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Decision details

Budget and Council Tax Report 2024/25

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Decision Maker: Council

Decision status: For Determination

Is Key decision?: Yes

Is subject to call in?: No

Decision:

RESOLVED:

1. That Council bring forward into 2024/25 the Council’s projected 2023/24 General Fund balance of £17.0m with the aim of increasing this to £20m over the medium-term period to 2026/27 noting the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) projected 2023/24 balance of £15m with the aim of increasing to £17.6m by the end of March 2024.

2. That Full Council agree for approval the directorate estimates and estimates for the General Finance Account items set out in Table 2 in Section 14 of this report.

3. That Full council note that the budget is a financial exposition of the priorities set out within the Strategic Plan summarised at Section 6 below.

4. That Full Council note that in line with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2003,the Interim Group Director of Finance, is of the view that:

The General Fund balances which currently stand at £17.0m and the level of

other reserves are adequate to meet the Council’s financial needs for 2024/25

and that considering the economic uncertainty they should not fall below this

level and that the aim is to increase these to £20m over the medium term period to 2026/27 from a review of current earmarked reserves.

This view takes account of the reserves included in the Council’s latest

published 2022/23 Accounts and the movements of those reserves since that

date – which have been tracked through the Overall Financial Position (OFP)

Reports, and the latest OFP projections. Note also, that the projections in the

HRA Budget to increase the balance to £17.6m by 31 March 2024 are also

considered to be adequate at this point in time but will need to continue to be

reviewed in the light of the challenges facing the HRA.

The General Fund estimates are sufficiently robust to set a balanced budget

for 2024/25. This takes into account the adequacy of the level of balances

and reserves outlined above and the assurance gained from the comparisons of the 2023/24 budget with the projected spend identified in the December 2023 OFP. The overall level of the corporate contingency has been set at £2m.

That Full Council approve the proposed General Fund fees and charges as set out in Appendix 7 for implementation from 1st April 2024.

That full Council continue the policy requiring the Interim Group Director of Finance to seek to mitigate the impact of significant changes to either resources or expenditure requirements.

That Full Council require the Mayor, Cabinet and the Corporate Leadership Team to develop robust plans to deliver against the revised Medium Term Financial Plan included at Appendix 5 taking into account the recommendation of the S151 Officer as set out in the Section 25 Statement (Appendix 11). This is needed to maintain the financial resilience of the Council and to avoid the

requirement to make short-term decisions which will adversely impact on

our residents.

That Full Council note the summary of the HRA Budget and Rent setting report proposed to Cabinet on 22nd January 2024.

That Full Council authorise the Interim Group Director of Finance to implement any virements required to allocate provision for demand and growth pressures

set out in this report subject to the appropriate evidence base being provided.

That Full Council approve:

The allocation of resources to the 2024/25 capital programme referred to in

Section 22 and Appendix 6.

That Full Council note that the new capital expenditure proposals match uncommitted resources for the year 2024/25.

That Full Council agree the prudential indicators for Capital Expenditure:- the Capital Financing Requirement; the Authorised Limit and Operational Boundary for External Debt; the Affordability prudential indicators; and the Treasury

Management Prudential Indicators for 2024/25 as set out in Section 23 and

Appendix 3.

That Full Council confirm that the authorised limit for external debt of £792m agreed above for 2024/25 will be the statutory limit determined under section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003. Further reassurance about the robustness of the budget is the confirmation that the Council’s borrowings are within the boundaries of prudential guidelines.

That Full Council continue to support the approach of using reserves to manage emerging risks and liabilities.

That Full Council note that at its meeting on 24th January 2024 the Council agreed its Council Tax Base for the 2024/25 financial year as 77,766.9 in accordance with regulations made under section 33(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The Council Tax Base is the total number of properties in each of the eight council tax bands A to H converted to an equivalent number of band D properties.

That Full Council agree that the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2024/25 in accordance with Sections 31A to 36 of the Localism Act 2011.

The authority calculates the aggregate of: (in accordance with Section 31A

(2) of the Act)

(a) £1,374.738m being the expenditure which the authority estimates it will

incur in the year in performing its functions and will charge to a revenue account, other than a BID Revenue Account, for the year in accordance with proper practices.

