The Head of Financial Services submitted a report to the City Executive Board on 13 February which presents the outcome of the budget consultation and seeks agreement of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2019-20 to 2021-22 and 2018-19 Budget for recommendation to Council.

The Head of Housing submitted a report to the City Executive Board on 13 February recommending that full Council include an additional budget in the HRA capital programme of £1,035,000 for the acquisition of social housing properties from the open market, funded by the receipt from the sale of 156 Walton Street listed as social rented housing acquisitions in Appendix 6 (Capital Budget).

The minutes of that meeting will be available in the briefing note.

The Board Member for Finance and Asset Management will move the City Executive Board’s recommendations.

Amendments to the budget submitted by opposition groups or individual councillors will be circulated with the briefing note.

The procedure for this item is at Agenda Item 4.

Recommendations:  Council is recommended to:

a.    note the City Executive Board recommendations to Council including the budget published as part of the agenda for the meeting on 13 February with any amendments as set out in the minutes of that meeting;

b.    consider the recommendations of the City Executive Board including any amendments;

c.    consider the substantive amendments proposed by the opposition groups; and published with the briefing note;

d.    consider individual amendments; and

e.    agree the recommendations from the City Executive Board as presented below or with further amendments.

The City Executive Board will be asked to recommend subject to decisions taken at its meeting on 13 February that Council resolves to:

1)    Approve the 2018-19 General Fund and Housing Revenue Account budgets and the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Plan as set out in Appendices 1-10, noting:

a)    the Council’s General Fund Budget Requirement of £23.369 million for 2018/19 and an increase in the Band D Council Tax of 2.99% or £8.67 per annum representing a Band D Council Tax of £298.86 per annum

b)    the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2018/19 of £43.241 million and a reduction of 1% (£0.85/wk) in social dwelling rents from April 2018 giving a revised weekly average social rent of £104.58 as set out in Appendix 4

c)    the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme as shown in Appendix 6

2)    Agree the fees and charges shown in Appendix 7 (noting the decision taken separately at Item 9)

3)    Delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Board Member for Finance and Assets the decision to determine whether it is financially advantageous for the Council to enter into a Business Rates Distribution Agreement as referred to in paragraphs 12-14 below.

4)    Agree to increase the long term empty property premium from 50% to 100% at the earliest opportunity so as to encourage long term empty properties back into use.

A recorded vote must be taken at stage  ...  view the full agenda text for item 99

Councillors Goddard and Humberstone arrived shortly before the start of this item and Councillor Abbasi re-joined the meeting for this item.

Council had before it and considered:

• The report  of the Head of Finance and the budget and medium term financial strategy submitted to the City Executive Board for consideration on 13 February 2018;
• The minutes of that meeting;
• The Liberal Democrat group’s submitted amendments published with the briefing note;
• The Green group’s submitted amendments published with the briefing note;
• The Head of Finance’s comments on the amendments circulated at the meeting;
• An additional recommendation from the Executive Board published with the briefing note;
• Technical corrections to the budget made after the publication of the agenda published with the briefing note;
• Three individual amendments submitted and circulated  at the meeting;

Councillor Turner, seconded by Councillor Brown, moved the City Executive Board recommendations.

a)    Opposition Group amendments to the budget

Councillor Gant, seconded by Councillor Wade, moved and seconded the Liberal Democrat group amendments.

After debate these were put to the vote.

With more councillors voting against than for, the Liberal Democrat amendments were not carried.

Councillor Simmons, seconded by Councillor Thomas, moved and seconded the Green group amendments.

After debate these were put to the vote.

With more councillors voting against than for, the Green group amendments were not carried.

b)   Further individual amendments to the City Executive Board budget as proposed

1.    Councillor Wilkinson, seconded by Councillor Altaf Khan, moved an amendment: mitigate Headington and St Leonards car park increase to 0-1 hour £1.70 and 1-2 hours £2.20 for one year (2018-19), thus stepping the increase in charges to bring these into line with other suburban car parks in order to mitigate resistance and collate usage data, consult and carry out business impact assessments.

To be funded by reducing the car park resurfacing budget by £52k.

The S151 officer confirmed this was feasible although reducing the resurfacing programme may result in problems requiring a higher future expenditure.

After debate this was put to the vote.

With more councillors voting against than for, the amendment was not carried.

2.    Councillor Thomas, seconded by Councillor Simmons, moved an amendment: allocate funds for a trial in 2018/19 to open up SWEP (severe weather emergency protocol) any night when the temperature drops below zero rather than just when the forecast is below zero for 3 nights, to avoid the need for rough sleepers to sleep on the streets in sub-zero conditions, the trial will be reviewed prior to the 2019/20 budget to see if the initiative needs to be made permanent.

To be funded by £75,000 from homelessness reserves.

The S151 officer confirmed this was feasible, subject to verification of the cost and having regard to pressures on homelessness service provision.

Councillor Turner said in response that the additional funding in the homelessness reserve (resolution 5 below) would be used to support and extend services and the City Executive Board would consider options in more detail including the need to extend winter provision.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 99

The Licensing and Gambling Acts and General Purposes Licensing Committees considered reports on fees and charges for the licensing functions dealt with at their meetings on 24 January.

The draft minutes of the Committees and the reports accompanying the three sets of fees and charges are attached. These fees and charges are also included in the report at Item 10.

The Committee Chairs may wish to present the recommendations.

Recommendations: Council is recommended to agree the licence fees and charges for 2018/19 as set out in 9a, 9b and 9c and in Item 10 Appendix 7 (relevant Community Services Fees and Charges and relevant Planning and Regulatory Fees and Charges).

Councillors Abbasi, having declared this item related to his disclosable pecuniary interests, withdrew from the council chamber for the duration of this item.

Council considered the recommendations of the Licensing and Gambling Acts and General Purposes Licensing Committees on fees and charges included in the budget before Council as part of appendix 7, and a change to the recommendations proposed by officer in light of an impending review of charges for licensing sex establishment.

Councillor Cook proposed the recommendations from the Licensing and Gambling Acts Committee and Councillor Clarkson proposed the recommendations from the General Purposes Licensing Committee with amendments.

Council resolved to:

1.    agree the licence fees and charges for 2018/19 as set out in 9a, 9b and 9c and in Item 10 Appendix 7, and in the corrections to the budget published at 10d (relating to specific Community Services Fees and Charges),

2.    and to delegate the setting of fees and charges for sex establishments to the Head of Law and Governance and the Head of Financial Services on conclusion of the review into these charges.

The report and recommendations of the Finance Panel of the Scrutiny Committee to the City Executive Board meeting on 13 February are attached.

The Board’s response will be published in minutes of that meeting.

The Chair of the Finance Panel will present the report and the recommendations.

Recommendation: Council is asked to note the report and the City Executive Board’s response which will be published in the minutes of the meeting of 13 February.

Council considered the report and recommendations of the Finance Panel of the Scrutiny Committee to the City Executive Board meeting on 13 February and the Board’s response. Councillor Simmons, Finance Panel member, explained the Panels’ approach to scrutinising the budget and formulating their recommendations, the majority of which were accepted by the Board. He thanked panel members and the Chair, Councillor Fry, for their work.

Council resolved to note the report and the response.

Report of the Head of Financial Services on the soundness of the financial proposals before Council

The Head of Financial Services will present the report and recommendations.

Recommendations: That Council notes this report in setting its budget for 2018/19 and the indicative budgets for 2019/20 – 2021/22.

Council considered a report from the Head of Financial Services on the soundness of the financial proposals before Council. The Head of Financial Services drew attention to the key points including risks and to the levels of the Council’s reserves and balances and contingencies.

Council resolved to note the report and its implications.

The Head of Financial Services has submitted a report which presents the outcome of the budget consultation and seeks agreement of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2019-20 to 2021-22 and 2018-19 Budget for recommendation to Council.

Recommendations:

The City Executive Board is asked to consider the outcome of the public consultation, agree the amendments to the Consultation Budget and recommend that Council resolves to:

1)    Approve the 2018-19 General Fund and Housing Revenue Account budgets and the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Plan as set out in Appendices 1-10, noting:

a)    the Council’s General Fund Budget Requirement of £23.369 million for 2018/19 and an increase in the Band D Council Tax of 2.99% or £8.67 per annum representing a Band D Council Tax of £298.86 per annum

b)    the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2018/19 of £43.241 million and a reduction of 1% (£0.85/wk) in social dwelling rents from April 2018 giving a revised weekly average social rent of £104.58 as set out in Appendix 4

c)     the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme as shown in Appendix 6

2)    Agree the fees and charges shown in Appendix 7

3)    Delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Board Member for Finance and Assets the decision to determine whether it is financially advantageous for the Council to enter into a Business Rates Distribution Agreement as referred to in paragraphs 12-14 below.

4)    Agree to increase the long term empty property premium from 50% to 100% at the earliest opportunity so as to encourage long term empty properties back into use.

The Head of Financial Services had submitted a report which presented the outcome of the budget consultation and seeks agreement of the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2019-20 to 2021-22 and 2018-19 Budget for recommendation to Council.

Cllr Turner, Board Member for Finance and Asset Management recorded his thanks to the Head of Financial Services and colleagues for their work in preparing this report. While there were, evidently, still some financial challenges, the City’s overall financial position was enviable compared with many other authorities. There were many judgements and competing priorities to be balanced in coming to a view about where fees and charges should be increased and such decisions were never taken lightly.

He went on to note some of the key features of the  financial proposals. He drew particular attention to the Council’s work in addressing the needs of those who are homeless or rough sleepers. Progress  in relation to  this was not just  a function of the significant financial resource directed towards it but also of  the Council having acted as a lead agency, pulling together other partners and providers to address the issue.

The Head of Financial Services reaffirmed the Board Member’s positive reflection of the overall financial position but noted that an careful eye was being kept on potential future risks and challenges such as anticipated changes to the Business Rate Retention arrangments (100 – 75%) and the much delayed Fair Funding Review.

Cllr Turner noted that since the report had been written it had become apparent that the amount of Housing Benefit Administration Grant for 2018/19 was greater than anticipated to the tune of £193k. He therefore proposed an additional recommendation to the Board, that it should recommend to Council that the  additional award of Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction Scheme Administration Grant  of £193k  for 2018/19 is allocated as follows :

      i.        Additional one off resources on the Housing Benefit Service  - £100k

    ii.        Homelessness reserve - £93 k

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1)    Approve the 2018-19 General Fund and Housing Revenue Account budgets and the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Plan as set out in Appendices 1-10, noting:

a)    the Council’s General Fund Budget Requirement of £23.369 million for 2018/19 and an increase in the Band D Council Tax of 2.99% or £8.67 per annum representing a Band D Council Tax of £298.86 per annum

b)    the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2018/19 of £43.241 million and a reduction of 1% (£0.85/wk) in social dwelling rents from April 2018 giving a revised weekly average social rent of £104.58 as set out in Appendix 4

c)    the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme as shown in Appendix 6

2)    Agree the fees and charges shown in Appendix 7

3)    Delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Board Member for Finance and Assets the decision to determine whether it is financially advantageous for the Council to enter into  ...  view the full minutes text for item 151

The Head of Financial Services has submitted a report to propose a Medium Term Financial Strategy and the 2018/19 Budget for consultation.

Recommendations: That the City Executive Board resolves to:

1)            Approve the 2018-19 General Fund and Housing Revenue Account budgets for consultation and the General Fund and  Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Plan as set out in  Appendices 1-9, noting :

a)    a) the Council’s General Fund Budget Requirement of £23.281 million for   2018/19 and an increase in the Band D Council Tax of 1.99% or £5.77 per annum representing a Band D Council Tax of £295.96 per annum

b)    the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2018/19 of £43.241 million and a reduction of 1% (£0.85/wk) in social dwelling rents from April 2018 giving a revised weekly average social rent of £104.58 as set out in Appendix 4

c)    the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme as shown in Appendix 6.

2)            Agree the fees and charges shown in Appendix 7

The Head of Financial Services had submitted a report to propose a Medium Term Financial Strategy and the 2018/19 Budget for consultation.

Item 8

In introducing the report, Councillor Price  drew attention to some of its key features  including, among others: an increase (of £200,000) in funding for homelessness prevention; an additional £5,000,000 to purchase properties for local homeless families; an additional £100,000 for  energy efficiency works in Council properties (on top of an existing programme of over £24,000,000); anticipated surpluses from the newly formed trading companies; investment in the Museum of Oxford (and consequential levering in of £1.3 m from the Heritage Lottery Fund); and a continuation of the grant programme of £1.4m.

The Head of Financial Services updated Members with key points from the provisional local government finance settlement for 2018 to 2019 announced by the DCLG the previous day. At its heart was the opportunity for councils to raise Council Tax by a  total of 3% (an additional 1%) without recourse to a referendum. Thought will now be given as to how best to respond to this opportunity.

The Council had bid (alongside Oxfordshire’s other authorities) to be included in the 100% business rate pilot but had, unfortunately, been unsuccessful;  officers could seek feedback as to why.  There may be an opportunity to bid again for 2019/20.

The long awaited Fair Funding review was now likely to be effective for 2021 but meaningful details were still awaited.

It would now be possible to increase planning fees by up to 20% (with the proviso that the fee is recycled into planning work).

The public consultation on the Council budget would be launched the following day.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1)            Approve the 2018-19 General Fund and Housing Revenue Account budgets for consultation and the General Fund and  Housing Revenue Account Medium Term Financial Plan as set out in  Appendices 1-9, noting :

a)     the Council’s General Fund Budget Requirement of £23.281 million for   2018/19 and an increase in the Band D Council Tax of 1.99% or £5.77 per annum representing a Band D Council Tax of £295.96 per annum

b)    the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2018/19 of £43.241 million and a reduction of 1% (£0.85/wk) in social dwelling rents from April 2018 giving a revised weekly average social rent of £104.58 as set out in Appendix 4

c)    the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account Capital Programme as shown in Appendix 6.

2)                  Agree the fees and charges shown in Appendix 7