Breckland Council Summary Financial Plan 2021/22 Breckland Financial Plan 2021/22 CONTENTS FOR SUMMARY SECTION A - INTRODUCTION B - SUMMARY BY TYPE OF SPEND B - PRECEPT CALCULATION C - SUMMARY BY PORTFOLIO HOLDER D - GROSS EXPENDITURE AND INCOME CHARTS E - RESERVE STATEMENT F - CAPITAL PROGRAMME AND ASSOCIATED FUNDING G - ANALYSIS OF COUNCIL TAX - ALL BANDS H - COUNCIL TAX RATES BY PARISH I - PARISH PRECEPTS BRECKLAND COUNCIL Financial Plan 2021-22 Introduction We are pleased to present this annual budget and medium term plan which shows the Council is well placed to deliver our financial plan over the coming years. Our combined success in innovative savings solutions, our income from property and effectiveness in planning ahead of schedule has placed us in a sound financial position. We have put forward a balanced budget for 2021-22 which not only protects frontline services from cuts but will see a number of services enhanced – for example, our improved waste service, the recruitment of new officers focused on fly tipping, business support, Covid-compliance and support and animal welfare, and honouring our commitments to our climate change and vulnerability programmes. The Covid-19 pandemic has created uncertainty in terms of levels of government funding, fees and charges income and investment returns we can expect, but we currently believe we can achieve all this without using core reserves through our small increase in annual council tax of £4.95 per year for a band D property (though most people in the district will see a smaller rise as around 75% of houses are bands A-C). The budget has been prepared in accordance with the Medium Term Financial Strategy 2021 to 2025 which was approved by Council on 25 February 2021. The aim is to produce a sustainable and balanced budget plan that forecasts the Council’s revenue budget for four future years on a rolling basis, and to include a capital programme for that period that facilitates the Council achieving its priorities. Councils have to approve their planned expenditure budget on an annual basis although many objectives are achieved across a longer term time frame. The Medium Term Financial Plan sets out the longer term strategic framework within which the budget for 2021-22 is set. This is an important financial tool and is used to ensure the Council is able to achieve its corporate objectives across the period of the corporate plan. The capital strategy sets out a similar framework for the capital budget setting. The timing of approval of the Corporate Plan and the Budget are aligned. Confirmation of the Local Government Finance Settlement was received on 10 February 2021. This includes a one-year continuation of Revenue Support Grant (RSG) uplifted by inflation, a small increase to the Rural Services Delivery Grant (RSDG) for 2021-22 only, no inflationary increase to the Business Rates Multiplier, one further year of New Homes Bonus (a one-year allocation only with no future legacy payments), a one-off Covid-19 grant and a new Lower Tier Grant for 2021-22 only. The future funding of local government is undergoing some fundamental changes and the new Fair Funding Review and 75% Retained Business Rates has been delayed until at least April 2022. The Spending Review confirmed that conclusions from the recent fundamental review of business rates would be published in Spring 2021. These conclusions will shape future reforms to local government funding and may change budget assumptions in the future. These significant funding changes and the added complexity alongside the current economic uncertainty results in a budget with far higher levels of estimates than usual. The budget shows a sustainable position over the medium term with no dependency on reserves. However this sustainable position is dependent on savings and income to be delivered through the Council’s efficiency programme. The programme has been refreshed as part of this year’s budget and now includes a new target which needs to be identified. The identification and programming of this work is essential to the delivery of the medium term budget. The following table shows amounts which are due to be delivered: 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24 2024-25 Efficiencies in progress £504k £652k £796k £796k Efficiency Required - £642k £1,081k £1,509k A The Council has maintained a strong financial focus in recent years, driving prudent and robust financial planning and decision making in a difficult economic climate. At this stage our budget assumptions take into account known current and future estimates, however we cannot account for the unknown. Changes from the Fair Funding Review and 75% Business Rates Retention will not be fully known until next financial year. The Council cannot avoid the future impact of financial