Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea
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A4 THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF KENSINGTON AND CHELSEA CABINET - 19 FEBRUARY 2009 REPORT BY THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR FINANCE, INFORMATION SYSTEMS AND PROPERTY REVENUE BUDGET AND COUNCIL TAX 2009/10 This paper sets out the following recommendations for Cabinet to make to Council on 4 March: total gross revenue spending of £531 million. Within that: a budget requirement of £182 million funded from grant and Council Tax; including: a one-off efficiency dividend of £50 for resident Council Tax payers in April and further measures aimed at helping local businesses, which together promote economic well being. These will cost up to £4.2 million; and a 3.2 per cent Council Tax increase for the Royal Borough for 2009/10. FOR DECISION AND RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 The recommendations made in this paper are: consistent with the Council’s medium term financial strategy (Appendix 1 ) and its policy on reserves ( Appendix 2 ); follow consultation with the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and others on the 2009/10 proposed budget (set out in Appendices 3 to 5); and take account of Council’s agreement to the Council Tax base on 21 January. 1.2 They have been tested against the outlook for the economy, the public finances and residents’ views. 2 THE COUNCIL’S POLICIES 2.1 The proposed budget will maintain the Council Tax rate in the bottom quartile for London; identifies £5.4 million of savings and re-direction of spending to higher priorities; provides for price increases and retains a minimum of £10 million in working balances. 1 2.2 It is recommended to retain a minimum balance of £15 million in each of the Capital Expenditure Reserve and the Car Parking Reserve at the end of 2011/12 and if the figure falls below £20 million for either reserve this should trigger review. There is no unsustainable use of reserves to meet recurring expenditure. 2.3 As part of this year’s financial forecasting all reserves held have been reviewed, their purpose reconfirmed or revised and the potential funding impact of recession and the Council own budget plans modelled. A full list of the reserves held with forecast balances for the next three years is set out at Appendix 6 . 2.4 The Council’s working balance is currently £14.3 million and will drop to around £10 million as a result of the planned release to fund the £50 efficiency dividend and business measures. Cabinet is requested to confirm that the minimum level of working balance should be £10 million. This means that full Council approval is required to reduce the working balance below that level. 2.5 The Council also holds a central contingency budget for in-year budget risks such as higher than forecast pay and price inflation and provisions for budget not yet allocated to Business Groups. The contingency is £2.633 million and the provision is £0.175 million of grant yet to be confirmed – a total of £2.808 million. 2.6 Table 1 below shows budgeted revenue movements on General Fund reserves and balances. Table 1 Movements in Reserves and Balances 2008/09 2009/10 £m £m Better City Life Reserve 0.600 0.300 Cost Reduction 0.000 -1.100 Insurance Reserve -0.540 -0.340 IS Initiatives 0.438 0.432 Local Initiatives 0.000 -0.150 Risk Management 0.000 -0.160 Service Risks Reserve 0.325 -0.204 Severance Reserve 0.500 0.325 Specific Grant Loss Reserve -0.172 -0.172 Supporting People Reserve -0.052 -1.052 Business Group Specific Reserves -0.056 -0.005 Sub Total 1.043 -2.126 Car Parking Reserve (Revenue) 1.952 0.188 Total Revenue Reserve Movements 2.995 -1.938 Capital Expenditure 5.500 5.500 Working Balance 0.000 -4.200 Total Reserve and Balance Movements 8.495 -0.638 2 3 THE ECONOMY AND THE PUBLIC FINANCES 3.1 Along side many signs of a deteriorating economy, there is a persuasive view that London may be disproportionately badly affected. 3.2 To gain a measure of the financial risks to the 2009/10 budget, the Business Groups have estimated possible reductions in income and increases in expenditure. It is also possible that cost reductions may be secured. 3.3 There could be effects on interest earned and income derived from parking, land charges, commercial property, halls lettings, commercial waste, planning applications and building regulations. The collection of Council Tax and National Non-domestic Rates could suffer. 3.4 Service pressures also may be experienced, for example in temporary accommodation, looked after children, community learning, Housing and Council Tax Benefit administration and increased pupil numbers (if there are transfers from private to maintained schools). 3.5 Overall, a net cost of up to £4 million is a realistic prospect for 2009/10. Although Business Groups will be expected to absorb such pressures where possible, the Council’s contingency and reserves are more than adequate to meet the possibility that Cabinet agrees to additional net spending. 