Agenda item

To consider the recommendations of Cabinet for the Revenue Budget and Precept for 2022/23 and the Capital Programme 2022/23 to 2024/25.

The Council considered the Revenue Budget and Precept for 2022/23 and the Capital Programme for the period 2022/23 to 2024/25. 

 

In presenting the report, the Leader highlighted the County Council’s approach of having a two-year budgeting process and referred to the savings proposals considered at the Council last November, which had been adjusted in line with the annual finance settlement from Government last December.  The County Council had received a lower settlement than expected due to the lower Social Care Precept and it was therefore important that money raised through the Government’s National Insurance initiative was targeted away from the NHS to Adult Social Care to ease the pressure on these services.  The Leader also highlighted that funding for schools had exceeded £1bn.

 

In turning the to the Capital Programme of just over £0.75bn for the three-year period, the Leader referred to the schools building programme and the use of reserves to support projects.  He also referred to the Government’s encouragement to Pension Funds to invest locally in infrastructure, which he had discussed with the Chairman of the Hampshire Pension Fund Panel and Board.

 

In commending the revenue budget proposals Councillor Steve Forster, Executive Member for Commercial Strategy, Estates and Property referred to the setting of a balanced budget against the backdrop of increased adult social care costs, Covid, and associated recovery costs, which demonstrated good management and robust use of reserves.  The Executive Member referred to the funding for schools, including new schools, recycling facilities, roads and bridges and supporting younger adults.  He acknowledged the extensive lobbying of Government by the Administration regarding the County Council’s financial position.  He also reported that the County Council acknowledged the increased cost of living together with energy and fuel cost pressures and referred to the Council Tax rebate for Bands A-D announced by the Government.  Lastly, the Executive Member drew attention to how the Capital Programme could help to generate income towards the £157m funding gap.

 

The Group Leaders responded to the proposals and recognised the challenges that the County Council faced. They expressed reservations about the County Council’s financial position going forward, which was considered to be unsustainable, questioned whether the lobbying of Government had been successful and felt this needed to be stepped up, and referred to the overall pressures on residents and the impact that was having.  Some concern was also expressed about the impact on senior office time regarding the County Deal work.

 

Councillor Alex Crawford proposed the following Amendment, which was seconded by Councillor Kim Taylor:

 

“To insert an additional recommendation for the Revenue Budget & Precept 2022/23 as follows:

 

n)    That the Leader of the Council be asked to prepare a submission for the County Council to make to the Government (DLUHC) and Hampshire MPs setting out the minimum extra funding that the County Council will need for its finances to be sustainable over the next four years.”

 

No further Amendments were proposed.

 

During a full debate, Members expressed both support and concerns about the proposals before them.  Concern was expressed about support to the Voluntary Sector, and in general terms, highlighting the importance of ensuring residents were made aware of all that the County Council was doing regarding its financial future to secure a fair funding position.  Views were also expressed that more support was required of Hampshire’s MPs.

 

In responding to the wide-ranging debate, the Leader highlighted that the budget had been prepared in the shadow of Covid and that the economic situation continues to be challenging.  Nonetheless, the County Council was required to set a balanced budget which meant doing the best it could with the available funding and making difficult decisions when it was necessary to do so.  The County Council would continue to use its reserves wisely to make savings in the longer term.   Regarding the proposed Amendment, the Leader reported that progress was being made in the discussions with Government and MPs, therefore his view was that the Amendment was not necessary.  Finally, the Leader commented that the work carried out on the County Deal put the County Council in a good position to have the opportunity of more devolved power and more control of funding in the future.

 

The Leader commended the budget proposals to the Council and moved the recommendations.

 

The Amendment was put to the vote in accordance with Standing Order 22.2, the outcome of which was recorded as follows:

 

FOR (16)

Councillors: Peter Chegwyn, Adrian Collett, Mark Cooper, Alex Crawford, Alan Dowden, Tim Groves, David Harrison, Keith House, Wayne Irish, Gavin James, Louise Parker-Jones, Jackie Porter, Roger Price, Kim Taylor, Martin Tod and Malcolm Wade.

 

AGAINST (47)

 

Councillors: Lulu Bowerman, Jackie Branson, Ann Briggs, Steven Broomfield, Pamela Bryant, Graham Burgess, Fran Carpenter, Roz Chadd, Rod Cooper, Debbie Curnow-Ford, Tim Davies, Chris Donnelly, David Drew, Liz Fairhurst, Michael Ford, Steve Forster, Jonathan Glen, Marge Harvey, Pal Hayre, Juliet Henderson, Edward Heron, Zoe Huggins, Gary Hughes, Rob Humby, Adam Jackman, Mark Kemp-Gee, Peter Latham, Hugh Lumby, Keith Mans, Alexis McEvoy, Lesley Meenaghan, Derek Mellor, Rob Mocatta, Arun Mummalaneni, Russell Oppenheimer, Sarah Pankhurst, Stephen Parker, Neville Penman, Stephen Philpott, Lance Quantrill, Stephen Reid, Tom Thacker, Michael Thierry, Andy Tree, Jan Warwick, Bill Withers and Seán Woodward.

