Agenda, decisions and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Councillor R D Butroid (Executive Councillor for People Mangement, Legal and Corporate Property).

There were no declarations of interest at this point in the meeting.

The Executive Councillor for Economic Development, Environment and Planning provided an update on the number of flooding incidents following the storm the previous week.  It was reported that the incidents were spread across the county with the west and south of the county worst affected.  There were a further 124 properties which were flooded internally and 168 flooded externally.  There were five reports of land being flooded.  It was also highlighted that 38 properties which flooded as a result of Storm Babet were flooded again the previous week as a result of Storm Henk.  It was noted that the number of flooding incidents reported was expected to increase further.

It was reported that there was now a significant number of Section 19 investigations required, and it was noted that there were still a number of flood warnings in place, and the land was still saturated.  It was expected that once the water had subsided damage to infrastructure was likely to be found.

The Executive Councillor commented that there had been intense rainfall over the past few weeks, and the authority needed to be prepared for more incidents similar to this in the future and so there was a need to ensure that the County Council was working with partners as the Lead Local Flood Authority.

It was reported that the Executive Director – Place would be writing to government to see if there was anything that could be done to influence the spring budget announcement in March 2024.

Appreciation was expressed for the work of Lincolnshire Fire and Rescue and it was also acknowledged that there were many parts of the county in which the pumping which had been carried out had saved many properties from flooding.  It was also noted that there was a need to publicly thank all those people in local communities who were working to help each other during the flooding and bad weather including the Parish Councils which had emergency plans which they were able to put into practice.  There was a need for the County Council to help build community resilience.  Lincolnshire had experienced a major county wide event and so services were stretched and so the more that could be done at a local level the better.

The Executive Director – Place updated the Executive on the grants and support which was being made available to those residents who had experienced flooding.  It was reported that there was £500 available per household for recovery and clean up.  However, this was related to business rates and council tax and was managed through the district councils.  The area where the County Council had a role was in relation to flood resilience grants of up to £5,000 per property.  Residents needed to have the work done and then reclaim the money back, which created the issue of whether it would be affordable for everyone that had been affected.  Work was taking place with the CCN and ADEPT to look at the way in which the grant  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

RESOLVED

That the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 5 December 2023 be signed by the Chairman as a correct record.

(To receive a report by the Executive Director – Resources which seeks approval for the proposals on the Council Budget for 2024/25, as set out in the report, for internal and external consultation)

1.    That the following elements of the budget for 2024/25 as its initial proposals subject to further consultation and scrutiny, namely:

a)    The budget requirement pre-use of reserves as set out in Table B;

b)    The budget savings and cost pressures covering the 2024/25 financial year as set out in Appendix A of the report;

c)    The draft capital investment programme 2023/24 onwards as set out in Appendix B of the report.

2.    That the advice of the Executive Director for Resources as S151 Officer at paragraphs1.106 to 1.112 of the report be noted.

3.    That a council tax increase for 2024/25 of 4.99% is proposed.

4.    That the carrying out of consultation and scrutiny on the Executive’s initial proposals as set out in paragraphs 1 and 3 be approved.

A report on the Council’s Budget for 2024/25 was introduced by the Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Director – Resources who advised that the proposals, which would be subject to consultation, had been prepared on the basis of a 3% increase in council tax.  It was also noted that the Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) contained a number of proposals based on cost pressures and efficiencies which were outlined in the report in more detail.

The Assistant Director – Finance advised that the report set out the budget proposals as the basis for consultation, before the final proposals were considered by the Executive on 6 February 2024 before being submitted to full Council for approval.  The report brought together updates from the Autumn Statement and the financial settlement from government, which were in line with previous indications and there was no additional funding announced particularly in relation the National Living Wage uplift.  This had created a significant cost pressure against the original assumptions in the MTFP which had been presented previously.

It was noted that some additional funding had been received in relation to Adult Social Care, but this was offset by reductions in the service grant.  The referendum limit for increases in council tax was set at no more than 5% which included 3% for councils plus an additional 2% for those authorities with responsibility for Adult Social Care.

There were some challenges around affordability of the Council’s services where demand and cost continued to rise.  Cost pressures were set out in detail in the appendices to the report.

Table A in the report set out the medium term plan based on a 2.99% increase in council tax, this created a deficit position of £7m for 2024/25 rising to £15m over the four year period of the Plan.  Each of the deficits would be required to be met from the reserves, which would require use of around £49m of reserves over the length of the Plan.

Table B in the report set out the Council’s overall proposed revenue budget for 2024/25 which included cost pressures of £60.6m and savings and additional income of £19.1m.  The cost pressures related mainly to pay inflation and contract inflation particularly in the areas of social care and home to school transport.   The report set out an approach to business process improvement as part of the efficiency savings in order to avoid service reduction.

The report also included scenarios based on council tax increases of 2.99%, 3.99% and 4.99% and it was noted that each 1% increase generated an additional £3.7m of funding into the base budget.

A breakdown of reserves was set out in Table F of the report, with earmarked reserves being those which could be used to support budget deficits, including the financial volatility reserve which was currently at £47m.

The report also included an update on the Capital Programme, and it was highlighted that there was no overall increase in the capital programme planned for 2024/25 to ensure its continued  ...  view the full minutes text for item 53.