Issue - meetings

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Whitehead)

Report of Director of Corporate Services  (Report to follow)

(Cabinet Member with Special Responsibility Councillor Whitehead)

Cabinet received a report from the Director of Corporate Services to provide an update on the Council’s Medium Term Financial Strategy forecasts for 2020/21 to 2023/24 and outline the approach and timetable for considering the budget framework.

The options, options analysis, including risk assessment and officer preferred option, were set out in the report as follows:

Regarding the budget strategy, Cabinet may approve the proposals as set out, or require changes to be made to the suggested approach.  The overriding aim of any budget setting process is to approve a balanced budget by statutory deadlines, allocating resources to help ensure delivery of the Council’s corporate priorities.  The proposed approach is in line with that broad aim, drawing on various strategic matters.  Any changes that Cabinet puts forward should also be framed in that context.

Councillor Whitehead proposed, seconded by Councillor Reynolds:-

“That the recommendations, as set out in the report, be approved.”

By way of an amendment, which was not accepted as a friendly amendment by Councillor Whitehead, Councillor Hamilton-Cox proposed, seconded by Councillor Brookes:

“That recommendation (2) the 6^th bullet point on Section 3.1 be revised to ‘recognise an opportunity to focus on prosperity and manage the Council’s tax and business rates base in order to recognise the benefits of projects which focus on sustainable economic growth and meet the climate emergency.”

Councillors then voted on the amendment as follows:

(7 Members (Councillors Brookes, Frea, Hamilton-Cox, Jackson, Lewis, Parr and Sinclair) voted in favour, and 3 Members (Councillors Hanson, Reynolds and Whitehead) voted against.)

The Chair declared the amendment to be carried and Members then voted on the substantive motion, which when put to the vote, was agreed unanimously.

Resolved unanimously:

(1)       That the draft budgetary position, set out in section 2 (and appendix 1) to the report for current and future years be approved, accepting that this is an interim update.

(2)       That Cabinet agree the approach to the budget framework as set out in Section 3 of the report with bullet point 6 revised to read: ‘recognise an opportunity to focus on prosperity and manage the Council’s tax and business rates base in order to recognise the benefits of projects which focus on sustainable economic growth and meet the climate emergency.

(3)     That Cabinet agree the timetable as set out in Section 4 of the report.

Officer responsible for effecting the decision:

Director of Corporate Services

Reasons for making the decision:

Draft budget proposals will be considered by Cabinet on 14 January 2020 and the Budget and Performance Panel on 21 January 2020.