 

ABSTAIN (1)

 

Councillor Melville Kendal.

 

The Amendment was lost.

 

The substantive Revenue Budget recommendations a) to m) were put to the vote in accordance with Standing Order 22.2, the outcome of which was recorded as follows:

 

FOR (46)

 

Councillors: Lulu Bowerman, Jackie Branson, Ann Briggs, Steven Broomfield, Pamela Bryant, Graham Burgess, Fran Carpenter, Roz Chadd, Rod Cooper, Debbie Curnow-Ford, Tim Davies, Chris Donnelly, David Drew, Liz Fairhurst, Michael Ford, Steve Forster, Jonathan Glen, Marge Harvey, Pal Hayre, Juliet Henderson, Edward Heron, Zoe Huggins, Gary Hughes, Rob Humby, Adam Jackman, Mark Kemp-Gee, Peter Latham, Hugh Lumby, Keith Mans, Alexis McEvoy, Lesley Meenaghan, Derek Mellor, Rob Mocatta, Arun Mummalaneni, Russell Oppenheimer, Sarah Pankhurst, Stephen Parker, Neville Penman, Stephen Philpott, Lance Quantrill, Stephen Reid, Tom Thacker, Michael Thierry, Jan Warwick, Bill Withers and Seán Woodward.

 

AGAINST (16)

Councillors: Peter Chegwyn, Adrian Collett, Mark Cooper, Alex Crawford, Alan Dowden, Tim Groves, David Harrison, Keith House, Wayne Irish, Gavin James, Louise Parker-Jones, Jackie Porter, Roger Price, Kim Taylor, Martin Tod and Malcolm Wade.

 

ABSTAIN (2)

 

Councillor Melvyn Kendal and Andy Tree.

 

The Capital Programme recommendations n) to p) were put to the vote and carried unanimously.

 

RESOLVED:

 

A.        Revenue Budget and Precept 2022/23

 

That the County Council approve:

 

a)        The Treasurer’s report under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 (Appendix 6) be taken into account when the Council determines the budget and precept for 2022/23.

b)      The Revised Budget for 2021/22 set out in Appendix 1 of the Cabinet report.

c)      The Revenue Budget for 2022/23 set out in Annex 1 of this Part I report.

d)      Revenue funding of £3.783m in 2022/23 to progress the Strategic Land Programme, together with the ongoing commitment in future years as set out in paragraph 60 of the Cabinet report.

e)      Revenue funding of £0.5m in 2022/23 to develop highways schemes for grant bidding purposes, to be met from savings in contingencies in 2021/22.

f)       Recurring revenue funding of £388,000 per annum to cover the cost of unavoidable SharePoint licence costs

g)      That the council tax requirement for the County Council for the year beginning 1 April 2022, be £738,072,349.

h)      That the County Council’s band D council tax for the year beginning 1 April 2022 be £1,390.86, an increase of 2.99%, of which 1% is specifically for adults’ social care.

i)       That the County Council’s council tax for the year beginning 1 April 2022 for properties in each tax band be:

      £

Band A                                                  927.24

Band B                                               1,081.78

Band C                                               1,236.32

Band D                                               1,390.86

Band E                                               1,699.94

Band F                                               2,009.02

Band G                                               2,318.10

Band H                                               2,781.72

j)        That precepts be issued totalling £738,072,349 on the billing authorities in Hampshire, requiring the payment in such instalments and on such date set by them previously notified to the County Council, in proportion to the tax base of each billing authority’s area as determined by them and as set out below:

Tax base

 

Basingstoke and Deane                 67,823.40

East Hampshire                               51,908.73

Eastleigh                                           48,373.35

Fareham                                            44,002.60

Gosport                                              27,154.20

Hart                                                     41,815.86

Havant                                               41,771.36

New Forest                                        72,122.10

Rushmoor                                         32,795.29

Test Valley                                        51,338.00

Winchester                                        51,554.09

 

k)      The Capital & Investment Strategy for 2022/23 (and the remainder of 2021/22) as set out in Appendix 7 of the Cabinet report.

l)       The Treasury Management Strategy for 2022/23 (and the remainder of 2021/22) as set out in Appendix 8 of the Cabinet report.

m)     Delegated authority to the Director of Corporate Operations to manage the County Council’s investments and borrowing according to the Treasury Management Strategy Statement as appropriate.

B.      Capital Programme 2022/23 to 2024/25

 

That the County Council approve:

n)      The Capital Programme for 2022/23 and the provisional programmes for 2023/24 and 2024/25 as set out in Appendix 1 of the Cabinet report.

o)      The increase in the capital programme value of the Stubbington Bypass scheme of £2.701m from £39.295m to £41.996m with the increase to be funded by a mix of Section 106 contributions, CAVAT funds, savings from Eclipse Busway scheme and Local Transport Plan funding (LTP) as set out in paragraph 72 of the Cabinet report.

p)      The increase in the capital programme value of the Lynchford Road improvement scheme phase 1 of £2.91m from £7.97m to £10.88m with the increase to be funded by a mix of S106 contributions and LTP funding as set out in paragraph 73 of the Cabinet report.