The Head of Financial Services has presented a report to present the outcome of the budget consultation and agree the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2021-22 to 2023-24 and 2020-21 Budget for recommendation to Council.

Cabinet 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 2020-21 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 of the report, noting:

(a)       the Council’s General Fund Budget Requirement of £24.183 million for 2020/21 and an increase in the Band D Council Tax of 1.99% or £6.13 per annum representing a Band D Council Tax of £313.92 per annum subject to confirmation of the referendum levels contained in paragraph 5 of the report

(b)       the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2020/21 of £44.455 million and an increase of 2.70% (£3.06/wk) in social dwelling rents from 1 April 2020 giving a revised weekly average social rent of £105.32 as set out in Appendix 5 of the report

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

2.         Agree the fees and charges shown in Appendix 7 of the report;

3.         Delegate to the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet 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 13- 15 of the report;

4.         Approve a loan facility of up to £500k for working capital to the Council’s Joint Venture, Oxford West End Development (Oxwed) at terms to be agreed by the Council’s Section 151 Officer as referred to in paragraph 38 of the report;

5.         Approve the payment into the County Council Pension Fund of £5 million as referred to in the Consultation Budget and paragraph 23 of the report; and

6.         Note the changes to Business Rates reliefs and discounts for 2020-21 as referred to in paragraph 12 of the report.

The Head of Financial Services had submitted a report to present the outcome of the budget consultation and agree the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy for 2021-22 to 2023-24 and 2020-21 Budget for recommendation to Council.

Councillor Ed Turner, Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management, gave a brief introduction to the report which would be subject to wider discussion and debate at the following day’s Council meeting.  The proposals now before Cabinet included very few changes from the pre-consultation version. He drew attention however to the Government’s recent decision to combine two major rough sleeping programmes: the Rough Sleeping Initiative and the Rapid Rehousing Initiative and the consequential addition of a further recommendation to those given in the report. The background to this recommendation is attached to these minutes and the new recommendation is included in those given below.

Nigel Kennedy, Head of Financial Services, noted that the Government had now published its final Local Government Finance Settlement with no significant changes from the provisional settlement. 

Cabinet resolved to:

Recommend that Council resolves to:

1.         Approve the 2020-21 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 of the report, noting:

(a)       the Council’s General Fund Budget Requirement of £24.183 million for 2020/21 and an increase in the Band D Council Tax of 1.99% or £6.13 per annum representing a Band D Council Tax of £313.92 per annum subject to confirmation of the referendum levels contained in paragraph 5 of the report

(b)       the Housing Revenue Account budget for 2020/21 of £44.455 million and an increase of 2.70% (£3.06/wk) in social dwelling rents from 1 April 2020 giving a revised weekly average social rent of £105.32 as set out in Appendix 5 of the report

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

2.         Agree the fees and charges shown in Appendix 7 of the report;

3.         Delegate to the Section 151 Officer in consultation with the Cabinet 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 13- 15 of the report;

4.         Approve a loan facility of up to £500k for working capital to the Council’s Joint Venture, Oxford West End Development (Oxwed) at terms to be agreed by the Council’s Section 151 Officer as referred to in paragraph 38 of the report;

5.         Approve the payment into the County Council Pension Fund of £5 million as referred to in the Consultation Budget and paragraph 23 of the report; and

6.         Note the changes to Business Rates reliefs and discounts for 2020-21 as referred to in paragraph 12 of the report.

7.         Agree the additional unbudgeted amount of RSI grant of £840k for 2020-21 is added to the Council’s Homelessness earmarked reserve.