Agenda item

The Mayor MOVED the Budget and Council Tax 2020/21 proposals.

 

An amendment to the Budget and Council Tax 2020/21 proposals was moved by Councillor Steinberger, and seconded by Councillor Odze. A copy of the amendment will be recorded in the minutes.

 

On a vote on the amendment there being:

 

three for :–

 

Councillors Klein, Odze, and Steinberger,

 

forty-eight against :–

 

Councillors Adams, Adejare, Bell, Billington, Deputy Mayor Bramble, Burke, Cameron, Chapman, Chauhan, Coban, Conway, David, Desmond, Etti, Fajana-Thomas, Garasia, Mayor Glanville, Gordon, Gregory, Hanson, Hayhurst, Joseph, Kennedy, Lynch, Maxwell, McKenzie, Moema, Nicholson, Oguzkanli, Ozsen, Pallis, Patrick, Peters, Plouviez, Potter, Rahilly, Rathbone, Deputy Mayor Rennison, Selman, Sharman,  Smyth, Snell, Spence, Stops, Webb, Williams, Woodley, and Root

 

Abstentions :– nil

 

Members not present at the vote: Councillors Clark, Levy, Lufkin, McMahon, Papier, and Race,

 

It was;

 

RESOLVED

 

That the amendment to the Budget and Council Tax 2020/21 proposals  be not agreed.

 

The Mayor MOVED that the substantive proposed budget and council tax 2020/21 proposals be agreed.  

 

On a vote there being:

 

forty-seven for  :–

 

Councillors Adams, Bell, Billington, Deputy Mayor Bramble, Burke, Cameron, Chapman, Chauhan, Coban, Conway, David, Desmond, Etti, Fajana-Thomas, Garasia, Mayor Glanville, Gordon, Gregory, Hanson, Hayhurst, Joseph, Kennedy, Lynch, Maxwell, McKenzie, Moema, Nicholson, Oguzkanli, Ozsen, Pallis, Patrick, Peters, Plouviez, Potter, Rahilly, Rathbone, Deputy Mayor Rennison, Selman, Sharman,  Smyth, Snell, Spence, Stops, Webb, Williams, Woodley, and Root

 

three against :–

 

Councillors Klein, Odze, and Steinberger,

 

Abstentions – nil

 

Members not present at the vote: Councillors Adejare, Clark, Levy, Lufkin, McMahon, Papier, and Race.

 

The MOTION was carried.

 

RESOLVED That:

 

 

1.  Approval be given to bring forward into 2020/21 the Council’s projected General Fund balances of £15.0m and to note the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) balances of £15m;

 

2.  Approval be given to the directorate estimates and estimates for the General Finance Account items set out in Table 1 below;

 

3.  the budget is a financial exposition of the priorities set out within the Corporate Plan attached at Appendix 11 of the report;

 

4.  it be noted that in line with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2003, the Group Director, Finance and Corporate Resources, is of the view that:

 

The General Fund balances of £15.0m and the level of reserves, particularly in relation to capital, are adequate to meet the Council’s financial needs for 2020/21 and that considering the economic uncertainty they should not fall below this level. This view takes account of the reserves included in the Council’s latest audited Accounts as at 31 March 2019, 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 to maintain the balance at £15m by 31 March 2020 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 2020/21. This takes into account the adequacy of the level of balances and reserves outlined above and the assurance gained from the comparisons of the 2019/20 budget with the projected spend identified in the December 2019 OFP. The overall level of the corporate contingency has been set at £2m.

