Agenda item

The Council considered a report from Cabinet which detailed budget recommendations for the 2016/17 Revenue and Capital Budget and Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP (6)) 2016/17 to 2019/20 (for copy see file of Minutes).  In Moving adoption of the Cabinet report, Councillor Henig made a statement on the Budget and Precept for 2016/17, summarised as follows:

 

The budget process for the forthcoming financial year had been subject to an extensive consultation process which had involved members of the public, trade unions, businesses and overview and scrutiny.  Councillor Henig thanked all those who had taken part in the consultation process.

 

Since 2011 the Council had delivered savings of £153m and an additional £37m of saving would need to be delivered during the 2016/17 financial year.  The MTFP for the period 2017/18 to 2019/20 identified that additional savings of £67m would need to be delivered.  The priority of protecting frontline services while making such savings would become increasingly difficult, although the Council would endeavour to continue to protect the public from such brutal budget cuts.

 

Feedback from the consultation process was that the Council should keep the same strategy as it adopted in 2010 to protect basic needs and support service for vulnerable people, to focus on job creation and to support adults in their own homes.  The consultation also resulted in the Council achieving a score of 7.5 on a scale of 1-10, 1 being poor and 10 being excellent, on how it had managed budget reductions to date.

 

Councillor Henig highlighted the following key points:

·       The settlement figures had only been confirmed on the afternoon of 8 February which had resulted in the need for a special Cabinet meeting and the circulation of the Budget report after the despatch of Council papers.

·       Following a Conservative rebellion by shire counties the Government had provided £150m of Transitional funding for both 2016/17 and 2017/18 whilst also increasing the Rural Services Delivery Grant by £61m.  However, Durham would receive none of this additional funding while shire county councils and southern unitary authorities would receive significant budget increases for both 2016/17 and 2017/18.

·       The Net Budget Requirement for 2016/17 was £401.5m

·       Base budget pressures of £26m for 2016/17 had been absorbed

·       Savings targets had been reduced by £20m over a four year period because of the receipt of Better Care Funding from 2017/18 to 2019/20 and the forecasted council tax income of £15m from 2016/17 to 2019/20 from the Government’s 2% adult social care precept.

·       £5.8m of reserves would be used during 2016/17 and £12m of reserves used during 2017/18 to meet savings targets.

·       The Council would continue to face a challenging financial position over the next four years and all services would be affected.  The period of austerity and cuts had lasted longer than the Chancellor had originally inidicated.

However, on a positive note, Councillor Henig informed Council that the County Council had achieved the following, despite the budget cuts:

·       The Council had continued to protect vulnerable people by maintaining a Council Tax Reduction Scheme which provided up to 100% Council Tax Reduction in line with the Council Tax Benefit system which was abolished by the Government in 2013.  Durham was only one of two councils in the north east to provide this, and one of only 50 councils nationally.

·       A Capital Programme of £135m for 2016/17, details of which were included at Appendices 8 and 9 of the report.

·       Details of savings targets across all Services were detailed at Appendix 4 of the report and all savings had undergone an Equality Impact Assessment.

 

Paragraph 91 of the report identified the need for a reduction of approximately 400 posts, including the deletion of an anticipated 60 vacant posts, from the Councils establishment for 2016/17.  The Council would seek voluntary redundancies and early retirement to minimise the number of compulsory redundancies.

 

In summary Councillor Henig informed the Council that, in light of huge Government cuts, this was a well thought out, sensible and prudent budget.  The Council would remain aligned to its priorities and would protect frontline services as far as it could.

 

In Seconding adoption of the Cabinet report Councillor Napier, Portfolio Holder for Finance informed the Council that he was proud to be a councillor on the County Council given all it had achieved since LGR in 2009, when eight local authorities were combined into one and the complexities that brought.  Since LGR there had been a large legislative programme enforced upon local authorities and savage and draconian cuts.  All involved in the County Council should be proud of the achievements of the Council and all Members should support the budget for 2016/17 which had been carefully planned and worked up and was balanced while being reliant on £37m of savings.  This was the highest savings target since 2010/11, the first year of austerity, when £66m of savings needed to be made, and this was more than the combined Revenue budgets of all former District Councils.

 

There would be ongoing cuts up until 2020 and the funding formula for the distribution of Government grant was unfair with some more affluent areas of the country not experiencing the same level of funding cuts.

 

The Council was positive moving forward with its budget strategy and robust planning and Councillor Napier was proud that the vulnerable and needy had been protected with welfare assistance, the Council Tax Reduction Scheme, the use of reserves and a £135m Capital Programme.

