Agenda item

Matters considered by the Cabinet

Minutes:

a)                        Calculation of Council Tax Base and other tax setting issues

 

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Searles seconded the recommendations from Cabinet.  The report set out details of the calculation of the District’s tax base for council tax setting purposes. 

 

Resolved:   That

a)   the report of the Chief Finance Officer for the calculation of the Council’s tax base for the year 2016/17 be approved;

b)   pursuant to the report of the Chief Finance Officer and in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended) the amount calculated by the Sevenoaks District Council as its council tax base for the whole area for the year 2016/17 shall be 48,895.68;

c)   pursuant to the report of the Chief Finance Officer and in accordance with the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992 (as amended) the amount calculated by the Sevenoaks District Council as the council tax base for 2016/17 for the calculation of local precepts shall be:


Parish

Tax Base

Ash-cum-Ridley

2,407.77

Badgers Mount

330.21

Brasted

783.17

Chevening

1,443.79

Chiddingstone

599.08

Cowden

416.68

Crockenhill

646.70

Dunton Green

993.01

Edenbridge

3,462.90

Eynsford

924.22

Farningham

638.94

Fawkham

283.79

Halstead

759.02

Hartley

2,510.65

Hever

599.68

Hextable

1,645.57

Horton Kirby & South Darenth

1,277.09

Kemsing

1,816.83

Knockholt

619.96

Leigh

803.25

Otford

1,664.06

Penshurst

835.26

Riverhead

1,232.06

Seal

1,193.50

Sevenoaks Town

9,225.61

Sevenoaks Weald

613.40

Shoreham

677.81

Sundridge

921.84

Swanley

5,308.16

Westerham

1,957.48

West Kingsdown

2,304.19

d)     any expenses incurred by the Council in performing in part of its area a function performed elsewhere in its area by a parish or community council or the chairman of a parish meeting shall not be treated as special expenses for the purposes of section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

 

 

b)                        Treasury Management Strategy 2016/17

 

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Searles seconded the recommendations from Cabinet.  The report sought approval of the Treasury Management Strategy 2016/17.

 

Resolved:  That subject to the inclusion of Santander UK Plc as an investment counterparty, the Treasury Management Strategy for 2016/17 be approved.

 

 

 

c)                        Budget and Council Tax Setting 2016/17

 

Members’ attention was brought to the additional papers that had been circulated prior to the meeting.  The updated report advised that since the Budget and Council Tax Setting 2016/17 report was presented to Cabinet on 4 February 2016, the Government had published the Final Local Government Finance Settlement 2016/17.  In the final settlement there was a change to the Council Tax referendum limit for district councils.  Previously the limit had been 2%, now the limit was the higher of 2% or £5.

 

The original report and appendices within the main agenda papers had been based on a Council Tax increase of 1.96% (£3.78) in 2016/17.  The updated report and appendices, which had been circulated prior to the meeting, were based on a Council Tax increase of 2.57% (£4.95) in 2016/17.  The updated report requested Council to either approve the recommendations in the latest report for a 2.57% increase or the original report for a 1.96% increase.

 

Councillor Fleming proposed and Councillor Searles seconded the recommendations contained within the updated report, published since the main papers. 

 

Councillor Fleming stated that when he had stood before Members the previous year he had set out a clear route to self sufficiency in two years time.  Sevenoaks District Council (SDC) revenue budget 16 years ago had been £14m, half of the funding came from government, half from the council tax payer.  That £14m today would equate to £22m using the Retail Price Index (RPI) or £20m using the Consumer Price Index (CPI).  Before Members was a budget almost £10m below the RPI figure, and a budget showing no direct government funding.  The difficult decisions made by Members over the last ten years post the new millennium, and accelerated in the last few, had led to this.  As predicted the share of government funding had been reduced, although further and faster than anyone could have envisaged.

 

In the last 6 years SDC’s Revenues Support Grant (RSG) had fallen by almost £5m,  £1m of which would go in the coming year (2016/17) with the final £600,000 received set to disappear the year after that.  In real terms, the funding for every man, woman, and child within the District had reduced from £55.95 in 2010 to £5.37 in 2016/17 and zero the year after that.

 

He stated that with the bleak outlook many observers, casual or otherwise, would have expected the recommendations to be full of cuts and massive reductions in services, with the consequences of those decisions felt across all SDC communities and the hard won reputation for high quality services quickly lost – which was not the case.

 

Members had stewarded the money they held in trust for the residents they served.  Early in the preparation of this budget, Members and officers had worked together to remove the need for both the RSG and New Homes Bonus (NHB) a year earlier than planned.  Work on the property investment portfolio continued, but clearly the Council would not be in the position it was if Members had not had the faith that this would become a major pillar of the Council’s financial future.  The ongoing 10 year budget had given a framework in which to plan for the long term sustainability of the Council.  New savings would be made, almost £500,000 in the coming year through the work of the Advisory Committees for whose hard work and diligence he offered his thanks.