measures beyond its control, however our sustainable position across the medium term puts us in a strong position to face such future challenges. Our New Homes Bonus (NHB) funding is supporting our communities and our climate programme through the Inclusive Growth Reserve. In addition, the Council has been successful in a variety of grant funding areas which is driving growth in Breckland. Breckland’s budget was approved by Council on 25 February 2021. Further details can be found in the published meetings on the Council’s website at: Budget & Council Tax Setting, Council - Thursday 25th February 2021. General Fund Expenditure and Precept Requirement 2021-22 The Council’s budget requirement, which takes into account the net cost of providing services, levies, trading operations, adjustments for capital accounting, and transfers to and from reserves, decreased from £13.94m to £13.77m from the previous year, a decrease of 1.2%. The Council’s precept requirement for 2021-22 is £4.388m (excluding special expenses and parish and town council precepts.) The breakdown of the total local precept is show below: Precept Requirement Average Band D Tax £ £ Breckland Council 4,388,183 98.73 Special Expenses 76,892 1.73 Parish/Town Councils 4,319,577 97.19 Total 8,784,652 197.65 Special expenses apply in certain parishes only and relate to public footway lighting responsibilities that Breckland Council performs on behalf of the parishes. Breckland Council’s element of the Council Tax has increased to £98.73 per year for a Band D property. General Fund Revenue Balance The medium term financial plan requires a prudent approach to reserves and gives £2.5m as the minimum level for the balance of the General Fund. Further details of the movements in this and other earmarked reserves are shown in Section 3 in the detailed financial plan. Capital Programme Details of the committed capital schemes are shown in Section H in the detailed financial plan. Conclusion I would like to thank everyone involved in the production of the financial plan. It is due to the hard work of colleagues throughout the Council that the budget has been prepared in accordance with the required timetable and is sustainable over the four years. This allows Breckland to continue to deliver its services and keep our low levels of Council Tax. A SUMMARY BY TYPE OF SPEND CODE DESCRIPTION 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 ACTUAL ESTIMATE ESTIMATE ESTIMATE ESTIMATE ESTIMATE £ £ £ £ £ £ COUNCIL Employee Related Expenses 14,124,498 13,180,147 13,052,204 13,201,148 13,670,083 13,806,784 Premises Related Expenses 2,532,007 2,502,606 1,618,824 1,554,807 1,597,637 1,631,190 Transport Related Expenses 438,804 416,735 279,658 271,399 265,748 265,748 Supplies & Services 24,800,121 16,553,074 16,830,108 15,834,452 15,765,265 15,846,336 Transfer Payments 25,958,220 22,371,148 20,383,688 19,533,385 18,966,174 18,966,174 Support Services 5,524,122 4,718,954 4,386,059 4,612,760 4,615,395 4,615,395 Capital Financing Costs 2,503,654 3,029,967 15,169,691 2,152,050 2,152,050 2,152,050 Other Income (29,264,724) (19,304,571) (19,224,433) (18,769,363) (19,311,436) (19,311,436) Housing Benefit Income (24,702,637) (21,365,990) (19,519,496) (18,845,513) (18,281,786) (18,281,786) COUNCIL TOTAL 21,914,065 22,102,070 32,976,303 19,545,125 19,439,130 19,690,455 Appropriations: Revenue Contributions towards Capital Programme 1,130,691 2,409,835 523,030 96,000 1,096,000 76,000 IAS 19 Contra Entry (1,198,000) 0 0 0 0 0 Reffcus Contra Entry (2,746,031) (1,981,557) (14,227,321) (1,171,850) (1,171,850) (1,171,850) Depreciation Contra Entry (1,118,050) (1,048,410) (942,370) (980,200) (980,200) (980,200) MRP 599,174 634,544 1,278,136 1,298,046 1,318,867 1,340,606 Reversal Of Holiday Pay Accrual (124,252) 0 0 0 0 0 Reversal of Impairments/Movements in Value 694,273 0 0 0 0 0 Capital Grants & Contributions 1,916,269 0 0 0 0 0 Mitigating Treatment for Finance Leases 77,701 0 0 0 0 0 Donated assets 466,792 0 0 0 0 0 Contribution To Reserves 1,372,540 1,494,322 1,148,584 428,403 429,603 345,533 Contribution From Reserves (4,517,657) (2,361,403) (1,944,803) (1,035,503) (981,030) (232,700) COUNCIL SUBTOTAL 18,467,515 21,249,401 18,811,559 18,180,021 19,150,520 19,067,844 Less Trading Units 5,409,928 4,608,014 4,310,969 4,537,250 4,539,405 4,539,405 NET COST OF SERVICES 13,057,587 16,641,387 14,500,590 13,642,771 14,611,115 14,528,439 PRECEPT CALCULATION 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 2023/24 2024/25 ACTUAL ESTIMATE ESTIMATE ESTIMATE ESTIMATE ESTIMATE £ £ £ £ £ £ NET COST OF SERVICES 13,057,587 16,641,387 14,500,590 13,642,771 14,611,115 14,528,439 Efficiencies to be identified 0 (332,320) 0 (641,918) (1,081,666) (1,508,867) Contribution (from)/to General Fund 548 400,000 152,787 0 0 0 INVESTMENT