Agenda item

The Leader of the Council, Councillor Simon Tagg introduced the report and moved the recommendations which set out the recommendations of Cabinet for Revenue and Capital Budgets for 2021/22. 

 

Cabinet proposed an increase in council tax for 2021/22 of between £3.89 and £4.44 per year from the 2020/21 amount.  This represented an increase of less than ten pence per week for the vast majority of households.  Detailed recommendations were set out in Appendix A of the report.    Appendix B set out the proposed Revenue Budget for 2021/22.  A summary of additional income, additional expenditure and loss of income and new pressures was given in the report.

 

In summary the Council’s updated Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) indicated a forecast budget shortfall of £1.2754m for 2021/22.  A summary of savings and funding strategies to bridge the £1.2754m gap had been identified and agreed with managers and these were shown at Appendices C and D.

 

The Council’s S151 Officer had carried out a review of the Council’s Balances and Reserves together with a risk assessment. Details were given in Appendix E.  The MTFS and budget proposals had been scrutinised by the Finance, Assets and Performance Scrutiny Committee. 

 

The Capital Programme for 2021/22 was given in Appendix F of the report.

 

The Leader stated that there was optimism that an end was in sight for the pandemic and lockdowns as the number of cases were falling and the number of people receiving the vaccine was increasing. This time last year, there had been an awareness that the pandemic was coming but there had been no understanding of the affect and disruption it would have on people’s health and on the livelihoods of residents of the Borough.  The Leader paid tribute to the communities, both young and old, doctors, nurses, carers, shop workers and volunteers for their work during this time.  The Leader also thanked the Chief Executive all council staff for keeping services going during the pandemic.

 

The lockdown had meant a significant reduction in the Council’s income especially from J2 and car parking charges.  There had also been extra expenditure supporting the homeless and also for Covid outbreak control.

 

Emergency government funding of £3.5m had been forthcoming and had helped the Council to deal with the financial impact and this had allowed a balanced budget position at the end of this current financial year.  The Leader thanked local MP’s Jonathan Gullis and Aaron Bell for lobbying on the Council’s behalf.

 

The Leader stated that, despite the challenges the proposed budget continued to deliver the priorities set out in the Council Plan.  A Recovery Board was convened in the summer involving Cabinet members and heads of service to secure necessary savings this year, totalling £1.275m.  The saving had been achieved without affecting front line statutory services. Streetscene was protected and the new recycling service would be further improved over the coming year.

 

The workforce had continued to evolve and be built up, replacing key staff and a commiment to the recruiting of staff to deliver the Borough Local Plan.  The One Council approach would ensure that the Council had the right people in key areas to help deliver local services that work for local people.  Money was being put aside to help to build capacity to help to deliver the large government investment coming into the Borough by the Future High Streets Fund of £11.3m and the two Town Deal Funds for Newcastle and Kidsgrove.

 

Members’ attention was drawn to Appendix C which outlined the efficiencies and good housekeeping as part of the budget.  The Leader thanked the Council’s Finance team and Cabinet members for their work on the savings plans.  Members of the Finance, Assets and Performance Scrutiny Committee were also thanked for endorsing the budget’s saving proposals on two separate occasions.

 

The proposals included provision for another boost in the Council’s reserves and contingencies from £1.548m to £3m.  In addition to the Income reserve of £0.100m

 

The Leader concluded that this budget was investing in the aspirations for the Borough and its future.  The flexible use of the Capital Receipts Policy would be used again this year and a further £250,000 would go into the Borough Growth Fund as outlined in paragraphs 4.7 and 4.8 of the agenda report.  This years’ Fund would be used to address three challenges that this Council faced:

Recovering from the Covid lockdowns; technological transformation and maintaining sustainable local environment.  With the One Council initiative the Council could continue to embed digitalisation. The Leader referred to the Capital Programme as outlined at paragraph 6 of the report. 

 

The Portfolio Holder for Finance and Efficiency, Councillor Stephen Sweeney seconded the recommendations and thanked officers for their hard work in preparing the budget. 

