Agenda item

To consider a report from the Treasurer, which sets out details of the precept increase, showing the level of precept and increase for each Council Tax band and details the 2018/19 revised budget and the 2019/20 forward budget.

The Authority considered a report from the Treasurer (item 7 in the minute book) regarding the budget and precept for 2019/20.

The report was summarised and several points were highlighted:

·         The table in paragraph 13 showed the budget monitoring for 2018/19 as at 31 December 2018. Employee costs had been less than expected, partly due to ongoing vacancies.

·         A small impact in Council tax was shown in the table in paragraph 16

·         Changes to the medium term financial position (MTFP) were highlighted in paragraph 37 and it was confirmed that £1,224,100 had been moved to the Transformation Reserve.

·         The reserves were referenced in paragraph 44 and also detailed in Appendix B of the report. It was confirmed that the appendix had been updated following publication and that this had been uploaded alongside the agenda pack.

With approval by the Chairman of the Authority, it was confirmed that an additional recommendation would be added to the item as a result of the Ocado fire incident. An additional Appendix (I) had also been provided to Members, which highlighted the need for an in-depth review of the incident and how it could be prevented in future following a lot of high level interest. The dedication and focus required for the review meant that new posts were needed in order for the Service to continue running smoothly on a day-to-day basis and it was not a project that could be absorbed by staff in their current roles. The review was anticipated to take around six months to complete.

Members were in full support of the proposals and appreciated the importance of the review.

During questions from Members, it was confirmed that the £4,000,000 gap anticipated in paragraph 17 of the report was now closer to £3,400,000 but will likely decrease. The allocation of funds stated in Appendix C of the report will be detailed in a report to the Full Authority later in the year. It was agreed that there was inconsistency with phraseology with ‘retained fire fighters’ and ‘on-call fire fighters’ and whilst they were the same thing discussions would be had with staff to agree on one title going forward to minimise confusion.

RESOLVED:

1.         The revenue budget as set out in Appendix A was approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

2.         The Capital Programme as set out in Appendix C and the funding of this as set out in Appendix D was approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

3.         It was agreed that a total of £1,474,100 would be transferred to the Transformation Reserve in 2019/20.

4.         Funding of up to £800,000 for the new Combined Fire Authority implementation was approved from the Transformation Reserve.

5.         The Treasury Management Strategy Statement including the Investment Strategy (Appendix F), and the Capital and Investment Strategy (Appendix G) for 2019/20, (and the remainder of 2018/19) were approved.

6.         It was agreed that a target level for high yield investments of £7m is set for the Authority.

7.         Authority was delegated to the Chief Finance Officer to manage the Fire & Rescue Authority’s investments and borrowing according to the Treasury Management Strategy Statement as appropriate.

8.         The Section 25 Report from the Chief Finance Officer as set out in Appendix H was taken into account by the Authority in setting the budget and precept for 2019/20.

9.         The budget requirement for the general expenses of the Authority for the year beginning 1^st April 2019 of £66,512,500 was approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

10.      The council tax requirement for the Authority for the year beginning 1^st April 2019 of £43,070,127 was approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority.

11.      It was agreed that the Authority’s council tax be increased by 2.99% for the year beginning 1^st April 2019 and for the properties in each band, as set out below, were approved by Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority:

Band A:            £45.14                                    Band E:          £82.76

Band B:                        £52.66                                    Band F:          £97.80

Band C:                        £60.19                                    Band G:         £112.85

Band D:                        £67.71                                    Band H:         £135.42

12.      It was agreed that the precepts set out in paragraph 20 of this report, totalling £43,070,127 be issued on the billing authorities in Hampshire, requiring the payment in such instalments and on such dates set by them and previously notified to the Authority.

13.      That in accordance with the set of principles set by the Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government for the year, it was determined that the relevant basic amount of council tax for 2019/20 is not excessive.

14.      It was agreed that funding of up to £160,000 be taken from the Transformation Reserve to provide resource to investigate and report on the Ocado distribution centre fire.