Issue - meetings

Item FIP 21/3 referred from the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board of 6 January 2021.

All budgetary matters will be considered in the substantive item on ‘Setting the Budget’.

All budgetary matters were considered in detail in the substantive item on setting the Budget 2021/22 (Minute Number CB 21/19).  However, the recommendations from the meeting of the Finance, Innovation and Property Advisory Board of 6 January 2021 in relation to the formulation of initial draft proposals in respect of the Budget, including  Revenue Estimates (Minute Number FIP 21/3) was given due consideration as part of the substantive discussion.

The Council has a statutory duty to set the level of council tax for the forthcoming financial year by 11 March.  Under the Budget and Policy Framework Rules of the Constitution, the Cabinet is responsible for formulating initial draft proposals in respect of the Budget.  The role of this Advisory Board is to assist both the Cabinet and the Council in the preparation of the Budget for 2021/22 within the context of the Medium Term Financial Strategy and the Council’s priorities.

In addition, this year’s budget setting process has had to incorporate the difficult task of estimating the scale of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Council’s finances in 2020/21 and 2021/22 and over the medium term.

NB: The Revised Estimates for 2020/21 and Estimates for 2021/22 are set out in a supplementary Annex

The report of the Director of Finance and Transformation referred to the responsibility of the Cabinet under the Constitution for formulating initial proposals in respect of the Budget.  Reference was made to the role of the Advisory Board in assisting the Cabinet and Council in the preparation of the budget within the context of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) and the Council’s priorities.  The report outlined the process for referring the Advisory Board’s recommendations to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee prior to consideration by the Cabinet on 11 February and thereafter by the Council at its Budget meeting.

Attention was drawn to the difficulties experienced within the budget setting process of incorporating an estimate of the scale of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the Borough Council’s finances in 2020/21 and 2021/22 and over the medium term.

RECOMMENDED: That

(1)             the draft Revenue Estimates contained at Annex 1 to the report, be endorsed for consideration by Cabinet at its special meeting on 11 February 2021; and

(2)             the Savings and Transformation Strategy be updated to reflect the latest projected funding gap as part of the budget setting process.

*Referred to Cabinet