Agenda and minutes

Venue: Civic Suite, North Warehouse, The Docks, Gloucester, GL1 2EP. View directions

Contact: Democratic and Electoral Services 

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Items
No. Item

82.

Declarations of Interest

To receive from Members, declarations of the existence of any disclosable pecuniary, or non-pecuniary, interests and the nature of those interests in relation to any agenda item. Please see Agenda Notes.

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

83.

Declaration of Party Whipping

To declare if any issues to be covered in the Agenda are under party whip.

 

Minutes:

There were no declarations of party whipping.

84.

Public Question Time (15 minutes)

To receive any questions from members of the public provided that a question does not relate to:

 

·       Matters which are the subject of current or pending legal proceedings or

·       Matters relating to employees or former employees of the Council or comments in respect of individual Council Officers.

 

To ask a question at this meeting, please submit it to democratic.services@gloucester.gov.uk by 12 noon on Wednesday 17th January 2024 or telephone (01452) 396203 for support.

Minutes:

There were no public questions.

85.

Petitions and Deputations (15 minutes)

To receive any petitions and deputations provided that no such petition or deputation is in relation to:

 

·       Matters relating to individual Council Officers, or

·       Matters relating to current or pending legal proceedings.

Minutes:

There were no petitions nor deputations.

86.

Money Plan 2024-29 and Budget Proposals 2024-25 pdf icon PDF 214 KB

To consider the report of the Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources which sets out the Money Plan for the period 2024 to 2029 and Budget Proposals for 2024 to 2025.

 

The format for the session will be as follows:

 

1.    The Leader of the Council will introduce the report.

2.    The Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources will add her comments on the report.

 

Each Cabinet Member will then present their respective portfolios in the following order:

 

1.    Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources.

2.    Cabinet Member for Culture and Leisure.

3.    Cabinet Member for Environment.

4.    Cabinet Member for Communities and Neighbourhoods.

5.    Cabinet Member for Planning and Housing Strategy.

 

During their presentations the Cabinet Member will address the following points: -

 

1.    Current staffing levels.

2.    Financial pressures for next year, including any potential reduction in income streams.

3.    The proposed budget savings for next year and how these will impact on the services they provide.

4.    Any new income streams identified during the process.

5.    The main priorities for their portfolio and whether any have changed as a result of the Money Plan.

 

APPENDICES 6 AND 7 TO FOLLOW.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

86.1       The Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Environment, Councillor Cook, introduced the report, and explained that Members were being asked to review the Council’s Money Plan for recommendation to Council and that the Overview and Scrutiny Committee were being asked to consider the information contained in the report and make any recommendations to Cabinet. He highlighted the fact that in accordance with section 25 of the Local Government Act (2003), the S151 officer was required to report on the robustness of the estimates of the calculations and the adequacy of the proposed financial reserves.  Councillor Cook outlined the main objectives of the Money Plan, which were included at 4.2 in the report.

 

 

 

86.2       The Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Performance and Resources, Councillor Hannah Norman, noted that there was a tough economic climate nationally, with high inflation and cost of living pressures. She referred to 5.6 in the report (Local Government Finance Settlement 2024/25) which highlighted that there would be:

 

·       An increase in the Revenue Support Grant of 6.62% which equated to an additional £17,000.

·       A reduction in the Services Grant of £125.000, and;

·       A new homes bonus grant of £811,000.

 

86.3       Councillor Norman stated that the opening position of 2024/25 showed a general fund balance of £500,000 with the General Fund returning to around 10% of the general budget by 2028/29. She stated that 2026/27 saw a drawdown from the Business Rate Reserve due to an expected business rate reset. Councillor Norman referred Members to Appendix 2 of the report which detailed the Budget Pressures and Efficiencies over the duration of the Money Plan and advised that homelessness prevention alongside inflation were two key pressures. She said in relation to income generation, the direct cremations that the Crematorium would offer, alongside the Food Docks opening would be two key drivers of income.

 

86.4       In relation to Appendix 3 (Budget Savings Programmes - 2024/25 & 2025/26) Councillor Norman informed Members that in her portfolio an estimated saving of £85,000 would be made owing to the relocation of staff from the Gateway to the office in Eastgate Shopping Centre. Further, the insourcing of parking enforcement was forecasted to save £25,000. She concluded by thanking all Cabinet members, and Officers who had assisted with the preparation of the Money Plan, particularly the Head of Finance & Resources.

 

86.5       The Chair thanked the Head of Finance & Resources for a clear and accessible report. He raised concerns in relation to the amount the Council were borrowing, particularly in relation to the Forum, and asked how confident the Council was that they were not overborrowing and would be financially secure. The Head of Finance & Resources stated that there would be a gap until the Forum development was completed as it could not generate income until then. He stated that although interest rates had unfortunately increased, the advice from Treasury advisors was that interest rates would come down.

 

86.6       The Chair referred to the Budget Pressures outlined in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 86.

87.

Date of Next Meeting

Monday 5th February 2024 at 6.30pm in the Civic Suite, North Warehouse.