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Agenda item

Draft Budget 2024/25 - Version 2 (including Local Government Finance Settlement)

Purpose:

To provide an update on the developing Budget for 2024/25 following the Local Government Funding Settlement on 18 December 2023.

 

Reccomendations:

That the Executive Resolves to:

1)    Approve the draft fees and charges for 2024/25, as detailed in Annex G, for inclusion as part of the Budget recommendations to Council on 28th February 2024.

 

And Resolves to Recommend to Council to:

2)    Approve the Council Tax Base shown in Annex F, calculated as £47,841.03 for the year 2024/25;

3)      Authorise the Director of Finance to submit the National Non-Domestic Rates Return 1 (NNDR1) to Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities by the submission date of 31January 2024.

Minutes:

Councillor Alaric Smith, Executive Member for Finance, introduced the report, which provided an update on the developing Budget for 2024/25.

 

The Executive Member gave a detailed overview of the second version of the developing Budget, which had come before the Executive following receipt of a Local Government Funding Settlement, since its last meeting on 18 December 2023.

 

The Executive Member for Finance stated that they had received a recommendation from the Overview and Scrutiny Committee requesting that the Executive Member write to Simon Hoare MP, Minister of State for Local Government, to request that future Local Government Funding Settlements are received earlier in the budget setting process in future years. The Executive Member confirmed that the Executive agreed with the recommendation.

 

Councillor Julian Cooper addressed the meeting and queried the increase in payments made to external auditors. The Executive Member for Finance stated that increases were as a result of increased inflationary rises and a perceived increase in difficulty of hiring auditors to carry out such work.

 

Councillor Cooper also queried the re-opening of the outdoor swimming pool located in Woodstock. The Director of Finance referred to a decision taken by Cabinet in 2021, which had reduced the opening hours of the pool. The financial burdens rested with the Council, rather than the Council’s leisure provider GLL, and opening the pool for prolonged periods over summer months was not considered to be financially viable.

 

Councillor Harry St. John queried ongoing pension contributions relating to the Publica Review and Transition, Investment properties voids and rent-free periods, and funding for temporary officer posts, for example in the Economic Development department. The Executive Member for Economic Development highlighted that budget deficiencies from investment properties would be kept as low as possible, but it was highly unlikely that deficiencies would never fall away overall. The Director of Finance stated that the relevant information would be disseminated to the appropriate non-Executive Member outside of the Executive meeting.

 

Executive Members also discussed the Medium-Term Financial Strategy, stating that the strategy is based on the best information available at the time of budget setting, and that communication issues surrounding the base on which Council Tax is set, had been an ongoing problem for a significant period.

 

Councillor Alaric Smith proposed that the Executive agree to the recommendations as listed on the report. This was seconded by Councillor Andy Graham, was put to a vote, and was agreed unanimously by the Executive.

 

The Executive Resolved to:

  1. Approve the draft fees and charges for 2024/25, as detailed in Annex G, for inclusion as part of the Budget recommendations to Council on 28th February 2024.

 

And Resolved to Recommend to Council to:

2. Approve the Council Tax Base shown in Annex F, calculated as £47,841.03 for the year 2024/25;

3. Authorise the Director of Finance to submit the National Non-Domestic Rates Return 1 (NNDR1) to Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities by the submission date of 31 January 2024.

Supporting documents:

 

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