(b) £2m being such allowance as the authority estimates will be appropriate for contingencies in relation to amounts to be charged or credited to a revenue account for the year in accordance with proper practices.

appropriate to raise in the year for meeting its estimated future expenditure.

(d) £nil being such financial reserves as are sufficient to meet so much of the amount estimated by the authority to be a revenue account deficit for any earlier financial year as has not already been provided for.

(e) £nil being the amount which it estimates will be transferred in the year from its general fund to its collection fund in accordance with section 97(4) of the 1988 Act, and

(f) £nil being the amount which it estimates will be transferred from its

general fund to its collection fund pursuant to a direction under section 98(5) of the 1988 Act and charged to a revenue account for the year.

The authority calculates the aggregate of: (in accordance with Section 31A

(3) of the Act)

(a) £1,263.182m being the income which it estimates will accrue to it in the

year and which it will credit to a revenue account, other than a BID Revenue Account, for the year in accordance with proper practices.

(b) £4.218m being the amount which it estimates will be transferred in the year from its collection fund to its general fund in accordance with section 97(3) of the 1988 Act.

(c) £nil being the amount which it estimates will be transferred from its collection fund to its general fund pursuant to a direction under section 98(4) of the 1988 Act and will be credited to a revenue account for the year, and

(d) £nil being the amount of the financial reserves which the authority estimates it will use in order to provide for the items mentioned in subsection (2) (a), (b), (e) and (f) above.

£109.338m being the amount by which the aggregate calculated under subsection (1) above exceeds that calculated under subsection (2) above, the authority calculates the amount equal to the difference; and the amount so calculated is its Council Tax Requirement for the year.

£109.338m being the amount at (3.2.18) divided by the amount at (3.2.15)

above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with section 31A of the

Act, £1,405.97 as the basic amount of its council tax for the year.

That the Council in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local

Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts

shown in the tables below as the amounts of Council tax for 2024/25 for

each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

Valuation Bands Hackney

A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
£937.31	£1,093.53	£1,249.75	£1,405.97	£1,718.41	£2,030.84	£2,343.28	£2,811.94

That it be noted that for 2024/25 the Greater London Authority has stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of thecategories of dwellings shown below.

Valuation Bands GLA

A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
£314.27	£366.64	£419.02	£471.40	£576.16	£680.91	£785.67	£942.80

That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 3.2.20

and 3.2.21 above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local

Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the

amounts of Council Tax for 2024/25 for each of the categories of dwellings as

shown below.

Valuation Bands Combined Hackney/GLA

A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
£1,251.58	£1,460.17	£1,668.77	£1,877.37	£2,294.57	£2,711.75	£3,128.95	£3,754.74

That Full Council agree, subject to the decision of Members on recommendations 3.2.16 to 3.2.18 that Hackney’s Council Tax requirement for 2024/25 be £109.338m which results in a Band D Council Tax of £1,405.97 for Hackney purposes and a total Band D Council Tax of £1,877.37 including the Greater London Authority (GLA) precept.

To agree that in accordance with principles approved under section 52ZB of

the Local Government Finance Act 1992, and the new provisions included in the Localism Act 2011, the increase in the Council’s Council Tax requirement

for 2024/25 as shown at Appendix 8 is not excessive (5% or above) and therefore does not require the Council to hold a referendum.

That Full Council agree the Treasury Management Strategy for 2024/25, set out at Appendix 3.

That Full Council agree the criteria for lending and the financial limits set out at Appendix 3.

That Full Council approve the Minimum Revenue Provision statement setting out the method of calculation to be used, as set out in paragraphs 23.19-23.28 below.

REASONS FOR DECISION

The Council has a legal obligation to set its Council Tax and adopt its annual

budget. This report is seeking formal approval of the 2024/25 budget.

Previous decisions in this context relate to:

? The Overall Financial Position reports presented monthly to Council during

2023/24.

? The Calculation of the 2024-25 Council Taxbase & Local Business Rates

report approved by Council on 24th January 2024

Publication date: 29/02/2024

Date of decision: 28/02/2024

Decided at meeting: 28/02/2024 - Council

Accompanying Documents: