Agenda item

To consider a report from the Interim Chief Financial Officer for the Shadow Authority.

Note: The Shadow Executive report on this item will be published on 4 February 2019 at the following address:

https://moderngov.bcpshadowauthority.com/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=138&MId=120&Ver=4

The Committee considered a report presented by the Interim Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for BCP on the 2019/20 Budget and consolidated MTFP update.

The Interim CFO referred to the achievement in bringing together four local authority budgets and three finance teams to create one balanced budget for the new BCP Council. The budget had been prepared in accordance with the Financial Strategy agreed in 2018.  He took Members through the key elements of the 2019/20 Budget in accordance with the summary provided in paragraph 31 of the report. He referred Members to the proposed adoption by BCP of a council tax harmonisation strategy in line with the local preference of the Shadow Executive, namely that no Borough’s council tax levels would rise at a rate exceeding the Government’s limits, and that the amount charged in Christchurch would be frozen and/or reduced until the new harmonised rate was applied.  He drew Members’ attention to Appendices 1A and 1B of the report. These set out the modelling for BCP council tax harmonisation and the proposed schedule of BCP council tax charges for 2019/20 respectively. The assumed savings based on the 2019/20 budget and MTFP were listed in Appendix 2B. The Interim CFO confirmed that there were no changes arising from the  announcement of the final Local Government Settlement on 30 January 2019.

The Interim CFO responded to questions and comments from Members on the report, including the following main points:

• A Member asked about specific percentage increases and reductions in council tax rates. The Committee was referred to the council tax harmonisation model at Appendix 1A which gave a comprehensive summary of the proposed council tax position for Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole up until the year 2025/26.

• He confirmed that no significant assumptions had been made regarding the use of assets to support the capital programme, as this would be a matter for BCP Council to determine. He assured Members that arrangements in respect of the pension fund had been carefully considered by the Actuary to ensure that they reflected the new LGR structure in Dorset going forward.
• He explained that the ‘provision for repayment’ figure of £8.3 million in Appendix 2A was the minimum level required to be set aside for the MRP - Minimum Revenue Provision. This was in accordance with the policy of the Treasury Management Strategy.
• It was noted that there was a technical requirement to list Parish Precepts / Town Councils / Neighbourhood Councils as two separate credit and debit entries in Appendix 2A.
• The process for BCP Council to collect and distribute council tax on behalf of preceptees was in accordance with the regulations.
• A Member asked why the level of council tax income over the next four years was shown as fluctuating in Figure 7 of the report. The Interim CFO referred again to the council tax harmonisation modelling at Appendix 2A, and the application of the assumed parameters set out in paragraph 32 b) of the report.

Councillor Beesley, the Chair of the Finance Task and Finish Group, responded to a concern about the use of the term ‘21^st Century City by the Sea’ in the report, in the context of preserving the characteristics of the three towns.  He explained that the Government already referred to BCP as a ‘City Region’. The designation therefore reflected the Government’s own terminology and the aim of the new Council to create an iconic coastal economy. It was being used as an initial strapline for BCP to differentiate it from other councils.

Members thanked the Interim Chief Financial Officer and his team for the huge amount of work undertaken in a short space of time to prepare the 2019/20 budget proposal and council tax for submission to the Shadow Authority.

DECISION MADE:

That the Shadow Overview and Scrutiny Committee endorses the recommendations in the Shadow Executive report.