3.6 In response to the economic pressures and as part of this year’s budget setting, the Council proposes a one-off £50 efficiency dividend and measures aimed at helping businesses in the Royal Borough. Discussion of this is set out in Appendix 7 . External Funding 3.7 Government grants will fund 65 per cent of the Council’s gross spending of £531 million. 3.8 Formula Grant for 2009/10 was confirmed at £104.4 million; and provisionally at £106.0 million in 2010/11, the last year of the current three year funding settlement. 3.9 These figures include £14.7 million and £10.1 million respectively of “damping” to the Council’s benefit. Subject to changes in methodology and data, the main medium term question in relation to the Formula Grant may therefore be the minimum rate at which the Government chooses to increase it after 2010/11. 3 3.10 The Council also receives £238 million in specific grants, of which over £10 million (comprising Area Based Grant) are not ring-fenced for a particular purpose. Details are set out in Appendix 8. 3.11 The future of the Council’s grant funding is most uncertain from 2011/12, arising from the Government’s need to make savings, data changes (notably the next Census of resident population in 2011) and methodology e.g. the outcome of the current review of Dedicated Schools Grant. 4 COUNCIL TAX CONSULTATION 4.1 The Council has again consulted residents: the results were reported to Cabinet on 7 January 2009 (“Consultation on Council Tax and Priorities for Council Services”)1. 4.2 Overall feedback continues to be positive: the “Big Blues” survey of 2008 indicated that 76 per cent of respondents believed the Council to be efficient and well run, compared to 54 per cent in 2004. 4.3 A survey of the Residents’ Panel found that majorities support the current levels of spending on many services, with some support for higher spending on adult social care and community safety. 4.4 On the overall balance between spending, charges and Council Tax: 54 per cent agreed that charges for services should be increased to reduce any increase in Council Tax; 52 per cent would like Council Tax to stay at the same level even if this means cuts in local services; but 44 per cent are more concerned about maintaining the quality of local services than about the amount of Council Tax they pay. 4.5 The 2009/10 spending and savings proposals were published in a report to Cabinet in November; further publicised through the draft Cabinet Business Plan taken to Cabinet in January; and taken to Overview and Scrutiny Committees as part of the Business Group revenue budget reports in January. 4.6 The draft Cabinet Business Plan has been widely circulated to local representative bodies. Round-table reports from each major public sector partner on their budget plans were discussed by the Kensington and Chelsea Partnership in January 2009. Discussions have also taken 1 The full report can be found at: http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/committeedocuments/pages/document.aspx?id=26487 http://www.rbkc.gov.uk/committeedocuments/pages/document.aspx?id=26508 4 place during the year on the financial plans of the Council and its key partners including the Tenant Management Organisation, the Kensington and Chelsea Primary Care Trust and the Central and North West London Mental Health Trust. 5 BUDGET PROPOSALS 5.1 The proposed gross revenue budget for 2009/10 is £531 million. Within that, the budget requirement funded from Formula Grant and from Council Tax is £182 million. 5.2 The Council’s key priorities supported by many of the budget proposals are set out in Appendix 9. Full details of 2009/10 growth and savings proposals by Business Group are set out in Appendix 10 . 5.3 In addition to these, it is the Council’s ambition is to become the country’s “Smartest Council”. The Council continues to reduce running costs in order to redirect resources to priorities and is committed to reducing management costs by 15 per cent by March 2011. The Council’s reserves provide sufficient capacity to manage and resource its major change programmes. 5.4 Detailed service budgets for operating expenditure are set out in the Business Group estimates reports submitted in full to the Council as part of the Revenue Budget Book. This is summarised in Table 2. Appendices 3 to 5 provide more detail. 5 Table 2 Budget Summary 2008/09 2009/10 £m £m Family and Children's Services 53.655 55.409 Housing, Health and Adult Social Care 69.343 72.311 Planning and Borough Development 6.310 5.304 Transport, Environment and Leisure Services 21.012 25.083 Corporate Services* 20.279 25.423 Total Service Costs 170.599 183.530 Area Based Grant held corporately** -9.476 -10.386 Charges for Capital Assets and Financing 1.646 -3.348 Pension Fund Liabilities 8.621 9.931 Contingencies and Provisions 3.294 2.808 Interest *** -9.100 -3.267 Levies 3.595 3.638 Capital Reserves 5.500 5.500 Revenue Reserves 2.995 -1.938 Working Balance release 0.000 -4.200 Total Spending 177.674 182.268 *Corporate Services includes the estimated cost of the £50 efficiency dividend and related business measures of £4.2 million.