Issue - meetings

Report of the County Treasurer (CT/20/07) giving an update on the Local Government Provisional Budget Settlement and any impact on Service Budget Targets.

This Report will follow.

(Councillors Connett, Dewhirst, Greenslade, Hannaford and Whitton attended in accordance with Standing Order 25(2) and spoke to this item).

The Cabinet considered the Report of the County Treasurer (CT/20/07) on the revised target budget in light of the provisional budget settlement, circulated prior to the meeting in accordance with regulation 7(4) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Meetings and Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2012.

The Cabinet noted that at its December meeting, it had set Revenue Spending Targets for 2020/21 that had represented an overall increase of £31.9 millions or 6.4%, notwithstanding the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement had not been announced at that time.

On the 20th December 2019, the Secretary of State for the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government, the Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP, made a written statement to Parliament on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2020/21. This was as expected and gave an opportunity to increase the Spending Targets that were previously set. The settlement was for one year only.

In relation to Council Tax, the referendum limit was 2% with social care authorities allowed a 2% social care precept. The three elements of the Business Rates Retention system (Baseline Need, NNDR Baseline and Tariff/Top Up amounts) had all increased by 1.63%, in line with the September 2019 CPI inflation figure. The Revenue Support Grant had increased in line with the Business Rates Retention system (+1.63%) and in relation to the Social Care Support Grant and Improved Better Care Fund, the provisional settlement confirmed the previously proposed national amounts and allocation methodologies. The national allocation of £81m and methodology for distribution of the Rural Services Delivery Grant remained unchanged from 2019/20 and there were no new business rates pilots for 2020/21.

The Provisional Settlement for the County Council was outlined as follows.               

The Revenue Spending Targets approved in December totalled just under £530 millions. The increased Revenue Spending Targets for 2020/21 now totalled just over £541 millions which represented an increase of £11.3 millions on the December target figures and an increase of £43.1 millions or 8.7% on 2019/20.

The target for Adult Care & Health had increased by £7.7 millions, for Children’s Services an increase of £2.5 millions. The increased targets also included £60,000 for additional legal support within Corporate Services and £1 million within Highways, Infrastructure and Waste to help with drainage issues on the Highway network.

The budget for Adult Care & Health was £260,258 millions, a net change of £23,714 millions or 10.0%. For Childrens Services, this was £146,845 millions, the net change being £11,538 millions (8.5%). Community Health, Environment & Prosperity was £39,713 millions, with the net change of £925,000 or 2.4%. For Corporate Services £37,160 millions, a net increase of £2,479 millions (7.1%) and in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 446