Agenda item

To consider the following referrals from Cabinet:

 

21 November 2023

 

7.1       CA/99/23 FINANCIAL MONITORING REPORT

 

12 December 2023

 

7.2       CA/106/23 VCS COMMISSIONING – GRANT APPROACH

 

7.3       CA/108/23 COUNCIL TAX BASE REPORT AND SUPPORT SCHEME

 

30 January 2024

 

7.4       CA/09/24 TREASURY MANAGEMENT MID-YEAR REVIEW

 

13 February 2024

 

7.5       CA/18/24 BUILDING SAFETY POLICY

 

7.6       CA/19/24 COMMITTEE TIMETABLE

 

7.7       CA/20/24 HRA BUSINESS PLAN REFRESH

 

7.8       CA/23/24 BUDGET

 

7.9       CA/24/24 CHILTERNS BEECHWOODS SPECIAL AREA OF

CONSERVATION  MITIGATION STRATEGY AND SUITABLE ALTERNATIVE NATURAL GREENSPACE UPDATE

 

7.10     CA/25/24 FINANCIAL MONITORING REPORT

 

Cllr Tindall introduced the Cabinet Referrals

 

CA/99/23         FINANCIAL MONITORING REPORT

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Council

 

CA/106/23       VCS COMMISSIONING – GRANT APPROACH

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Chamber

 

CA/108/23       COUNCIL TAX BASE REPORT AND SUPPORT SCHEME

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Chamber

 

CA/09/24         TREASURY MANAGEMENT MID-YEAR REVIEW

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Chamber

 

CA/18/24         BUILDING SAFETY POLICY

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Chamber

 

CA/19/24         COMMITTEE TIMETABLE

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Chamber

 

CA/20/24         HRA BUSINESS PLAN REFRESH

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Chamber

 

CA/23/24         BUDGET

 

I stand to present this budget as the leader of a new Liberal Democrat administration, the first change in political administration for 22 years. Since the last budget was set a year ago, the council and the economic outlook has also changed and changed significantly the wider economic and political outlook remains very uncertain with a general election looming during the period of this budget.

 

The new administration is still developing and revising the council’s corporate plan for the next four years and on publication, this will set out the main strategic outlook and objectives of the new administration.

 

The economic and financial challenges brought by Covid were significant, and the creation of the economic recovery reserve provided a structured financial response to set the foundations for the 2024/25 budget. With the UK economy officially in a time of recession the council has many challenges, but will be positioned in the medium term to continue back to full economic health, as we recover both from the covid period and the Trussonomics of 2022.

 

Amongst a very challenging economy, Dacorum Borough Council has played a key role in extending help and support to our businesses and communities at a time they needed it most, and the proposed budget for 24/25 continues that investment. The 2024/25 proposed budget continues to support our day-to-day services, amid so much financial uncertainty. I have no doubt that this consistency and reliability will be reassuring for residents across Dacorum, but in particular for the most vulnerable within our community.

Support for Business.

 

It is a tribute to Council staff, particularly those within the Revenues & Benefits Team and the Economic Development Team that they have constantly evolved to support the local businesses. A key enabler of this has been the development of the Economic Recovery Board and the Hemel Place Board to bring together major businesses, stakeholders and the council to drive forward the key requirements to support business growth.

 

In addition to this, the Council has worked closely with its commercial tenants throughout the last year to ensure it does all it can to support them through the post pandemic period, which has resulted in occupancy levels remaining incredible high at circa 96%, The next stage of the recovery phase is supporting businesses with the debt they now hold as a result of covid.

 

The Council will continue to work closely with its public and private sector partners over the coming months to ensure we do as much as possible to help the local economy in what are very testing times with the ongoing cost of living pressures felt by businesses and residents.

Budget context

 

Over the last 10 years, this council has successfully risen to the challenge of saving over £8m whilst simultaneously protecting and improving the front line services we provide to our residents. This budget outlines plans to achieve a further £1.6m, through income generation in 2024/25, continuing the strong financial stewardship principles.

