Agenda item

Service Revenue and Capital Budget Proposals 2020/21

(To receive a report from Keith Noyland, Head of Finance – Communities, which outlines the budget proposals for the next financial year 2020/21, specifically looking at the budget implications for the Council's Commercial, Support, Corporate and enabling services within the remit of the Board. The Board are invited to scrutinise and comment on the proposals, prior to the Executive meeting on 4 February 2020 when it will make its final budget proposals)

Minutes:

10.37am – Councillor S P Roe left the meeting and did not return.

 

Consideration was given to a report by the Head of Finance – Communities, which outlined the budget proposals for the next financial year 2020/21, specifically looking at the budget implications for the Council's commercial, support, corporate and enabling services. The Board was invited to scrutinise and comment on the proposals, prior to the Executive meeting on 4 February 2020 when it would make its final budget proposals.

 

Members were advised that the Council continued to face the effects of the significant reductions in government funding over recent years. Uncertainty around government funding beyond that announced in the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement 2020/21 had meant that it was not considered practical for the Council to develop detailed long term financial plans at the current time.

 

There was a proposed general council tax increase of 1.5%, along with a 2% increase for Adult Social Care.

 

Members were referred to Table A, which set out the revenue budget for the service areas within the remit of the Board. The budget proposals had allowed for pay inflation of 2% for 2020/21. An explanation of service specific cost pressures had also been provided.

 

Members were then referred to Table B, which set out the capital programme for the Council's commercial, support, corporate and enabling services. There had been one new project added to the capital programme as part of the budget setting process for 2020/21 which was a programme of property maintenance of £3.5m per annum from 2021/22 to 2028/29.

 

Members considered the report and during the discussion the following points were noted:

 

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·         The cost pressure for the Customer Services Centre was due to increases in both the cost of the contract with Serco when it was extended until 2022 and the volume of calls being received. The contract had been renegotiated to better reflect the actual cost of delivery being incurred by Serco. The Council's new website could counteract this increase in volume of contacts if customers start accessing services through the website instead.

·         The Corporate Plan and the alignment of the budget with the future aspirations of the Council were not mentioned in the budget proposals due to the Corporate Plan only being approved by the County Council at its meeting in December 2019. However, the increased capacity for transformation to meet the Council's aspirations outlined in the Corporate Plan had been included in the proposed budgets.

·         The cost pressure of £1.659m for the increased contractual cost for the "back office" processing in Financial Strategy was partially offset by savings such as the £440,000 saving generated from bringing Human Resources back in-house.

·         Property rationalisation would result in some savings from reduced maintenance costs in the property capital programme. The One Public Estate programme was also looking at co-location across the county, including with partner organisations, and how to make the best use of the available property.

·         The gross capital programme consisted of £170.077m for 2020/21 and a further £364.159m for the next nine years. The 2020/21 budget was considerably higher than subsequent years due to the capital programmes for the Lincoln Eastern Bypass and Grantham Southern Relief Road. The Council's contribution to the net capital programme was approximately £40m per annum over ten years.

 

RESOLVED:

           

1.    That the Board support the budget proposals, as set out in the report;

2.    That a summary of the comments made be passed on to the Executive as part of its consideration of the final budget proposals.

           

 

Supporting documents:

 

 
 
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