Agenda item

(Please bring with you to the meeting the Draft Budget and Medium Term Plan previously circulated)

-  report by Mr Paul Carter, Leader of the Council, Mr John Simmonds, Cabinet Member for Finance, Mrs K Kerswell, Group Managing Director and Mr A Wood, Acting Director for Finance)

(1)       The Chairman declared consideration of this item to be urgent as the report was not available at the time the agenda for this meeting was despatched. The reason for that was because the report needed to include the most up to date information and analysis on the final local government settlement figures, the final tax bases agreed by the Kent District Councils and the surplus or deficits announced by the District Councils Collection Funds, which were not known until 31 January 2011.

(2)        This report updated Cabinet on the proposed 2011/12 Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan 2011-13 published on 6 January 2011, and sought endorsement of the proposed budget and Council Tax levels for 2011/12 for submission to the County Council at its meeting on 17 February 2011.

(3)       Mr Wood outlined the purpose and scope of the report and highlighted a number of key points. Mr Carter said that the time for detailed debate on the proposed budget would be at the February County Council meeting but wished to highlight that funding for children’s services would be taken forward as a priority.   

(5)       Cabinet resolved to endorse the following proposals for submission to County Council on 17th February 2011:

(a)       the Revenue Budget proposals for 2011/12.  Cabinet noted the proposed changes as a result of the equivalent Band D tax base from the estimate included in the published draft Budget, and the surplus/deficit on the District Councils collection funds. Cabinet also endorsed the resulting change to the overall budget requirement.  

(b)       The savings proposals outlined in section 7 within the Children Families & Education and Communities portfolios as a result of the loss of Department of Education Area Based Grant and Early Intervention Grant.            

(c)        a requirement from Council Tax of £573.688m to be raised through precept on District Councils.

(d)       Council Tax levels for the different property bands as set out below, representing a freeze at the 2010/11 levels.

Council Tax Band     

                        A                     B                     C                     D                   E

            £698.52          £814.94          £831.36          £1,047.78      £1,280.62

                        F                      G                     H

            £1,513.46      £1,746.30      £2,095.56

(e)       the capital investment proposals, together with the necessary borrowing, revenue, grants, capital receipts, renewals, external funding and other earmarked sums to finance the programme.  Delivery of the programme would be subject to the approval to spend on individual schemes and the level of Government support available in future years

(f)         the Prudential Indicators as set out in Appendix F of the draft MTFP 2011-13

(g)       Cabinet also endorsed the revenue and capital budget proposals set out in the draft 2011/12 Budget and MTFP 2011-13 (as amended as a result of the changes outlined in the Cabinet report and summarised in Appendix 7 and that they be recommend to the County Council.  (A revised 2011/12 Budget Book and MTFP 2010-13 reflecting the changes in the Cabinet report would be produced for the County Council meeting on 17th February 2011.)

(h)        Cabinet also agreed that the final recommendations in relation to schools budgets and the Dedicated Schools Grant be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education.