 

The short-term future of local authority finance will remain uncertain until the end of the current parliament later in the year, when it is expected that the next Government will undertake a Local Government Finance Review.  This in itself may bring uncertainty to future District Council budget cycles as the new Government addresses major public sector demands in health, social services and education.

 

This is why this council has proposed a budget for 2024 with a strong focus on sustainability, and continuing to deliver its corporate priorities into the medium-term. We have already made significant strides towards balancing the budget in future years, having reduced the MTFS savings targets in the medium term from £2.8m to £2.1m. Continuing to invest in the Borough

 

Despite the extent of the financial challenges we are facing, the council is in a strong position to propose a highly ambitious capital investment programme … in excess of £253m over the next 5 years … to further enhance the services we provide to our residents, and the environment in which they live.

 

Some of the areas identified for capital investment include:

 

£180m investment in our existing and new housing stock, which continues to provide high quality homes for tens of thousands of people across our borough

 

£41m investment in various ventures, which combine social benefit with financial return, including significant investment in Leisure services and facilities in neighbourhood facilities.

 

£4m Investment in supporting the local community sector to develop their community services, including the support to Dens and the ongoing development and enhancements of football pitches and adventure playgrounds.

 

£16m continued ongoing investment in the Council’s vehicle fleet, driving the desire for greener vehicles to support the delivery of our frontline services.

Council Tax.

 

As part of the budget for 2024/25, the Council is proposing to increase Council Tax by 2.99% or £6.66 p.a. for a Band D property, which equates to 13 pence per week.

 

Central government is likely to consider each council’s ability to raise tax when deciding how much funding it will provide in the future … in simple terms, Government is likely to reduce future funding by an amount that it expects the council to raise through increasing its council tax.

 

Proposing this increase in line with government expectation means that we have done all we can to protect Dacorum’s overall funding position for future years.

Housing

 

In line with Government guidance, the council is proposing to increase housing rents by 7.7%. This is in line with government expectations of increasing rent by CPI plus 1%. The average rent for a council property in 2024/25 will be £137.32 per week.

 

Despite the recent period of enforced rent reductions, and the below inflation rent cap of 2023/24 the Council has continued to make housing delivery one of its key priorities, and the Council recently completed its 379th new home.

 

This trend will continue … the Council has a further 264 new Build homes on site at present.

 

We are also investing in the infrastructure that will enable us to deliver our housing obligations to the most vulnerable in our community in the best way possible.

 

The council has been awarded several Homes England grants to support the new social house build programme; in total, the council has achieved funding grants from Homes England of £9m to support the delivery of over 180 homes.

In Conclusion

 

Unquestionably, the Council faces significant financial challenges in the years ahead as we play our role in supporting residents and businesses in a tough economic environment.

 

However, this Council can enter this period feeling confident that with the commitment of its Members and staff we will continue to deliver for our residents.

 

I am pleased to move the budget and council tax proposals as set out before you.

 

The following statements were made:

 

Cllr Andrew Williams

 

I feel quite flattered that he praises so many of the achievements that were put in place by Conservative administration prior to May and indeed the budget we have before us this evening is mainly a role forward of last years budget, indeed it seems the only area the Lib Dems have tried to make a change is in car parking charges and that has not gone very well with a least three attempts and one cabinet member losing her position due to it being such a farce and it is still not concluded.

 

My group will support the budget this evening at we feel it is the duty of Cllr’s to agree a budget but we do not support the proposed increase in the charge for Green Waste collection, the decision to introduce the charge last year was budgeted to bring in a estimated income 0f £600k but the final income was over £1.5M which has saved the administration from being in the red this year and given the high level of take up we do not feel the increase is justified.

 

In summary we support the budget as so much is unchanged, we can reflect that the first year of the Lib Dem administration has been a wasted one”

 

Cllr Michela Capozzi

 

I support the proposed budget for 2024/25. 

 

I would like to acknowledge the time, hard work and tenacity of the Officers who have compiled the reports and figures to ensure we have a balanced budget to keep Dacorum Borough Council financially viable. 

