Resolved –

 

COUNCIL BUDGET 2021/22

 

(1)       1.1 REVENUE ESTIMATES 2021/22

 

(a)      That the Base Revenue Forecast of £385,373m for 2021/22 be approved as set out in the updated Council’s Revenue Estimates for 2021/22

 

(b)      That the recurring pressures and investment proposals of £13.611m in 2021/22 as set out in Appendix B to Council Document “F” beapproved.

 

(c)      That the additional service savings and additional income of £0.745m in 2021/22 as set out in Appendix C to Council Document “F” beapproved.

 

(d)      That the prior agreed savings be noted and the amendment to previous budget decisions totalling £1.608mm in 2021/22 as set out in Appendix E to Council Document “F” be approved.

 

(e)      That it be noted that within the revenue budget there is a net use of £6.395m in revenue reserves in 2021/22 as set out in Appendix F to Council Document “F”.

 

(f)        That the service savings proposals for 2021/22 be approved, requiring the Chief Executive, Strategic Directors and Directors to take necessary action during 2020/21 to ensure those savings are fully achievable for 2021/22.

 

(g)      That the comments of Director of Finance set out in Section 151 Officer’s Assessment of the proposed budgets on the robustness of the estimates and the adequacy of reserves taking account of the recommendations made at 1.1 (a) to (f) above be noted.

 

1.2         PROPOSED COUNCIL TAX2021/22

 

              That it be noted that the projected council tax base and expenditure forecasts outlined in this report together with the 2021/22 resources and the budget variations approvedin 1.1 producea proposedBand Dcouncil taxof £1,499.11 for 2021/22.

 

 

 

1.3         PAYMENT DATES FOR COUNCIL TAX AND NATIONALNON-DOMESTIC RATES

 

              That the first instalment date for payment of National Non-Domestic Rates and Council Tax shall be specified by the s151Officer.

 

1.4         DELEGATION TOOFFICERS

 

              That for the avoidance of doubt and without prejudice to any of the powers contained in Article 14 of Part 2 of the Council's Constitution on the Function of Officers, the s151 Officer shall have full delegated powers to act on behalf of the Council on all matters relating to the Council Tax, Non-Domestic Rates and Accounts Receivable Debtors including (without prejudice to the generality of the delegation) entry into any business rate pilot, assessments, determinations, recovery, enforcement and, in accordance with the statutory scheme, full delegated powers to act on behalf of the Council with regard to all aspects of the granting of Discretionary and Hardship Rate Relief to qualifyingratepayers.

 

1.5         PREPARATION OFACCOUNTS

 

(a)      That in preparing the Final Accounts for 2020/21, the s151 Officer be empowered to take appropriate steps to secure the best advantage for the Council's financialposition.

 

(b)      That the s151 Officer be empowered to deal with items which involve the transfer of net spending between the financial years 2020/21 and 2021/22 in a manner which secures the best advantage for the Council's financial position.

 

(c)       That the s151 Officer report any action taken in pursuance of 1.5 (a) and 1.5 (b) above when reporting on the Final Accounts for 2020/21.

 

1.6         COUNCIL TAX REQUIREMENT2021/22

 

(a)      That the council tax base figures for 2021/22 calculated by the Council at its meeting on 5^th January 2021 in respect of the whole of the Council’s area and individual parish and town council areas be noted.

 

(b)      That the only special items for 2021/22 under Section 35 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 are local parish and town council precepts and no expenses are to be treated as special expenses under Section 35(1) (b) of that Act.

 

(c)       That the Council Tax Requirement, excluding parish and town council precepts, be calculated asfollows:

 

 

 

 

 

(d)       That the precepts of parish and town councils are noted and the resulting basic council tax amounts for particular areas of the Council be calculated as follows:

 

 

 

 (e)    That the council tax amounts for dwellings in different valuation bands in respect of the Council’s budget requirement, taking into account parish and town council precepts applicable to only part of the Council’s area, be calculated as follows,

 

 

 

(f)      That it be noted that for the year 2021/22 the Police and Crime Commissioner and West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Authority (WYFRA) have indicated the following precepts (provisional and still to be confirmed).

 

 

 

(g)       That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at (e) and (f) above, the Council set the following amounts of council tax for 2021-22 in each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

 

 

 

(h)       That Council notes the movement in Band D equivalent charges for 2021/22 over 2020/21 as set out in the table below.

 

           

 

 

(2)       ALLOCATION OF THE SCHOOLS BUDGET 2021/22 FINANCIAL YEAR

 

2.1       That the proposals for the allocation of the 2021/22 Dedicated Schools Grant as set out in Executive Document “DH” be accepted and approved.

 

2.2       That the total amount of £634.679m to be appropriated in respect of all schools covered by the Bradford Scheme for the Local Management of Schools, so as to establish the Individual Schools Budget for 2021/22.

 

(3)       CAPITAL INVESTMENT PLAN 2021/22 TO 2024/25

 

3.1       That Council had regard to the information contained within Executive Document “DG” in considering the Capital Investment Plan for 2021/22.

 

3.2       That commitments against reserve schemes and contingencies can only be made after a business case has been assessed by Project Appraisal Group and approved by the Executive.

 

3.3       That delegated authority be given to the Section 151 Officer to repay debt on an annuity basis, for chosen properties purchased during or after 2018-19. Delegated authority could only be exercised if two conditions are met:

                       

            1. the asset retains or increases its value;

2. the return from the capital scheme is sufficient to repay the capital sum invested.

 

3.4       That the proposed 2021/22 MRP policy set out in Appendix 2 to            Executive Document “DG" be approved.

 

3.5       That the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy be approved.

 

3.6      That specific approval be given for the following schemes previously approved by Executive to commence following a detailed review by Project Appraisal Group:

 

•        The 2021/22 Property Programme has a proposed total cost of £2.5m and this will be funded by the £2m allocated and the movement of   £0.5m from the Argus Chambers Property Scheme.

 

•          IT Processes and Systems – End to End Review. The scheme is for a planned programme of improvement work to systems and processes in Children’s Services. The cost of the capital spend is £0.330m and it will be funded by corporate borrowing.

 

(4)     2021/22 BUDGET PROPOSALS AND FORECAST RESERVES – SECTION 151 OFFICER’S ASSESSMENT

 

4.1    That Members have regard to Executive Document “DI” and the Addendum in setting the budget, and in particular note the conclusions that:

 

·         the estimates presented to Council are sufficiently robust.

 

·         the reserves are adequate for the 2021/22 proposed budget.

 

·         the projected corporate reserves, on current estimates, are adequate in the medium term, subject to the implementation of the rest of the proposed financial plan.

 

·         the Medium Term Financial Strategy will be updated and reported to Executive as clarity on future local government funding is received.

 

4.2    That in accordance with Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, Council has regard to the information contained in Executive Document “DE”, appendix B and the annex to Appendix B, together with the equality assessments presented to the Executive on 2 February 2021 when considering the Executive’s recommendations to Council on budget proposals for 2021/22.

 

ACTION:        Director of Finance