 

He announced that it was a truly momentous occasion.  The budget before Members showed SDC to be the first council in the country to no longer require direct government support, somewhat fortuitously as it was to be lost the following year anyway.  Members could look to a future where the Council would no longer be held back by the vagaries of central government funding decisions, could set a course to a more equal relationship and look to a future where the decisions made and money spent were intrinsically linked to the communities the council served.

 

Local government was suffering from reduced budgets and rising costs across services such as adult social care and public health, with colleagues in principal authorities dealing with what appeared to be insurmountable issues.  He looked forward to having a greater role for the Council especially where the Council had the leverage to reduce costs going forward. 

 

As believed for a number of years despite ministerial pronouncements to the contrary, the loss of RSG clearly put paid to any notion of protected specific funding pots, the most notable being council tax support for parishes.

 

The government had clearly set out its expectations for the future financing of local government with the new Secretary of State advocating that those councils who could, should, move towards raising all their finance locally without reliance on central government support.

 

Members had before them a change to the recommendation that was passed by Cabinet. In making his statement on the outcome of consultation on the local government finance settlement the Secretary of State had followed through on the rhetoric and moved to make it possible for those districts where a £5 rise in the annual council tax rate was in excess of the 2% referendum limit such a rise would not only be allowed but recommended as part of the more general move from government support.  In real terms this was a 0.6% increase on the figure in the 10 year budget or an additional £1.17 a year (per Band D household).  Again it was worth remembering that this was below the original assumptions in the ten year budget of 3%, only changed to 2% when it looked unlikely that the government would move its position.  This was highly likely to be a one time offer from government, and any decision by Full Council was for the next year in isolation.

 

He urged Members that this was the correct decision to make.  That all the evidence showed that decisions made now could have either a positive or very negative impact on a council’s ability to continue to provide services to its community in the future.  The extra half a percent would raise £57,000 next year, seen across the ten years this was a little over half a million pounds.

 

Post Christmas Members had an illustration of how, even after taking the difficult decisions and placing the Council in the best possible financial situation, a single line in the government’s original settlement document would have seen the authority facing a bill for almost £2m over three years.

 

Members would know that he firmly believed that there should always be balance between the make-up of the money that had to be spent.  The main three pillars that remained after the removal of government support were Council Tax, Savings and Investment Income - and over reliance on any one of these he believed destabilised the Council as an authority.  However the Council would continue to look at how to reduce the burden of council tax on the residents that Members served.

 

Looking forward, unlike many authorities, he saw a challenging but exciting future, a Council comfortable in its own skin, confident in supporting, nurturing and working for the benefit of all its communities, residents and businesses.

 

The Leader commended the budget to Members.

 

Cllr. Purves expressed concern at the reduction in asset maintenance of the playgrounds and public conveniences and suggested civic expenses could be deleted instead.  The Portfolio Holder for Direct & Trading Services, Cllr. Dickins, reassured her that the savings had already been made and did not affect the service as it was an unlikely spend over the next 5 years.

 

The Chairman advised that, unless there was objection he would take a vote on recommendation 6 (d) first and then the remainder of the recommendations en bloc.

 

First of all the vote was taken for Agenda item 6 (d)(i) – ‘That no funding be passed to Town and Parish Councils for Council Tax Support in 2016/17’:

 

For

Against

Abstention

Cllr. Abraham

Cllr. Hogg

Cllr. Lindsay

Cllr. Ball

Cllr. McArthur

 

Cllr. Barnes

Cllr. Purves

 

Cllr. Mrs. Bayley

 

 

Cllr. Mrs Bosley

 

 

Cllr. Bosley

 

 

Cllr. Clack

 

 

Cllr. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Cooke

 

 

Cllr. Dickins

 

 

Cllr. Edwards-Winser

 

 

Cllr. Esler

 

 

Cllr. Eyre

 

 

Cllr. Firth

 

 

Cllr. Fleming

 

 

Cllr. Gaywood

 

 

Cllr. Horwood

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Hunter

 

 

Cllr. Kelly

 

 

Cllr. Kitchener

 

 

Cllr. Krogdahl

 

 

Cllr. Lake

 

 

Cllr. Layland

 

 

Cllr. London

 

 

Cllr. Lowe

 

 

Cllr. Maskell

 

 

Cllr. McGarvey

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Morris

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Parkin

 

 

Cllr. Parson

 

 

Cllr. Pearsall

 

 

Cllr. Pett

 

 

Cllr. Piper

 

 

Cllr. Raikes

 

 

Cllr. Reay

 

 

Cllr. Scott

 

 

Cllr. Scholey

 

 

Cllr. Searles

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Stack

 

 

Cllr. Ms. Tennessee

 

 

Cllr. Thornton

 

 

Cllr. Williamson

 

 

42

3

1

 

The motion was carried, therefore options 6 (d) (ii) and 6 (d)(iii) automatically fell.