 

5.  the proposed General Fund fees and charges as set out in Appendix 8 of the report for implementation from 1st April 2020 be approved;

 

6.  the policy requiring the Group Director, Finance and Corporate Resources to seek to mitigate the impact of significant changes to either resources, such as Top Up Grant changes, or expenditure requirements be continued;

 

7.  the summary of the HRA Budget and Rent setting report agreed by Cabinet on 20^th January 2020b be noted;

 

8.  the Group Director, Finance and Corporate Resources be authorised to implement any virements required to allocate provision for demand and growth pressures set out in the report subject to the appropriate evidence base being provided;

 

9.  approval be given to:

 

  The allocation of resources to the 2020/21 Non-Housing capital schemes referred to in Section 24 and Appendix 7 of the report;

 

  The allocation of resources to the 2020/21 Housing indicative capital programme referred to in Section 24 and Appendix 7 of the report, including the HRA approvals previously agreed by Cabinet on January 20^th  2020;

 

10.  the new capital expenditure proposals match uncommitted resources for the year 2020/21 be noted;

 

11.  the prudential indicators for Capital Expenditure and the Capital Financing Requirement, the Authorised Limit and Operational Boundary for External Debt, the Affordability prudential indicators and the Treasury Management Prudential Indicators for 2020/21 as set out in paragraph 25, and Appendix 3 of the report be agreed;

 

12.  it be confirmed that the authorised limit for external debt of £552m agreed above for 2020/21 will be the statutory limit determined under section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 and that  further reassurance about the robustness of the budget is the confirmation that the Council’s borrowings are within the boundaries of prudential guidelines;

 

13.  the approach of using reserves to manage emerging risks and liabilities be supported and continued, and the latest reserve position be noted;

 

14.  to note that at its meeting on 20 January 2020 the Council agreed its Council Tax Base for the 2020/21 financial year as 74,386 in accordance with regulations made under section 33(5) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, and that 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;

 

15.  (1) the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the year 2020/21 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)  £1,157.900m 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.

 

(c)  £nil being the financial reserves which the authority estimates it will be 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.

 

16.  (2) The authority calculates the aggregate of: (in accordance with Section 31A (3) of the Act)

 

(a)  £1,069.036m 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)  £3.118m 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.

 

17.   £87.746m 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;

 

18.  being the amount at (17) above divided by the amount at (14) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with section 31A of the Act, £1,179.61 as the basic amount of its council tax for the year;

 

19.  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 2020/21 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings:

 

VALUATION BANDS - LONDON BOROUGH OF HACKNEY
A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
£786.40	£917.48	£1,048.54	£1,179.61	£1,441.74	£1,703.88	£1,966.01	£2,359.22

 

 

20.  it be noted that for 2020/21 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 the categories of dwellings shown below;

 

 

VALUATION BANDS - GLA
A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
£221.38	£258.28	£295.17	£332.07	£405.86	£479.66	£553.45	£664.14

 

 

 

21.  having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 19. and 20. 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 2020/21 for each of the categories of dwellings as shown below.

 

 

VALUATION BANDS - COMBINED HACKNEY AND GLA
A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
£1,007.78	£1,175.76	£1,343.71	£1,511.68	£1,847.60	£2,183.54	£2,519.46	£3,023.36

 

Note: Subject to GLA confirmation of precept given on 24 February 2020

 

22.  following agreement of Council on resolutions 16 to 18 above that Hackney’s Council Tax requirement for 2020/21 be £87.746m which results in a Band D Council Tax of £1,179.61 for Hackney purposes and a total Band D Council Tax of £1,511.68 including the Greater London Authority (GLA) precept, aAn analysis of the tax base total Band D Council Tax across Council Tax Bands shown in resolution 21 above and an exemplification of the taxbase and discounts by band, as shown in Appendix 5 of the report;

 

 23.  it be agreed 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 2020/21 as shown at Appendix 9 of the report is not excessive (4% or above) and therefore does not require the Council to hold a referendum;

 

24.  the Treasury Management Strategy for 2020/21 to 2022/23, set out at Appendix 3 of the report be agreed;

 

25.  the criteria for lending and the financial limits set out at Appendix 3. of the report be agreed; and

 

26.  approval be given to the MRP statement setting out the method of calculation to be used, as set out in paragraphs 25.21-25.31 of the report.