 

Although it was forecast the Council would need to reduce posts by approximately 400, it was working diligently to keep the number of compulsory redundancies to a minimum and was working closely with Trade Unions.

 

Councillor J Armstrong, Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Management Board, advised that there had been close scrutiny of the budget proposals, although this had been hindered by the late announcement of the settlement.  There was concern that the final settlement figures were unfair in that additional funding had been made to shire councils in more affluent areas of the country but none had been made to Durham.  Councillor Armstrong congratulated Cabinet for producing the budget proposals.

 

An amendment was Moved by Councillor R Bell, Seconded by Councillor T Henderson as follows:

 

The Council to make additional savings by:

 

·       Stopping the publication of County Durham News from April 2016 but retaining the Events Guide and Guide to Services. This would produce an annual saving of £137,000.

·       Continuing in 2016 the programme of centralising all back office and support functions including Policy, Planning, and Performance. This would produce an estimated full year effect saving of £450,000.

 

The total estimated saving is £587,000

 

The Council increase the budget on:

 

·       Roadside gully cleaning through the engagement of an additional tanker at a cost of £159,000 a year, and

·       To keep open the Durham Light Infantry museum at a cost of £242,000 a year.

 

The total cost is £401,000

 

The surplus savings, notionally £186,000, to be transferred to the Regeneration & Economic Development Car Parking Revenue Budget pending a review of car parking charges, which will include some reductions, to be implemented by April 2017.

 

For the Amendment

Councillors R Bell, T Henderson, G Holland, A Hopgood, N Martin, P Oliver, G Richardson, J Rowlandson, J Shuttleworth, M Simmons, W Stelling, O Temple, M Wilkes and A Willis.

 

Against the Amendment

Councillors E Adam, J Alvey, B Armstrong, J Armstrong, L Armstrong, A Batey, D Bell, E Bell, J Bell, H Bennett, J Blakey, G Bleasdale, D Boyes, P Brookes, J Brown, C Carr, J Carr, J Chaplow, J Charlton, J Clare, J Clark, P Conway, J Cordon, K Corrigan, P Crathorne, R Crute, K Davidson, M Davinson, M Dixon, S Forster, N Foster, I Geldard, B Glass, B Graham, O Gunn, C Hampson, J Hart, S Henig, K Henig, J Hillary, M Hodgson, L Hovvels, E Huntington, S Iveson, I Jewell, O Johnson, C Kay, B Kellett, A Laing, P Lawton, J Lee, J Lethbridge, H Liddle, J Lindsay, A Liversidge, R Lumsdon, J Maitland, C Marshall, P May, O Milburn, B Moir, S Morrison, A Napier, T Nearney, M Nicholls, H Nicholson, A Patterson, T Pemberton, M Plews, C Potts, L Pounder, S Robinson, J Robinson, K Shaw, H Smith, T Smith, M Stanton, B Stephens, A Surtees, P Taylor, L Taylor, K Thompson, F Tinsley, E Tomlinson, A Turner, J Turnbull, A Watson, Mac Williams, C Wilson, S Wilson and R Yorke.

 

The Amendment was Lost.

 

An Amendment was Moved by Councillor J Shuttleworth, Seconded by Councillor T Henderson as follows:

 

Highways Maintenance (Revenue)

 

In order to improve the roads and pathways across the county, an extra £1,000,000 of revenue patching work should be carried out every year to repair and make good the increasing numbers of pot holes across the county. Also, in order to reduce risks of flooding, following recent storms, invest a further £140,000 in cleaning out gullies on a more regular basis.

 

Additional cost = £1,140,000

 

Funded by:

 

(i)              reducing the corporate risk contingency budget = £500,000

(ii)             downsizing the corporate policy, press office and communications = £500,000

(iii)           stop publishing County Durham News saving £140,000

 

For the Amendment

Councillors R Bell, T Henderson, A Hopgood, N Martin, P Oliver, G Richardson, J Rowlandson, J Shuttleworth, M Simmons, W Stelling, O Temple, M Wilkes and A Willis,.

