Agenda item

The Cabinet Member with responsibility for Finance, who is also the Leader of the Council introduced the draft budget report. The budget supported services which helped to protect the vulnerable and although income had increased more money was needed to meet the full amount for demand led pressures of some services. He highlighted the increased resources for public rights of way; that the Council Tax would be increased by 2.5 %, 1% of which was ring fenced for adult social care and that Scrutiny had given their feedback on the draft budget. He added that the increase in Council Tax was a balance between the need for resources and people’s ability to pay and even with the proposed increase, Worcestershire remained in the lowest 25% for Council tax.

Cabinet Members made the following contributions:

·         Overall Cabinet Members were very pleased that additional money would be spent on improving rights of way, within towns as well as in rural areas. Increased amounts of money were also to be spent on highways, tackling congestion and various projects to help the economy and environment around the County.

·         The Cabinet Member for Adult Services pointed out that The Government has reimbursed councils for the cost of the pandemic but the Council tax increase was needed to meet increased demand and the money would be going to an already reformed service. A new simpler home care fee system would be introduced in April which would combine rural and city rates and carers in Worcestershire were already paid at rates which were above the West Midlands average. There would also be some other fee uplifts.

·         The Cabinet Member for Children and Families felt that Worcestershire had spent well compared to other authorities and the development of the Family First strategy helped families to stay together and was resulting in lower numbers of children needing to be taken into care.

·         The Cabinet Member for Highways highlighted that an increasing number of projects were being completed to tackle congestion and improve footways.

·         The Cabinet Member for Economy and Infrastructure mentioned the capital projects which supported railways, the economy and the countryside with flood alleviation schemes.

·         The Cabinet Member for the Environment praised the work done by officers and Cabinet Members to produce the draft budget. The projects undertaken and planned by the Council reflected their stance on climate change, for example making it possible for people to work from home, tackling congestion, updating lights to LEDs, planting trees and flood alleviation schemes.

·         The Cabinet Member for Communities welcomed the budget and was pleased that Worcestershire remained in the lowest quartile for Council Tax even with the increase. She felt the Here2Help project helped to support the most vulnerable in the County and praised volunteers who helped at vaccine centres. She was pleased with the digital offer made by the library service but did mention that there was still a small amount of savings to be made in that area. She also mentioned the investment made in the science park.

·         The Cabinet Member for Health and Well-being was pleased that the investment in public rights of way would help people maintain healthy lifestyles. The hard work of the Director of Public Health and her staff during the pandemic was recognised.

·         The Cabinet Member for Education and Skills felt that it was right that there had been a pragmatic approach to Council Tax with a small increase. He also reminded members that Councillors still had access to their divisional fund which could support projects in their own areas and although the Council did not control the amount of Dedicated Schools Grant, overall there was an additional £56 million for schools.

·         The Cabinet Member for Transformation and Commissioning thanked the team for working on digital connectivity which allowed people to work more efficiently, often from home, which minimised car use.

The main comments and questions from outside the Cabinet included:

·         The Chairman of the Corporate and Communities Scrutiny Panel recognised that the officers had pulled the budget together in difficult circumstances and thanked them for making the budget scrutiny process easier and more transparent than in previous years. The Scrutiny Panel believed the draft budget addressed the needs of the residents and was glad the Council had had the foresight to invest in broadband and in future would be investing in rights of way.

·         In response to a question by the Leader of the Labour Group the Chairman responded that no specific mention had been made of the gap of £22 million which would appear in 2022 because it was a similar figure which the Council had been able to address previously. He believed that the economy would bounce back and efficiencies would be found. When they received the 3 year spending review the Council would work with the Government to address any gaps and it didn’t need to be addressed at this time.

·         The Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Overview and Scrutiny Board appreciated the co-operation of Cabinet Members and officers in addressing the concerns of the OSPB. There was some concern at the amount of support available for businesses but generally as long as income generation continued, they were content with the direction of travel. The Chairman responded that the Business reserve was available and the Council was working with the LEP and District Councils to support businesses.

RESOLVED that Cabinet to recommend to Council that:

(a)    the budget requirement for 2021/22 be approved at £355.531 million as set out at Appendix 1B to the report, having regard to the proposed Transformation and Reforms programme set out in section 9 of the report;

(b)    the Council Tax Band D equivalent for 2021/22 be set at £1,343.83 which includes £129.15 relating to the ring-fenced Adult Social Care precept, and the Council Tax Requirement be set at £285.219 million, which will increase the Council Tax Precept by 2.50% in relation to two parts:

·         1.50% to provide financial support for the delivery of outcomes in line with the Corporate Plan ‘Shaping Worcestershire's Future’ and the priorities identified by the public and business community

·         1.00% Adult Social Care Precept ring-fenced for Adult Social Care services in order to contribute to existing cost pressures due to Worcestershire's ageing population;

(c)    the Capital Strategy 2021-24 and Capital Programme of £391.645 million be approved as set out at Appendix 1C and 1D and section 8 of the report;

(d)    the earmarked reserves schedule as set out at Appendix 2 to the report be approved;

(e)    the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators set out at Appendix 4 to the report be approved; and

(f)      the Council’s Pay Policy Statement set out at Appendix 5 to the report be approved.

2. The Cabinet agreed:

(a)   to delegate authority to the Leader of the Council to recommend to Full Council, in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer, any further adjustments to the revenue cash limits as a result of Central Government confirming the final Local Government Finance Settlement, Council Tax and Business Rates Income, and associated Specific Grants and income for 2021/22; and

(b)   to authorise the Strategic Director for People and the Director of Children’s Services in consultation with relevant Cabinet Members with Responsibilities, to approve the agreement for the use of resources between the Council and the Clinical Commissioning Groups under Section 75 of the NHS Act 2006 (the Section 75 Agreement) for 2021/22.