Agenda item

To consider the updated elements of the Budget 2022/23 and Capital Programme 2022 to 2027 proposals before Executive on 27 January.

Members received a briefing on the updated elements of the Budget 2022/23 and Capital Programme 2022 to 2027 proposals which was published as an Addendum to the agenda pack on the Council’s website.

Councillor Schofield, Portfolio Holder for Finance and Governance, gave an update to the Committee. A great deal of work had been carried out since November to close the budget gap for 2022/23 of £700k. The update report showed the extent of the changes. The result was a balanced budget for 2022/23.

Chair of the Committee, Councillor Harrison, said the Committee had asked the Executive to reconsider some of the savings proposed, for example, to retain the taxi voucher scheme. He was pleased to note that £10k that is spent each year within the taxi voucher scheme would be retained. He noted the ongoing work on commercial ventures to aim to bring in additional revenue.

Councillor Schofield confirmed that the work on the financial sustainability plan was ongoing and on track. The finance team and Executive Members were working to develop the priorities and would share these with Overview & Scrutiny Committee when ready.

Members had questions and made observations on the following:

Inflation and impact on Council services – Members asked about rising inflation costs and the impact on services. Assumptions in the budget had been made that forecast inflation to continue as 2 per cent. Councillor Schofield confirmed that the Council would manage its costs as closely as possible throughout the year.

Income expectation – Members questioned if the Council had been too pessimistic about the economy and as a result expectation of predicted income. Now the economy was recovering how would this be reflected in financial planning? Could Members have quarterly forward-looking updates that set out any revised forecasts/year to date comparisons? It was noted that the Committee already received quarterly budget monitoring reports that include forecasts of the year-end position. Councillor Schofield said they would look to increase income in some areas such as parking and the Harlequin. 

Public consultation – Members asked for more details about the responses to the public consultation on the budget and to share these. It was confirmed that the full outcome would be shared with the budget papers once analysis had been completed as the consultation had only just closed. The responses made up less than 0.5 per cent of the borough’s residents.

Fuel prices – Members questioned what the impact of rising fuel prices may have on the Council’s own utility costs and the pressure on those paying council tax who may default on their bills in response to rising fuel costs. Councillor Schofield said the finance team was looking at the potential impact on fuel bills and the costs of running the Council’s buildings and offices. An update would be provided to the Committee.

Parking income loss – it was confirmed that the reduction in parking income loss was £200k.

Business rates and Council Tax – the Council’s share of the National Non Domestic Rates (NNDR) was set to reduce. It had gone down by £109k. It was confirmed that the total amount of Council Tax to be collected will increase by £850k due to more properties in the Borough and the proposed £5 increase for the average Band D property.

Financial resilience – it was confirmed that although the pandemic and impact on finances had been difficult, it had sharpened the focus of the Council and all services had been reviewed thoroughly to make sure that the budget balanced.

Banstead Commons Conservators – Members asked about the budget for the Banstead Commons Conservators grant. The Leader confirmed that there had been no increase to the £84k budget as this had not been possible at the moment. The Council was working with the Conservators and the Leader was due to meet the new Chair shortly to go through future plans and options.

Flats recycling – Members questioned the breakdown on flats recycling and asked about the current programme. Work in this area had slowed during the pandemic which was also due to increased levels of waste. The programme had not been halted and the service was working through the 6000 flats that did not yet have a full recycling service. Further flats continued to be added and further work was needed.

Councillor Harrison, O&S Chair, thanked the Interim Head of Finance, Pat Main, her team and the Executive Member, Councillor Schofield, for their work on identifying ways to close the budget gap which included calling on the reserves set up for COVID-19 and funding from government for losses for income during the pandemic. He asked for further information to understand the likely impact of inflation on utility costs and associated risks before the final Budget 2022/23 came to Full Council on 10 February.

RESOLVED – that the Committee:

1.    Noted the updated elements of the Budget 2022/23 and Capital Programme 2022 to 2027 proposals set out in the briefing and report.

2.     Provided observations set out in the Minutes to the Executive meeting on 27 January.