Issue - meetings

To receive such reports as the Leader of the Council may wish to bring before the Council.

The Leader opened his report by echoing the Chairman’s comments on the prestigious awards that Hampshire County Council had received and extended his congratulations to the officers and partners involved.

Turning to finance, the Leader confirmed that the detail of the Chancellor’s Autumn Statement was being closely looked at to understand what it would mean for the long-term budgetary pressures faced by the County Council.  The Chancellor’s announcement of additional funding for adult social care and schools was welcomed, although disappointing that the grants had only been confirmed for two years.  Despite the County Council’s strong track record of responsible financial management, the Leader reported that without immediate financial assistance and a clear plan for long-term financial sustainability, forecasts indicate that the County Council would not be able to close future budget gaps through its own actions alone, with the worst case scenario being the need to issue a Section 114 notice within the next two years. The Leader emphasised the timeframe of ‘within the next two years’, not within a few months, as mistakenly suggested in recent news reports.

The Leader referred to the recent letter to the Prime Minister, Chancellor, Levelling Up Secretary and local MPs sent by himself and the Leader of Kent County Council, Cllr Roger Gough, clearly setting out the financial position for both Councils, requesting urgent financial assistance, and for legislative changes and fundamental reform of the way local government is funded and allowed to raise revenue together with meaningful dialogue by the end of the year.  The Leader commented that whilst it was acknowledged that Government had given greater flexibility to local authorities around council tax, it was not the remedy to the sector’s overall funding challenges particularly at a time when household budgets were already facing considerable strain.

The Leader also referred to devolution and greater freedoms and powers and was encouraged by the Government’s ongoing commitment to roll out more devolution deals across the country.  The County Council would continue to work with partners to maintain progress in regard to a County Deal for the Pan-Hampshire area for which a prospectus had been submitted to Government.

In the meantime, the provisional local government settlement next month was awaited, which would provide the detail required to prepare the County Council’s budgets for 2023/24.

The Leader reported that he and the Deputy Leader had engaged in useful discussions with Hampshire MPs about the seriousness of the County Council’s financial position and was pleased that some of the MPs had written and spoken to Ministers as a result of these discussions.  The Leader and Deputy Leader would continue to keep Hampshire MPs updated and work closely with them in the coming weeks and months.  In the meantime, the County Council would remain focussed on continuing to deliver its services and make the case for a long-term fairer funding settlement for the local government sector as a whole to place it on a more sustainable long-term financial footing.

The Leader drew attention to Item 8  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116