Agenda and minutes

Budget, Council - Wednesday, 28th February, 2024 6.00 pm

Venue: Council Chamber, Civic Centre, Oldham, West Street, Oldham, OL1 1NL. View directions

Contact: Peter Thompson

Items

No.

Item

To receive apologies for absence

Minutes:

Apologies for absence were received from the Mayor (Councillor Chauhan) and Councillors Gloster, Hindle and Malik.

To receive declarations of interest in any matter to be determined at the meeting

Minutes:

Councillor S. Bashforth and Councillor Arnott both declared an other-registerable interest insofar as they were Council appointees to the MioCare Board.

To receive communications relating to the business of the Council

Minutes:

Councillor Shah, Leader of the Council, advised Council that Rebecca Fletcher had been appointed to the position of Director of Public Health.

To note the minutes of the Budget Cabinet Meeting held on 12th February 2024 and to consider the recommendations of Cabinet in relation to the Budget for 2024/25 and further to the following attached reports PDF 208 KB

To note the Minutes of the Budget Cabinet Meeting held on 12^th February 2024 and to consider the recommendations of Cabinet in relation to the Budget for 2024/25, further to the following attached reports:

a) Housing Revenue Account Estimates for 2024/25 to 2028/29 and Projected Outturn for 2023/24

b) Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2024/25 including the Annual Investment Strategy, Borrowing Strategy and Prudential Indicators

c) Council Tax Reduction Scheme 2024/25

d) The Revenue Budget and Capital Programme for 2024/25

i. Revenue Budget 2024/25 and 2025/26 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy 2024/25 to 2028/29

ii. Capital Strategy and Capital Programme 2024/25 to 2028/29and Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy Statement

Liberal Democrats Budget Amendment Proposals 2024/25

Conservative Budget Amendment Proposals 2024/25

And if thought fit, pass the following resolutions:

That it be noted that on 22^nd January 2024, the following amounts were approved by the Cabinet as the Council's Council Tax Base for the financial year 2024/25:

a) 59,380 for the whole Council area [Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the "Act")

b) 9,150 for dwellings in the Saddleworth Parish area to which a Parish precept relates

c) 5,724 for dwellings in the Shaw and Crompton Parish area to which a Parish precept relates

That the Council Meeting approve the Council Tax Requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2024/25 (excluding Parish precepts) as being £116,154,999

That the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2024/2520 in accordance with sections 31A to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

a) £716,905,666	being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account any Precepts for the Saddleworth and Shaw & Crompton Parish areas
b) £600,396,029	being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in section 31A(3) of the Act.
c) £116,509,637	being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with section 31A(4) of the Act, as its Council Tax Requirement for the year (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act).
d) £1,962.10	being the amount at 3(c) above, all divided by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts).
e) £354,638	being the aggregate amount of all special items referred to in section 34(1) of the Act, being the Saddleworth and Shaw & Crompton Parish precepts.
f) £1,956.13	being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by the amount by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those ... view the full agenda text for item 4.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Deputy Mayor requested and it was RESOLVED that Council Procedure Rule 14 (Rules of Debate) be suspended to enable Councillor Shah, the Leader of the Council to exceed the time limit for her contribution in moving the Administration Budget to 15 minutes with a 30 second extension and the seconder, Councillor Jabbar, the Cabinet Member for Finance and Corporate Resources 7 minutes, the Mover of the Main Opposition Group in moving the opposition budget, a time limit of 7 minutes and 30 seconds if required and the seconder 6 minutes and the mover of the Conservative Group amendments 6 minutes with a right of reply of 6 minutes in each matters.

All other speakers will be limited to 4 minutes.

The Deputy Mayor informed members that regulations had been implemented which required recorded votes on specific decision at the Budget Council meeting. Members would be advised when a recorded vote was required.

Prior to the consideration of the Budget Proposals, the Deputy Mayor asked the Council to note the draft minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 12^th February 2024.

On a vote being taken, the recommendation was CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 12^th February 2024 be noted.

a. Housing Revenue Account Estimates for 2024/25 to 2028/29 and Projected Outturn for 2023/24

Councillor Jabbar MOVED and Councillor Taylor SECONDED a joint report which, sets out for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), the detailed budget estimates for 2024/25, the strategic estimates for the four years 2025/26 through to 2028/29 and the projected outturn for 2023/24. The report also set out the recommended dwelling, non-dwelling rents and service and concierge charges to be applied from April 2024.

The submitted report sets out the HRA 2024/25 proposed original budget and the forecast outturn for 2023/24. The opportunity is also taken to present the provisional strategic budgets for 2025/26 through to 2028/29. HRA activities are a key element of the Council’s Housing Strategy (approved by Council on 10 July 2019) which aims to provide a diverse Oldham housing offer that is attractive and meets the needs of different sections of the population at different stages of their lives.

After taking all relevant issues into account, the projected financial position for 2023/24 was estimated to be a £0.032m favourable variance when compared to the original budget forecast for 2023/24 approved at the Budget Council meeting, 1^st March 2023. Of this variance, £0.273m is due to higher utility costs and increased unitary charges. This adverse variance was offset by £0.305m higher than anticipated brought forward balances from 2022/23.

The estimated balance at the end of 2023/24 was projected to be £20.884m. The closing financial position for 2024/25 shows an estimated HRA closing balance of £19.571m which is sufficient to meet future operational commitments and the potential financial pressures identified in the risk assessment. The 2024/25 position has been presented after allowing for a proposed increase in dwelling rents of 7.7%, an increase in non-dwelling rents ... view the full minutes text for item 4.