To consider the report of the Executive Director (S.151 Officer) (enclosed).

The Chairman welcomed Members and Officers to the meeting and invited the Executive Director (Section 151 Officer) to present her report.

Impact of the Settlement December 2022

Key elements of the Statement that impact on the budget position for 2022/23 are:

·         Confirmation of settlement figures for 2022/23. It was hoped for a two year settlement but certainty was only given for the funding relating to one year.

·         Continuation of New Homes Bonus

·         Council Tax increase thresholds

·         Any changes to Business Rate Baseline

·         Information relating to additional funding streams

Alongside the Settlement the government also published a technical consultation paper on:

·         The provisional local government finance settlement 2023/24.

As such the funding position for 2023/24 is very much a one year settlement, although there does seem to be suggestions that some elements of the settlement may continue to be in place for 2024/25, although there is no certainty of the levels and continuation of some funding streams.

There is still substantial uncertainty surrounding how changes to Business Rate Retention and the Fair Funding Review will impact on Blaby in future years.

Members will recall that these changes were originally proposed to be put in place for 2020/21. It is now expected that these changes will not be brought in until 2025/26. These changes will not therefore directly impact on the budget for 2023/24 but the MTFS at the end of this paper illustrates the impact this may have on the Council’s finances in future years. It is with the future funding gaps that may arise from these changes that the Council needs to consider as we work towards the Council continuing to be financially sustainable into the future.

Budget Gap 2023/24

The Settlement was the best in cash terms that local government has received in more than a decade with much of the increase directed towards the Upper Tier Authorities to fund social care.

Blaby however, benefitted from a new grant created to ensure that every authority has an increase in core spending power of at least 3%. It is this grant that has compensated for the forecast loss of New Homes Bonus funding and has contributed significantly (£1.5m) to minimise the funding gap for 2023/24.

When taking into account the Settlement the funding gap for 2023/24 has reduced to just £104k.

Funding the Budget

The S.151 officer presented sources of funding, and the table in the report illustrated that the Council’s funding has increased by £1.7m.

This is detailed as follows:

·         Redistributed NNDR has increased by £1.54M, a number of factors have contributed to this, including the growth of Fosse Park West, appeals being settled and valuations being clarified for new properties at Fosse Park West.

·         Revenue Support Grant £74k – two grants (Council Tax Admin Grant & Family Annex grant) that in the past were provided directly and not part of the settlement have now been badged as RSG. This therefore represents no change in funding.

·         Lower Tier Services grant – was a one-off grant to compensate Councils to ensure  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

a)    To consider the proposed 2023-24 budget and spending plans for each Portfolio area.

b)    Prepare lines of questioning for a written response from Portfolio Holders in advance of the next Scrutiny Budget meeting on Wednesday 18 January 2023.

Preliminary lines of questioning were identified for submission to Portfolio Holders prior to the next Scrutiny Budget meeting on Wednesday 18 January 2023 for their response.

·         Wednesday 18 January 2023

·         18 January 2023