Issue - meetings

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance TO FOLLOW

The Cabinet Member Finance presented the report and delivered a speech, which is attached to these minutes as an appendix. The Leader of the Council seconded the report.

One Member asked a technical question about accreditation statuses. FC responded that these make it possible for the authority to retain their portfolio status. Accreditation experts look at everything owned by the council, comprising some 250,000 different objects. One Member asked whether the use of the term ‘pump-priming’ in the report means that removing money from the Town Hall improvement is imminent. The Cabinet Member Finance responded that the money is allocated to the Trust, on condition of a full business case. One Member outlined the situation at the Trust, reassuring members that it does not need rescuing, based on figures seen in the last couple of months. She praised the new Chief Executive of the Trust for turning around its financial situation. The council is working with the Trust to help it become more commercially focused. The new Chief Executive has overseen positive changes in other areas of the Trust, e.g. more bookings across the board, and she was satisfied that the £1m allocated to the Trust will make a significant difference.

One Member suggested an amendment to paragraph 6.13, adding in reference to the Chancellor and the specific Secretary of State for Export. He suggested that this change would be a simple addition with a significant effect, and urged its adoption. The Cabinet Member Finance agreed that this would not change any of the costs of the budget besides two extra stamps, and accepted the incorporation of the amendment.

One Member asked about the toilet allocation in Sandford Park. She has recently been in contact with the Friends of Sandford Park group, who wanted to know when this would be received. The Cabinet Member Finance responded that she did not know at that moment, but would let her know when she had the relevant information.

KS also queried some ambiguous wording in paragraph 6.5, and asked whether the wording could be changed to ‘originally allocated to the restoration of the unsafe bridge in Pilley Nature Reserve which has led to the closure of the public footpath behind old pats’.

One Member asked about the £200,000 investment in in-cab system, comparing it to Smart Meters and asking how the council can be sure that the projected savings will actually happen. The Cabinet Member Clean and Green Environment explained how the technology improves the system for customers by reducing errors, while helping the council achieve its climate change goals by making journeys shorter and more efficient.

One Member queried a figure on page 64, which refers to a figure of £458,000 earmarked for Budget Strategy Support Reserves. Later on, a figure of approximately £250,000 is cited – is this discrepancy because it is additional funding or a small part of the reserve? The Executive Director Finance and Assets referred to figures in Appendix 2 and Appendix 6 and also cited the overall  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11

Report of the Cabinet Member Finance to follow

RESOLVED THAT:

Council be recommended to approve the following:

1.    The revised budget for 2019/20 be approved;

2.    The budget assessment be considered by the Section 151 Officer at Appendix 2 in agreeing the following recommendations;

3.    The final budget proposals including a proposed council tax for the services provided by Cheltenham Borough Council of £214.08 for the year 2020/21 based on a Band D property (an increase of 2.39% or £5.00 a year for a Band D property), as detailed in paragraphs 4.11 to 4.16, be approved;

4.    The growth proposals be approved, including one off initiatives at Appendix 4;

5.    A lending (overdraft) facility of up to £100,000 to the Cheltenham BID be approved, to facilitate the delivery of an ice rink as detailed in Section 7;

6.    The Executive Director Finance and Assets (in consultation with the Borough Solicitor) be authorised to take such actions and make such arrangements as are necessary for the implementation of the above lending facility to Cheltenham BID;

7.    The savings / additional income totalling £826,000 and the budget strategy at Appendix 5 be approved;

8.    The use of reserves and general balances be approved, and the projected level of reserves, as detailed at Appendix 6, be noted;

9.    The capital programme at Appendix 7 be approved;

10.  The programmed maintenance programme at Appendix 8 be approved;

11.  Cabinet note that the Council will remain in the Gloucestershire business rates pool for 2020/21 (paragraphs 4.4 to 4.10);

12.  The Pay Policy Statement for 2020/21 be approved, including the continued payment of a living wage supplement at Appendix 9;

13.  The Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) detailed in Section 5 and Appendix 10 be approved;

14.  A level of supplementary estimate of £100,000 for 2020/21 be approved, as outlined in Section 13.

The Cabinet Member Finance presented the report, noting that in previous years, budgets had been prepared under a general philosophy of no growth in services unless there is a statutory requirement or a compelling business case for an ‘invest to save’ scheme. However, the Council’s aspirations to modernise its offer, become financially sustainable and be carbon neutral by 2030 require realignment of resources.

An allocation was agreed by the Council in April 2015 to facilitate the redevelopment of the Town Hall. A briefing paper, which is attached as an appendix, outlined the progress made to date but essentially concluded that all of the options identified are currently outside the financial envelope of affordability available for the Council to progress. Of the original allocation, £1.6m is still available, for which she recommended the following reallocation:

·         Invest a sum of £1m to pump prime the commercial opportunities identified by The Cheltenham Trust including investment which both sustains and grows income at the Town Hall);

·         Allocate £50k to fund two full-time documentation officers to ensure the collection receives accreditation status,

·         Allocate £200k in a contingency fund to fund the associated costs of the investment in leisure@ in respect of the splash-pad;

·         Allocate £350k to a climate emergency fund to help facilitate the Council’s ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030.

In February 2019, Council unanimously called on the Cabinet to declare a Climate Emergency, which was duly announced in July 2019. As part of the motion, Council requested that a report be presented within six months outlining the local actions the Council could take to help address this emergency. A report was presented to Council in October 2019 outlining the actions needed and an indicative timetable, as well as recommending the initial resources required for the authority to effectively gear up to delivering the scale of actions required by 2030. There is widespread public support for addressing climate change issues, with more than four in five Cheltenham residents agreeing that the Council should play a role in tackling air quality issues (83%), enabling people to walk/cycle more (82%) and enabling public transport use (81%).

The report recommended initial ‘seed funding’ of £150,000 per year to fund additional staffing resources, in order to create the capacity and capability to develop the business cases for the initiatives outlined in the roadmap and to identify and secure external funding to enable climate emergency projects to progress. It is proposed that £350k be reallocated from the original Town Hall allocation to address the resources required. In addition, it is proposed that £75k be allocated from the planned maintenance reserve (originally allocated to the restoration of Pilley Bridge) on the grounds that the council needs to prioritise its resources towards the delivery of corporate plan priorities.

Whilst telematics technology is now being fitted to council vehicles operated by Ubico in order to ensure that they are being used effectively and efficiently, including reducing fuel consumption, there is a need to ensure that the technology is in place and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12