 

Against the Amendment

Councillors E Adam, J Alvey, B Armstrong, J Armstrong, L Armstrong, A Batey, D Bell, E Bell, J Bell, H Bennett, J Blakey, G Bleasdale, D Boyes, P Brookes, J Brown, C Carr, J Carr, J Chaplow, J Charlton, J Clare, J Clark, P Conway, J Cordon, K Corrigan, P Crathorne, R Crute, K Davidson, M Dixon, S Forster, N Foster, I Geldard, B Glass, B Graham, O Gunn, C Hampson, J Hart, S Henig, J Hillary, M Hodgson, L Hovvels, E Huntington, S Iveson, I Jewell, O Johnson, C Kay, B Kellett, A Laing, P Lawton, J Lee, J Lethbridge, H Liddle, J Lindsay, A Liversidge, R Lumsdon, J Maitland, C Marshall, P May, O Milburn, B Moir, S Morrison, A Napier, T Nearney, M Nicholls, H Nicholson, A Patterson, T Pemberton, M Plews, C Potts, L Pounder, S Robinson, J Robinson, K Shaw, H Smith, T Smith, M Stanton, B Stephens, A Surtees, P Taylor, L Taylor, K Thompson, F Tinsley, E Tomlinson, A Turner, J Turnbull, A Watson, , Mac Williams, C Wilson, S Wilson and R Yorke,

 

The Amendment was Lost.

 

An Amendment was Moved by Councillor N Martin, Seconded by Councillor O Temple as follows:

 

That the proposed 1.99% council tax increase in 2016/17 to fund Council services is withdrawn.

 

Additional cost in 2016/17 = £3.556m

 

To be initially funded by use of £3.556m from the Council’s General Reserves balance.

 

The General Reserves balance should then be replenished from any permanent underspends identified at 2016/17 financial year end.

 

For the Amendment

Councillors R Bell, T Henderson, A Hopgood, N Martin, G Richardson, J Rowlandson, J Shuttleworth, M Simmons, W Stelling, O Temple, K Thompson and M Wilkes.

 

Against the Amendment

Councillors E Adam, J Alvey, B Armstrong, J Armstrong, L Armstrong, A Batey, D Bell, E Bell, J Bell, H Bennett, J Blakey, G Bleasdale, D Boyes, P Brookes, J Brown, C Carr, J Carr, J Chaplow, J Charlton, J Clare, J Clark, P Conway, J Cordon, K Corrigan, P Crathorne, R Crute, K Davidson, M Dixon, S Forster, N Foster, I Geldard, B Glass, B Graham, O Gunn, C Hampson, J Hart, S Henig, J Hillary, M Hodgson, L Hovvels, E Huntington, S Iveson, I Jewell, O Johnson, C Kay, B Kellett, A Laing, P Lawton, J Lee, J Lethbridge, H Liddle, J Lindsay, A Liversidge, R Lumsdon, J Maitland, C Marshall, P May, O Milburn, B Moir, S Morrison, A Napier, T Nearney, M Nicholls, H Nicholson, P Oliver, A Patterson, T Pemberton, M Plews, C Potts, L Pounder, S Robinson, J Robinson, K Shaw, H Smith, T Smith, M Stanton, B Stephens, A Surtees, P Taylor, L Taylor, F Tinsley, E Tomlinson, A Turner, J Turnbull, A Watson, Mac Williams, A Willis, C Wilson, S Wilson and R Yorke.

 

The Amendment was Lost.

 

A vote was then taken on the main Motion which was the recommendations contained within the report.

 

For the Motion

Councillors E Adam, J Alvey, B Armstrong, J Armstrong, L Armstrong, A Batey, D Bell, E Bell, J Bell, H Bennett, J Blakey, G Bleasdale, D Boyes, P Brookes, J Brown, C Carr, J Carr, J Chaplow, J Charlton, J Clare, J Clark, P Conway, J Cordon, K Corrigan, P Crathorne, R Crute, K Davidson, M Dixon, S Forster, N Foster, I Geldard, B Glass, B Graham, O Gunn, C Hampson, J Hart, S Henig, J Hillary, M Hodgson, L Hovvels, E Huntington, S Iveson, I Jewell, O Johnson, C Kay, B Kellett, A Laing, P Lawton, J Lee, J Lethbridge, H Liddle, J Lindsay, A Liversidge, R Lumsdon, J Maitland, C Marshall, P May, O Milburn, B Moir, S Morrison, A Napier, T Nearney, M Nicholls, H Nicholson, P Oliver, A Patterson, T Pemberton, M Plews, C Potts, L Pounder, S Robinson, J Robinson, K Shaw, H Smith, T Smith, M Stanton, B Stephens, A Surtees, P Taylor, L Taylor, F Tinsley, E Tomlinson, A Turner, J Turnbull, A Watson, Mac Williams, A Willis, C Wilson, S Wilson and R Yorke.

 

Against the Motion

Councillors R Bell, T Henderson, G Holland, A Hopgood, N Martin, G Richardson, J Rowlandson, M Simmons, W Stelling, O Temple, K Thompson, M Wilkes and A Willis.

 

The Motion was Carried.

 

Resolved:

That the report and its recommendations be adopted in full.