Issue - meetings

To receive the report of the Director of Finance, presenting for approval the Budget for 2019/20 and Medium-Term Financial Plan 2019/20 to 2022/23  (General Fund). 

                                                                                                   (Report No:160)

                                                              (Key Decision – Reference No: 4744)

The report will need to be considered in conjunction with Report No: 172 on the Part Two Council agenda.

Members are asked to note that Cabinet considered the report at their meeting on 13 February 2019 and recommended it to Council. 

Councillor Maguire moved and Councillor Caliskan seconded the report of the Director of Finance, (Report No: 160) presenting for approval the Budget for 2019/20 and the Medium -Term Financial Plan. 

NOTED

1.            Recommendations 2.1 – 2.10 had been endorsed and recommended onto Council for formal approval by Cabinet on 13 February 2019.

2.            The tabled note setting out how the discussion of the item would be considered at the meeting.

3.            The following comments highlighted by Councillor Maguire, Cabinet Member for Finance and Procurement when moving the report. 

a.            The Cabinet Member thanked officers for all their hard work in putting together the budget and for putting up with the rigorous interrogation of the available options.

b.            The budget sets an increase in the core Council tax of 2.99% plus a 1% increase for adult social care and an increase in the GLA precept of 8.93%, making an increase overall of 4.92%.  This equated to 97p per week for a Band D property. 

c.            This is a robust, realistic and balanced budget set in extremely challenging circumstances.  By 2020 Enfield will have a £187m funding gap due to austerity.  £18m has had to be saved this financial year. 

d.            Savings and cuts have had to be made because of the level of the Local Government Financial Settlement, the lowest for years, and the increasing cost pressures in children and adult services, increasing homelessness and poverty and deprivation.

e.            The local government grant across London has been cut in real terms by 6.5% this year which will make a total of 63% by 2020. 

f.             The Capital Programme and Treasury Management Strategy had been included in separate reports for greater transparency.

g.            The Government’s new fair funding formula with be unfair to Enfield because the deprivation indicators were being removed.

h.            The collection fund was currently in surplus.

i.              The proposed budget was balanced, sustainable and resilient whilst continuing to support those on low incomes, address crime and youth violence and improve street cleansing and fly-tipping.

j.              Costs have been reduced and money saved through reducing agency staff, providing temporary accommodation through Housing Gateway and bringing contracts back in house. 

4.            Councillor Vince moved and Councillor David-Sanders seconded an amendment proposing an alternative budget for 2018/19. 

5.            A debate took place on the substantive report and the amendment. 

6.            The comments of the Majority Group: 

a.         The budget was balanced, resilient, responsible and protecting services for the most vulnerable.  It was a Labour budget with Labour values providing for residents’ needs in difficult circumstances.

b.         Enfield residents were each poorer by £800 because of the Conservative cuts.  Public services had been decimated.  Local government had lost 60p in every £1 since 2010.  In all councils there was a risk to the viability of services.  All councils were very close to the edge. 

c.         If weekly collections were important to the Government, why had they cut the £2.4m grant which had funded them.  £2.8m would have had to have been found to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6

To receive the report of the Executive Director of Finance, Resources & Customer Services presenting for approval the Budget for 2018/19 and Medium Term Financial Plan (General Fund).                     (Report No: 145A)

(Key Decision – Reference No: 4597)

Members are asked to note that:

·            Recommendations 2.1 – 2.13 are due to be endorsed and recommended onto Council for formal approval, by Cabinet on 14 February 2018.

·            The report will need to be considered in conjunction with Report No: 152A on the Part Two Council agenda.

Councillor Taylor moved and Councillor Lemonides seconded the report of the Executive Director of Finance, Resources and Customer Services (145A) presenting for approval the Budget for 2018/19 and the Medium Term Financial Plan. 

NOTED

1.          Recommendations 2.1 – 2.11 had been endorsed and recommended onto Council for formal approval by Cabinet on 14 February 2017.

2.          The report would need to be considered in conjunction with Report No:  152A on the Part 2 Council agenda (Min 17 refers).

3.          The addendum to the report provided to members of the Council as the report as originally published inadvertently included two recommendations (recommendations 2.12 and 2.13), that were decisions taken by Cabinet when it last met (14 February 2018) and are not decisions to be taken by Council.

4.          The tabled note setting out how the discussion of the item would be considered at the meeting

5.     The following comments highlighted by the Leader of the Council:

a.          The Leader thanked officers for all their hard work in putting together the balanced budget proposed. 

b.          He welcomed the Government’s fair funding review and the pilot business rate retention pool, as steps to providing possible solutions to the large funding gap which the Council was facing from 2020 onwards, but he was concerned that the Government, when allocating funding was prioritising Conservative areas, rather than focussing on the needs of the poor, vulnerable and those at risk. 

c.           He felt that it was an extraordinary budget as the Labour administration had managed to navigate austerity and massive funding cuts, whilst preserving services and imposing minimal Council tax rises.  He would have liked to do more, but the Tory Government wanted to shrink public provision. 

d.          The Council had been very efficient and had managed to do more with less, but this had been at a price of reducing salaries, less cover for checking work, removal of the best of the last Labour Government initiatives supporting vulnerable residents, cutting their life chances.  He felt that the Government were to blame if this led to dirtier streets, lack of road repairs, closure of libraries and greater risk to children. 

e.          To recognise that many councils were struggling, Conservative Northamptonshire had been tipped over the edge, local government finances were close to unsustainable.  Fifty percent cuts to Children’s Services’s funding had become the norm.  Councils were having difficulty carrying out their statutory duties. All public services were in trouble - 2010-2018 would be known as the dark ages of social regression:

f.            In his view the only way to address this crisis would be to elect a Labour Government.

g.          The proposed budget showed efficiency in its allocation of resources, clear priorities in children’s services, adult social care, the public realm and customer services, and a back office fit for purpose.  It also showed innovation and would be a good foundation for the coming financial year.  However he feared that there would be even greater challenges for the two years ahead. 

h.          This year the administration  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7