Issue - meetings

a)  2021/22 Revenue Budget and Council Tax

To consider the report of the Chief Officer (Financial Services) on the proposals for the City Council’s Revenue Budget for 2021/2022 and the Leeds element of the Council Tax to be levied in 2021/2022 

b)  Capital Programme Update 2021 – 2025

To consider the report of the Chief Officer (Financial Services) on the Capital Programme for the period 2021 – 2025 and which includes details of forecast resources for that period together with an update on the 2020/21 programme.

c)  Treasury Management Strategy 2021/2022

To consider the report of the Chief Officer (Financial Services) on the Treasury Management Strategy for 2021/22

Further to Minute No. 96, 16^th December 2020, the Chief Officer, Financial Services, submitted a suite of reports regarding: proposals for the City Council’s Revenue Budget for 2021/22 and the Leeds element of the Council Tax to be levied during the same period; proposals regarding an updated Capital Programme for 2021-2025 and also a proposed updated Treasury Management Strategy for 2021/22.

By way of introduction to the report, the Chair paid tribute to all those officers who had developed the current draft budget to its current position, under what were unprecedented circumstances.

(A)  2021/22 Revenue Budget and Council Tax

As part of the introduction to the report, the Chief Officer (Financial Services) brought to Members’ attention the following corrections to be made to the covering report:

·  That the sum in paragraph 2.2.1, bullet point 4 should read £3.775 billion, not million;

·  That the reference to 2020/21 in the first recommendation be replaced with 2021/22; and

·  That the reference in the second recommendation to the proposed Adult Social Care precept of 2.99% be replaced with 3%.

Responding to a Member’s enquiries, the Board was provided with further information regarding the total funding which had been provided by Government specifically for the Coronavirus pandemic which was contributing towards this proposed Council budget.  Also, responding to a specific question on how the funding from Government for Track and Trace provision had been spent, officers undertook to provide the Member in question with further detail.

In response to a Member’s enquiry, the Board was updated on the current position regarding the Chair of the Scrutiny Board (Environment, Housing and Communities) being provided with further detail in relation to the future provision of grass cutting; PCSOs; Community Committee Wellbeing funding and the opening hours of Community Hubs following the recent consideration of such matters by the Scrutiny Board.

Also, responding to a Member’s enquiry, the Board received further detail on the liaison which took place between the Council and the West Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioners office in terms of budgetary matters.

Following a Member’s question on how much the Council was expected to pay in interest upon outstanding debt in 2021/22, officers undertook to provide the Member in question with the requested information outside of the meeting.

RESOLVED –

(a)  That Council be recommended to note the recommendation of the Council’s statutory officer (the Chief Officer – Financial Services) that the Budget proposals for 2021/22 are robust and that the proposed level of reserves is adequate, as set out at Section 12 of the submitted report;

(b)  That subject to making those specific corrections as detailed above, Executive Board recommends to Council the adoption of the following:-

(i)  That the revenue budget for 2021/22 totalling £435.3m be approved. This means that the Leeds element of the Council Tax for 2021/22 will increase by 1.99% plus the Adult Social Care precept of 3%. This excludes the police and fire precepts which will be incorporated into the report to be submitted to Council on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 116