 

The vote was then taken on the remaining recommendations 6 (a), (b), (c) and (e):

 

For

Against

Abstention

Cllr. Abraham

 

Cllr. Hogg

Cllr. Ball

 

Cllr. Purves

Cllr. Barnes

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Bayley

 

 

Cllr. Mrs Bosley

 

 

Cllr. Bosley

 

 

Cllr. Clack

 

 

Cllr. Clark

 

 

Cllr. Cooke

 

 

Cllr. Dickins

 

 

Cllr. Edwards-Winser

 

 

Cllr. Esler

 

 

Cllr. Eyre

 

 

Cllr. Firth

 

 

Cllr. Fleming

 

 

Cllr. Gaywood

 

 

Cllr. Horwood

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Hunter

 

 

Cllr. Kelly

 

 

Cllr. Kitchener

 

 

Cllr. Krogdahl

 

 

Cllr. Lake

 

 

Cllr. Layland

 

 

Cllr. Lindsay

 

 

Cllr. London

 

 

Cllr. Lowe

 

 

Cllr. Maskell

 

 

Cllr. McArthur

 

 

Cllr. McGarvey

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Morris

 

 

Cllr. Mrs. Parkin

 

 

Cllr. Parson

 

 

Cllr. Pearsall

 

 

Cllr. Pett

 

 

Cllr. Piper

 

 

Cllr. Raikes

 

 

Cllr. Reay

 

 

Cllr. Scott

 

 

Cllr. Scholey

 

 

Cllr. Searles

 

 

Cllr. Miss. Stack

 

 

Cllr. Ms. Tennessee

 

 

Cllr. Thornton

 

 

Cllr. Williamson

 

 

44

0

2

 

The motion was carried and therefore overall it was

 

Resolved:  That

 

a)     the Summary of Council Expenditure and Council Tax for 2016/17 set out in Appendix E to the minutes, be approved;

 

b)     the 10-year budget 2016/17 to 2025/26 which was the guiding framework for the detailed approval of future years’ budgets set out in Appendix B to the minutes, including the growth and savings proposals set out in Appendix C-D to the minutes be approved, and that where possible any variations during and between years be met from the Budget Stabilisation Reserve;

 

c)     the changes to reserves and provisions set out in Appendix H to the minutes, be approved;

 

d)     no funding be passed to Town and Parish Councils for Council Tax Support in 2016/17;

 

e)     the following be approved -

 

a.     the Capital Programme 2016/19, and Asset Maintenance 2016/17 budget of £490,000  be approved (Cabinet 4 February 2016 – Capital Programme & Asset Maintenance 2016/19;

b.     that it be noted that at the Cabinet meeting on 14 January 2016 the Council calculated as its council tax base for the year 2016/17:

(i)  for the whole Council area as 48,895.68 being Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended, (the “Act”); and

(ii)  for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a parish precept related as in the attached Appendix K;

c.     that the council tax requirement for the Council’s own purpose for 2016/17 (excluding Town and Parish precepts) be calculated as £197.82;

d.     that the following amounts be calculated for the year 2016/17 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

(i)

£55,585,145

being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by Town and Parish Councils.

(ii)

£42,095,000

being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.

(iii)

£13,490,145

being the amount by which the aggregate at e)d.(i) above exceeds the aggregate at e)d.(ii) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its council tax requirement for the year (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act).

(iv)

£275.90

 

being the amount at e)d.(iii) above (Item R), all divided by e)b.(i) above (Item T), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year (including Town and Parish precepts).

(v)

£3,817,602

being the aggregate amount of all special items (Town and Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34 (1) of the Act (as per the attached Appendix K).

(vi)

£197.82

being the amount at e)d.(iv) above, less the result given by dividing the amount at e)d.(v) above by the amount at e)b.(i) above (Item T), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34 (2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no Town or Parish precept relates.

 

e.     it be noted that for the year 2016/17 the Kent County Council, the Kent Police & Crime Commissioner and the Kent & Medway Towns Fire Authority have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as indicated in the table below

Valuation Bands

Precepting Authority

 

Sevenoaks District Council                                                                  £

Kent County Council

£

Kent Police & C.C.

£

Kent & Medway Towns Fire Authority
£

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

131.88

153.86

175.84

197.82

241.78

285.74

329.70

395.64

755.70

881.65

1,007.60

1,133.55

1,385.45

1,637.35

1,889.25

2,267.10

101.43

118.34

135.24

152.15

185.96

219.77

253.58

304.30

48.00

56.00

64.00

72.00

88.00

104.00

120.00

144.00

f.      the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in Appendix M as the amounts of council tax for the year 2016/17  for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings; and

g.     the Council’s basic amount of council tax for 2016/17, shown in e)d.(vi) above, is not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992.

 

 

Supporting documents:

 

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