 

Councillor Sweeney drew Members attention to paragraph 2.1 of the report. Support from Central Government of £3.5m which was expected to be around £5m as there was support coming in for the first quarter of the 2021/22 financial year to help with the effects of the Coronavirus.  Reference was made to paragraphs 3 and 4, outlining the savings to meet the shortfall.

 

The budget helped to make the Borough a better place for local residents.  It was a robust, affordable and balanced budget.

 

Councillor Shenton stated that she would not be supporting the budget.  Reference was made to Appendix E which showed the risk assessments for the strategies.  Councillor Shenton said that the revenue budget sought to plug the gap with £50,000 from additional income generation although this was seen as high risk.  The capital budget was predicted on capital receipts and yet, also not realised as high risk.

Councillor Shenton stated that she could not vote for a Council Tax increase in the current times.  In addition, the One Council project appeared to be a strategic change for this Authority with a full review and overhaul to how Council services would be delivered, but there were no details on the plans.

 

Councillor Stubbs stated that he and his group welcomed the capital investment in Kidsgrove Sports Centre and the money set aside for Walley’s Quarry was welcomed by residents across the Borough.  It was also important that all key services continued to be fully funded and the Council’s work in the community must be protected at all cost.  Councillor Stubbs asked the Portfolio Holder why the budget consultation responses had fallen by 80% in one year.  Residents were still providing comments but only 89 people from across Newcastle and 4 from outside of Newcastle had replied to the consultation.

 

Newcastle currently had just under 7,000 people furloughed.  A further 3,600 people had received help from the income support scheme and 4,000 claiming out of work benefits.  Councillor Stubbs asked if an assessment had been made on the impact of a rise in Council Tax on families. Councillor Stubbs asked if the Portfolio Holder had written to the Chancellor asking him to back local councils with the funding needed to prevent Council Tax rises. In addition, Councillor Stubbs asked the Leader if he could rule out a further Council Tax rise in 2022/23. 

 

Councillor Hutton referred to paragraph 8.3 of the report, welcoming the increase in reserves which would help to preserve the long term resilience of the Council.

 

Councillor Proctor stated that the budget was a remarkable achievement in view of the awful year that this Borough and country had just endured.  It would enable the Council to continue to provide vital services.

 

Councillor Holland stated that no alternative budget had been submitted by the Labour Group and no amendments had been proposed. Councillor Holland stated that this was an excellent budget and the best that could have been produced in a time of unprecedented difficulties.  The Borough Growth Fund was a fantastic mechanism where money could be invested.

 

Councillor Fox-Hewitt recognised the difficult times that this and all Councils were currently experiencing.  There were elements of the budget that he could support, such as the investment in facilities for Kidsgrove and the money set aside for Walley’s Quarry.  However, Councillor Fox- Hewitt stated that this money would not go far enough given the impact that the landfill appeared to have and it was a large concern for residents across the Borough.

 

The Town Centre investment was welcomed and the hard work of the Cabinet and officers in the bid preparation was recognised.  Councillor Fox-Hewitt stated that he could not support the budget for two reasons - the increase in Council Tax and the lack of investment in Bradwell and Porthill.  He asked that the budget be taken away with a fresh approach to the Borough’s priorities with cross party contribution and consensus.

 

Councillor Parker praised the officers and the Cabinet for the speedy and effective distribution of over £29m in government grants to local businesses to help them keep going during the current pandemic.

 

Councillor Fear stated that his was an excellent budget which had not received any proposed amendments.

 

Councillor Jones felt that there were elements of the budget that he could support, welcoming the £50,000 investment with regard to investigating the source of the odours in the vicinity of Walley’s Quarry.  When it came to taxation, this was one of the most difficult decisions that Councillors had to make.  However, he understood that the Council Tax rise, leading to £187,000 was minimal when the Council was increasing its reserves from £1.5m to £8.3m.  Councillor Jones stated that he could not support the budget when the Council Tax increase could be found from efficiencies elsewhere.

 

Councillor Paul Waring stated that any increase in taxes was unfortunate but it was essential in order to protect the services going forward.

 

Councillor John Williams stated that he could not support the budget.  Austerity and the pandemic had pushed the spending power of Borough residents to the limit.  The Council Tax increase would add to the pressure on families budgets.

 

Councillors’ Olszewski and Gardner also could not agree to an increase in Council Tax.

 

Councillor Moffat welcomed the Government’s Covid recovery fund but wanted to see a budget that was optimistic and uplifting which built on the amazing contribution that local people had given to help overcome this pandemic. More detail was needed on the budget plus reassurance that the money being paid locally would benefit local people and spent locally.

 

Councillor Northcott stated that this was a ‘steady as you go’ budget.  The highest Council Tax increase would be Band H which would be £10 per year and Band A was £3.33 per year.  Services had to be paid and protected and contingency funds had to be there to manage the portfolio of properties that the Council managed It was a safe and well thought out budget.

 

Councillor Rout was pleased to see the investment for Walley’s Quarry but could not agree to an increase in Council Tax, saying that any rise was a rise too far at this current time.

 

Councillor Maxfield supported the budget stating that it continued to support  vulnerable people around the Borough.

 

Councillor Kearon acknowledged that there were some positive items in the budget, particularly the investment into investigating Walley’s Quarry and the odour.  However the budget showed no allocation of funding for Environmental Health until 2023/24.

 

Councillor Trevor Johnson was in support of the budget.  Despite Covid, the Council had kept moving forward.  The Guildhall was now opened up again at the heart of the community.  The Markets had improved and more events around them had come into the town.  Kidsgrove Sports Centre refurbishment was progressing and the new recycling system was a success.

 

Councillor Lawley Could not support the budget due to the Council Tax increase stating that the use of food banks in the area was on the increase and people could not afford it.

 

The Leader thanked members for the debate.  In summing up, he confirmed that the budget had been scrutinised on two occasions by the Finance, Assets and Performance Scrutiny Committee.  The odour coming from Walley’s Quarry had been receiving complaints during the time of the previous administration but it was only now being acted upon, including meeting with the Environment Agency, whose job it would then be to take action.  The One Council approach was discussed at Council last year and it had been to Scrutiny.    The online consultation had not received as many responses as last year but if three years were taken in a row you get a view that reflects what people wanted.

 

The Leader stated that the budget on the table was the best budget for the Council, it had a low Council Tax increase of less than 10p per week for average households and for the services being delivered and the improvements being made. The Leader stated that he was pleased to recommend the budget to Council.

 

 

A named vote was then taken in respect of the proposed budget:

 

BURGESS	N	JONES	N	SHENTON	N
BURNETT	Y	KEARON	N	STUBBS	N
COOPER. Jenny	Y	LAWLEY	N	SWEENEY	Y
COOPER John	Y	MAXFIELD	Y	TAGG J	Y
COOPER Julie	Y	MOFFAT	N	TAGG S	Y
DYMOND	N	NORTHCOTT	Y	WALKLATE	Y
FEAR	Y	OLSZEWSKI	N	WARING J	Y
FOX-HEWITT	N	OWEN	Y	WARING P	Y
GARDNER	N	PANTER	Y	WHITE G	Y
GROCOTT	N	PARKER	Y	WHITE S	Y
HEESOM	Y	PICKUP	N	WILKES	Y
HOLLAND	Y	PROCTOR	Y	WILLIAMS G	N
HUTTON	Y	REDDISH	Y	WILLIAMS J	N
JOHNSON B	N	ROBINSON	N	WRIGHT	N
JOHNSON T	Y	ROUT	N

 

 

In Favour (Y)- 25

Against (N)- 19

Abstain – 0

 

 

 

Resolved:     That recommendations a to o, as set out in Appendix ‘A’ of the agenda report be approved.