Decision Maker: Cabinet
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: Yes
Is subject to call in?: Yes
The Deputy Chief Executive and Group Director of Finance, Digital and Frontline Services provided Cabinet with the opportunity to consider and amend as necessary the draft budget strategy which they would wish to recommend to Council.
The Leader thanked the Deputy Chief Executive for the report.
Although the Leader welcomed the additional £25M for Local Governments in Wales, he explained that English councils needed an additional £1.5B for pressures but only £600M was announced and of the £600M, just £500M of that was new money. Consequently, only £25M was given to Wales.
The Leader admitted that of all the years he had been in his role, this had been the most challenging budget gap faced due to pay pressures, service pressures and inflation; and at a time where there is no increase in RSG funding. The Leader was of the view that the proposed 2024/25 Revenue Budget was the best it could be in such a challenging time and noted that it was favourable in comparison to other Local Authorities, where Council Tax rises were in the range of 7/8% with some over 10%.
The Leader noted that the proposed council tax rise for RCT was 4.9% but moved that it be amended to 4.99% and explained that the additional 0.9% would help with public transport pressures.
The Leader referred to the base budget increase for schools, which was 6.4% and proposed that a further £500,000 of additional one-off funding is allocated to Schools, which would help with the costs faced by schools.
The Deputy Leader was in support of the Leader’s amendments to the recommendations contained within the report. The Deputy Leader praised the sound financial management of the Council which had enabled the proposal of one of the lowest council tax rises in Wales. Referring to the consultation responses, the Deputy Leader felt that the dire financial position of local authorities had been recognised amongst the communities.
The Deputy Leader stated that the Local Authority has no remit over the presets of the Community Councils but advised that the Council had been approached by several of the community councils to look at join working arrangements, which could be beneficial in the future.
The Cabinet Member for Development and Prosperity wished to place on record his thanks to the Senior Finance Officers for bringing forward a positive budget proposal; and welcomed the additional one-off payment towards schools.
The Cabinet Member for Education, Youth Participation and Welsh Language echoed previous comments and was supportive of the Leader’s additional recommendation in relation to support for schools. The Cabinet Member stated that as a Cabinet, Members has always sought to financially protect schools, where possible. The Cabinet Member felt that this would further support schools, along with the Local Authority’s commitment to fund the increase in pay costs, which had not been funded by Welsh Government.
Upon concluding his comments, the Cabinet Member took the opportunity to thank the School Leaders and recognised that it was a particularly challenging time for schools.
The Cabinet RESOLVED:
1. To the Budget Strategy which they wish to recommend to Council on the 6th March 2024;
2. To amend the proposed Council Tax increase for 2024/25 to 4.99% to support public transport provision and determine that this level forms part of the Cabinet’s Budget Strategy to be presented to Council on 6th March 2024;
3. To allocate £500,000 of additional one-off funding to Schools and determine that this forms part of the Cabinet’s Budget Strategy to be presented to Council on 6th March 2024; and
4. That the Deputy Chief Executive and Group Director of Finance, Digital and Frontline Services be authorised to amend the final budget consequential to the receipt of the Final Settlement as set out in Section 4 of the report.
Publication date: 21/02/2024
Date of decision: 21/02/2024
Decided at meeting: 21/02/2024 - Cabinet
Effective from: 27/02/2024
Accompanying Documents: