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 (e).

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. Options could include extending SWEP (which was expensive and challenging to operate on short notice), other cold-weather provision, increased year round provision, extending and improving the referrals to the churches’ pilot scheme, or other effective methods of increasing support would be considered.

After debate this was put to the vote.

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

3.    Councillor Goddard, seconded by Councillor Gant, moved an amendment: to fund a non-clinical mental health practitioner for young people as described in the Liberal Democrat amendments for one year in the first instance, to engage in a small but meaningful way with an important and on-going issue,

To be funded by £26,000 from the car park resurfacing budget.

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.

c)    Decision on the City Executive Board budget

After debate, the recommendations of the City Executive Board including the details of the medium term financial strategy, budget, capital programme, HRA, fees and charges and other matters as set out in the published agenda and briefing note for this meeting were put to the vote.

In accordance with legislative requirements, a recorded vote was then taken:

For the City Executive Board recommendations to Council  – Councillors Abbasi, Azad, Brown, Chapman, Clarkson, Cook, Hayes, Henwood, Hollingsworth, Humberstone, Iley-Williamson, Kennedy, Ladbrooke, Lloyd-Shogbesan, Lygo, Munkonge, Paule, Pressel, Price, Rowley, Sanders, Sinclair, Smith, Tanner, Tarver, Taylor, Tidball, Turner, Upton (29)

Against the City Executive Board recommendations to Council  – Councillors Altaf-Khan, Haines, Wade (3)

Abstentions – Councillors Brandt, Fooks, Gant, Goddard, Goff, Simmons, Thomas, Wilkinson, Wolff (9)

Council resolved after the named vote above 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 with corrections at 10d of this agenda, 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.

5)    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