Agenda and minutes

Budget, Council - Thursday, 6th March, 2025 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 Councillors Adams, Arnott, Azad, Ghafoor, Ibrahim, Kouser and Sheldon.

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

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interests.

To receive communications relating to the business of the Council

Minutes:

There were no communications recorded relating to the business of the Council.

To note the Minutes of the Budget Cabinet Meeting held on 17th February 2025 and to consider the recommendations of Cabinet in relation to the Budget for 2025/26 and further to the following attached reports PDF 316 KB

a) Housing Revenue Account Estimates for 2025/26 to 2029/30 and Projected Outturn for 2024/25

b) The Revenue Budget, Capital Programme and Treasury Management Strategy Statement for 2025/26

i. Revenue Budget 2025/26 and 2026/27 and Medium Term Financial Strategy 2025/26 to 2029/30

ii. Capital Strategy and Capital Programme 2025/26 to 2029/30 and Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy Statement

iii. Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2025/26 including the Annual Investment Strategy, Borrowing Strategy and Prudential Indicators

Liberal Democrats Budget Amendment Proposals 2025/26

Conservative Budget Amendment Proposals 2025/26

Oldham Group Budget Amendment Proposals 2025/26

c) Pay Policy Statement 2025/26

And if thought fit, pass the following resolutions:

1. That it be noted that on 16 December 2024, the following amounts were approved by the Cabinet (subject to minor amendment) as the Council's Council Tax Base for the financial year 2025/26:

a) 59,501 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) 9,490 for dwellings in the Saddleworth Parish area to which a Parish precept relates

c) 5,906 for dwellings in the Shaw and Crompton Parish area to which a Parish precept relates

2. That the Council Meeting approve the Council Tax Requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2025/26 (excluding Parish precepts) as being £122,199,584.

3. That the following amounts be calculated by the Council for the year 2025/26 in accordance with sections 31A to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

a) £751,594,030

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) £629,013,509

being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in section 31A(3) of the Act.

c) £122,580,521

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) £2,060.14

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) £380,937

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) £2,053.74

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 parts of its area to which no special item relates.

g) £2,082.10

Saddleworth Parish area

being the amounts given by adding to the amount at ... view the full agenda text for item 4.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Mayor requested and it was RESOLVED that Council Procedure Rule 14 (Rules of Debate) be suspended to enable Councillor Jabbar, the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Value for Money and Sustainability to exceed the time limit for his contribution in moving the Administration Budget to 15 minutes with a 30 second extension and the seconder, Councillor Shah, the Leader of the Council 7 minutes, the Mover of the Main Opposition Group in moving the opposition budget, a time limit of 7 minutes 30 seconds if required, and the seconder 6 minutes and the mover of the Oldham Group and the Conservative Group’s amendments 6 minutes each with a right of reply of 6 minutes. All other speakers will be limited to 4 minutes.

The 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 Mayor asked the Council to note the draft minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 17^th February 2025.

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

RESOLVED: that the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 17^th February 2025 be noted.

a. Housing Revenue Account Estimates for 2025/26 to 2029/30 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 2025/26, the strategic estimates for the four years 2026/27 through to 2029/30 and the projected outturn for 2024/25. The report also set out the recommended dwelling, non-dwelling rents and service and concierge charges to be applied from April 2025.

The submitted report sets out the HRA 2025/26 proposed original budget and the forecast outturn for 2024/25. The opportunity is also taken to present the provisional strategic budgets for 2026/27 through to 2029/30. 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 2024/25 was estimated to be a £1.643m favourable variance when compared to the original budget forecast for 2024/25, approved at the Budget Council meeting on 28^th February 2024. Of this variance, £0.531m is due to increased rental income (mainly backdated rental income in relation to Holly Bank and Primrose Bank), £0.492m is a reduction in forecast capital spend and the balance is across a number of areas but mainly utility charges and aids and appliances. The HRA balances brought forward into 2024/25 were also £0.222m greater than had been forecast. The estimated balances at the end of 2024/25 are projected to be £21.214m, which would be sufficient to meet future operational commitments and the potential financial pressures identified in the ... view the full minutes text for item 4.