges during 2022/23 which are within their respective delegated powers where the economics of the charge levels have changed (e.g. costs have risen unexpectedly), or for commercial reasons.

 

j)        Approves the proposal to increase the minimum level of General Reserve for 2022/23 at £9.5 million, an increase of £1.5 million from 2021/22 (Section 7.5 of the Revenue Budget Proposals report).

 

k)      Approves the Capital Strategy, Prudential and Local Indicators and overall level of the Capital Programme and Asset Investment Fund of £417.38 million (as detailed in the Capital Strategy, Capital Programme and Prudential Indicators 2022-25) of which £209.71 million relates to 2022/23; including the proposal in relation to £50.52 million of new prudential borrowing.

 

l)       Approves the Treasury Management Strategy 2022/23 to 2024/25, including the debt strategy (Section 3 of the Treasury Management Strategy Report), the Treasury Investment Strategy (Section 5 of the Treasury Management Strategy Report) 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 Treasury Management Strategy Report.

 

m)     Approves the flexible use of capital receipts of up to £0.27 million to support the cost of the Modernisation Team in developing the Council’s Finance and Change Programme.

 

n)      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 I of the Revenue Budget Proposals report.

 

o)      Due to the late publication of the Final Local Government Finance Settlement, delegates authority to the Director of Finance and Systems to vary the level of Budget Support Reserve needed to balance the 2022/23 revenue budget in the event of any change at final settlement.

 

p)      Delegate to the Director of Finance and Systems, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and Governance, to administer the energy related discretionary schemes, as announced on 3 February 2022, in accordance with the guidance, which will be fully funded by a Section 31 grant.

 

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

 

q)      The objective assessment by the Director of Finance and Systems of the robustness of budget estimates and adequacy of the financial reserves (Sections 1 and 7 of the Revenue Budget Proposals report).

 

r)       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 16 February 2022.

 

s)      The Council’s Public Sector Equality duty.

 

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

 

u)      The changes to the Council Tax Scheme 2022/23 and Council Tax Hardship Fund as detailed in a separate report to the Executive on 24 January 2022.

 

That in addition, the Council notes the following:

 

v)      The approval on 11 January 2022 under delegated powers by the Director of Finance and Systems of the Council Tax Base for 2022/23 at 77,601 Band D equivalents.

 

w)     the estimated Council Tax surplus for 2021/22 has been calculated at £1.89 million, sufficient to release £1.55 million to support the Council’s budget plans and a distribution of £240,000 and £100,000 representing the respective shares of the Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner Precept and Mayoral General Precept (including Fire Services).

 

x)      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.

 

y)      The budget gap for the two years 2023/24, £15.7 million and 2024/25, £2.7 million.

 

z)      The recurrent budget gap caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue into 2022/23 and is estimated that £7.1 million will be met from reserves.

 

aa)    That the Capital Programme for 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25 is to be set at an indicative £209.71 million, £143.6 million and £64.09 million respectively (indicative at this stage as a number of capital grants not yet known).

 

bb)    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 d) above, the Council calculates the formal Council Tax Resolution as follows:

 

1.

It be noted that on 11 January 2022 the Council calculated

 

 

(a)  the Council Tax Base 2022/23 for the whole Council area as 77,601 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the "Act")] and;

 

 

(b)       1,669 for dwellings in the Parish of Partington;

(c)        144 for dwellings in the Parish of Carrington:

(d)       163 for dwellings in the Parish of Warburton:

 

to which Parish Precepts relate.

 

2.

 

That the Council approve the Council Tax Requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2022/23 (excluding Parish precepts) as £112,755,029.

 

 

 

3.

That the Council agrees the calculation of the Aggregate Amounts for the year 2022/23 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

 

 

 

(a)

£572,749,064

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)

£459,894,710

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

(c)

£112,854,354

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)

£1,454.29

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)

£99,325

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

(f)

 

 

 

 

(g)

 

 

 

 

 

£1,453.01

 

 

 

 

£1,505.05

 

 

 

 

 

 

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)

£1,483.01

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.

(i)

£1,503.01

Parish of Warburton

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 1.0% increase to be spent exclusively on supporting the delivery of adult social care services.

 

That it be noted that for the year 2022/23 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 2022/23 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

 

Valuation Bands

Council Tax Schedule
2021/22

Band A
£

Band B
£

Band C
£

Band D
£

Band E
£

Band F
£

Band G
£

Band H
£

Trafford Council (including Adult Social Care Precept)

968.67

1,130.12

1,291.56

1,453.01

1,775.90

2,098.79

2,421.68

2,906.02

Mayoral Police and Crime Commissioner Precept

 

 

152.20

177.56

202.93

228.30

279.03

329.76

380.50

456.60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mayoral General Precept (including Fire Services)

68.63

80.07

91.51

102.95

125.82

148.70

171.58

205.90

Sub total

1,189.50

1,387.75

1,586.00

1,784.26

2,180.75

2,577.25

2,973.76

3,568.52

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Partington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parish only

34.69

40.48

46.26

52.04

63.60

75.17

86.73

104.08

 

Parish & District only

1,003.36

1,170.60

1,337.82

1,505.05

1,839.50

2,173.96

2,508.41

3,010.10

 

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

1,224.19

1,428.23

1,632.26

1,836.30

2,244.35

2,652.42

3,060.49

3,672.60

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Carrington

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parish only

20.00

23.33

26.67

30.00

36.67

43.33

50.00

60.00

 

Parish & District only

988.67

1,153.45

1,318.23

1,483.01

1,812.57

2,142.12

2,471.68

2,966.02

 

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

1,209.50

1,411.08

1,612.67

1,814.26

2,217.42

2,620.58

3,023.76

3,628.52

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Warbuton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Parish only

33.33

38.89

44.44

50.00

61.11

72.22

83.33

100.00

 

Parish & District only

1,002.00

1,169.01

1,336.00

1,503.01

1,837.01

2,171.01

2,505.01

3,006.02

 

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

1,222.83

1,426.64

1,630.44

1,834.26

2,241.86

2,649.47

3,057.09

3,668.52

 

 

 

PARISH COUNCIL PRECEPTS

 

2021/22

2022/23

 

 

Parish/Town Council

Tax

Precepts

Council Tax

Tax

Precepts

Council Tax

C Tax

 

Base

£

Band D (£)

Base

£

Band D (£)

Increase

  Partington

1,578

82,119

52.04

1,669

86,855

52.04

0.0%

  Carrington

126

3,780

30.00

144

4,320

30.00

0.0%

  Warburton

165

8,250

50.00

163

8,150

50.00

0.0%

TOTAL

1,869

94,149

 

1,976

99,325

 

 

 

 

Supporting documents: