Agenda item

Report of Councillor Cartman (attached)

With the agreement of the Chairman, Councillor Cartman presented the following four finance reports en bloc, that is:  Fees and Charges 2022/23; Treasury Management Strategy 2022/23; Capital Strategy 2022-2026 and Capital Budget 2022/23; Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) and Revenue Budget 2022/23. 

In presenting the reports Councillor Cartman referred to the three words which underpinned everything the council was seeking to achieve within the finance reports: Open, Fair and Green. He stated the budget for the coming year was one of protection and investment, protecting the essential services that all residents relied on and investing for a better future for everyone in North Somerset.  In addition to the existing ambitious investment programme with over £300m committed to local projects, it was proposed to increase that by a further £40m to improve services for children, fund green initiatives and invest in improving local facilities and infrastructure.  He outlined the individual investment proposals within these key areas as set out in the report, and highlighted the plans for protecting essential facilities and services such as social care, waste collection and road maintenance. 

With reference to ongoing demand and cost pressures Councillor Cartman drew attention to the proposed council tax increase of 2.99% which Council would be asked to approve later this month.  He stated 2.99% was below inflation and whilst recognising the cost-of-living pressures on residents, the reality was that all the money raised by this increase was still insufficient to fund the gap in social care funding.  He suggested the finance reports demonstrated the council was committed to developing a robust and sustainable budget and a revenue, treasury, and capital strategy that protects services and invests for the future.  He thanked the Director of Corporate Services, the finance team and others across the council for their exceptional hard work in putting this budget together.

At the invitation of Councillor Cartman, the Director of Corporate Services highlighted the key elements within the finance reports referring to the council’s current and projected financial position and the anticipated resources available.  She referred to the key risks inherent within the budget planning process, and the financial strategies to mitigate these.  She confirmed the proposals delivered a robust budget for the coming year and thanked those councillors and officers involved in putting together the report.

In discussing the proposals members thanked Councillor Cartman and officers for the detailed and comprehensive budget reports presented.  Members expressed their support for specific schemes with particular reference to the prioritisation of children and young people and the provision of play facilities. Reference was made to the benefits of cross party working and constructive challenge in putting together the budget, resulting in solid and ambitious proposals.  The ongoing pressures on social care and the lack of funding was highlighted and it was suggested the government must be held to account to ensure they delivered the resources required to support this and other essential services.  Reference was also made to the importance of public health and the ambitious Health and Wellbeing Strategy which sought to narrow health inequalities and build a healthier and happier North Somerset.  With regards to the capital strategy reference was made to the importance of ensuring all capital projects were fit for the future and that climate and nature emergency considerations were embedded within all future schemes. 

During the debate the following points were made: members welcomed the improved format of the Treasury Management Strategy and in response to questions around fund performance, Councillor Cartman confirmed that continued efforts would be made to look for improvements and build on the good work to date; members welcomed the extension of the Strawberry Line to Clevedon but stressed the importance of adequate investment to maintain the existing route; members noted there would be no increase in Green Waste collection charges but referred to the shortcomings in the service over recent months and the need for service users to be refunded accordingly; questions were raised around the level of reserves and the importance of adequate contingencies given the known risks associated with increasing costs and demand around home to school transport and the difficulties in budgeting for demand led services such as placements for looked after children.  Councillor Cartman confirmed he was satisfied that suitable contingencies had been built in across the budget to address these risk areas together with an appropriate level of reserves; in response to concerns in relation to the impact on certain groups of closing the Gateway at the Town Hall and Castlewood, Councillor Cartman referred to the fine balance between the costs and equality implications of these proposals, stressing the importance of road testing these proposals and of full engagement, noting that a report on the Customer Access Strategy was due to come to the Executive in April.    

Resolved: that the changes to fees and charges as detailed in section 3 of the report be approved.

Reasons for the decision:

As set out in the report and discussed above.

Alternative options considered and rejected:

As set out in the report and discussed above.