 

At a time when we see colleagues in other Councils across the country struggling to fund the ever-increasing demands on their ever-decreasing funding, I am proud that Dacorum will continue in to the next financial year on solid footings.

 

Hard decisions have had to be made.  Our Central Government funding for 24/25 has increased, year-on-year, by 5.1% for Dacorum; well below inflation and the budget-busting cost increases we have experienced this financial year.   Of the £67m business rates we collect in 23/24 – we keep a miniscule £3m, that’s less than 5% - the rest going to central government and other preceptors. 

 

With the lack of core funding we have had to review our other sources of income.  There may be some criticism of the decisions we have made.  But we are a listening Administration and we heard residents’ concerns and suggestions and used them when making decisions. 

 

For example, car parking charges will be increasing; after 4 years of not being raised the review was due but we heard residents’ concerns about the impact on local businesses and the night time economy.  So we worked hard to balance the much-needed income from these assets with protecting businesses and have maintained an element of free parking in all towns and villages. 

This year, the Garden Waste Subscription attracted a 70% take-up creating an income of £1.5m - but the service cost £2m to deliver, leaving a deficit of £500k.  So, the garden waste subscription is increasing to £50 in 24/25 to help recover some of the costs, but residents have asked for a mid-Winter collection and so we are looking to see if there is a cost-neutral solution to meet this need.

 

I am excited to see a reserve of just over £1m being identified for our Climate Change initiatives.  A newly established portfolio by the Lib Dems after taking on the Administration in May 2023 to demonstrate our commitment to responding to the climate emergency, this budget will kick-start the delivery of actions, until now not deemed a priority, that will lead to significant annual savings in energy for the council and our residents, as well as creating a greener and cleaner Dacorum.  Some may say £1m isn’t nearly enough – and they would be right; others might say that the £1m would be better spent elsewhere; but financial balance is needed to ensure we can deliver our services and corporate vision to secure Dacorum’s future and that is what this budget achieves.

 

Cllr Barbara Pesch

 

The Labour group will not oppose the budget but we would like to raise our concerns with several items

 

a.   We are very disappointed to see that the green bin charge has been increased, we had hoped that if it was not removed it would at least have been kept the same as at present.

 

b.   We would like to show our concern with the proposed maximum allowable increase in council house rents, we consider an increase of almost £10.00 per week is too much especially with the current economic situation.

 

Cllr Lara Pringle

 

I am proud to be a member of the new administration, with so many talented colleagues in post. I look forward to what we can deliver for our residents in the years ahead. It is unfortunate that our hands are economically tied by the government at Westminster, who have committed no additional funding to local government. Particularly at a time when so many of our residents are facing a cost-of-living crisis, struggling to heat their homes and feed their families, brought on by the irresponsible and ideologically driven economic disaster of Trussonomics. By this time next year, a general election will have taken place and we hope to have a new government which is committed to getting on with the real business of government , the business of serving the people of this country.

 

A Recorded vote was conducted on the 2024-25 budget. The budget was approved.

 

The recorded vote was as follows:

 

All 47 members present voted for, no against, no abstentions.

 

Members in attendance below

 

Councillor Tindall (Leader) Councillors, Adeleke, Allen, Anderson, Banks, Barradell,

Barry, Bhinder, Bristow, Bromham, Capozzi, Cox, Deacon, Dhyani, Douris, Durrant,

Elliot, England, Freedman, Gale, Guest, Hannell, Hobson, Hobson, Johnson, Link,

Link, Maddern, McArevey, Patterson, Pesch, Pound, Pringle, Reynolds, Riddick,

Santamaria, Silwal, Smith-Wright, Stevens, Stewart, Symington, Taylor, Timmis,

Weston, Williams, Williams and C Wyatt-Lowe

 

 

CA/24/24         CHILTERNS BEECHWOODS SPECIAL AREA OF CONSERVATION MITIGATION STRATEGY AND SUITABLE ALTERNATIVE NATURAL GREENSPACE UPDATE.

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Chamber

 

CA/25/24         FINANCIAL MONITORING REPORT

 

The recommendations were agreed by the Chamber