Agenda item

(A)  2024/2025 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 2024/2025 and the Leeds element of the Council Tax to be levied in 2024/2025.

(Annex 2 to this report – to follow)

(B)  Capital Programme Update 2023 – 2028

To consider the report of the Chief Officer (Financial Services) on the Capital Programme for the period 2024 – 2028 and which also includes a specific update on the 2023/2024 programme.

(C)  Treasury Management Strategy 2024/2025

To consider the report of the Chief Officer (Financial Services) presenting the Treasury Management Strategy for 2024/2025, whilst also providing an update on the implementation of the 2023/2024 strategy.

Further to Minute No. 81, 13^th December 2023, the Chief Officer Financial Services submitted a suite of reports regarding: proposals for the City Council’s Revenue Budget for 2024/25 and the Leeds element of the Council Tax to be levied during the same period; proposals regarding an updated Capital Programme for 2024 – 2028 and also a proposed updated Treasury Management Strategy for 2024/25.

With the agreement of the Chair, supplementary information was circulated to Board Members and published ahead of the meeting for Members’ consideration as part of agenda item 13A (2024/25 Revenue Budget and Council Tax), in the form of Annex 2 which provided a statement of 2023/24 and 2024/25 budgets by service and also a revised Appendix 10 which presented budgeted movements in Earmarked Reserves 2024/25.

The Board was advised that the budget proposals as detailed within the submitted report were based upon the provisional Local Government Finance Settlement. However, it was noted that following the publication of the submitted agenda papers, the final Local Government Finance Settlement had been received, which was consistent with the initial Settlement in all but the following elements: it was confirmed that additional resources had been received from the Services Grant of £98k and Social Care Grant of £97k, with a reduction in the New Homes Bonus Grant of £6k, totalling an additional £189k for 2024/25. Executive Board was asked to note this updated position and that this additional funding was proposed to be allocated to the Council’s reserves to deal with in year pressures within Social Care.

Responding to a specific enquiry, the Board received an update on the Government’s recent announcement regarding additional funding for Local Authorities, the level of funding being received by Leeds and how this was being managed in terms of the budget proposals.

(A)  2024/2025 Revenue Budget and Council Tax

RESOLVED –

(a)  That, subject to the inclusion of the updated position as referenced above,  Council be recommended to note the recommendation of the Council’s statutory Section 151 officer (the Chief Officer – Financial Services) that the Budget proposals for 2024/25 are robust and that the proposed level of reserves is adequate, as set out at Part 7 of Appendix 1 to the submitted report;

(b)  That, subject to the inclusion of the updated position as referenced above,  Council be recommended to adopt the following:-

(i)  That the revenue budget for 2024/25 totalling £622.0m be approved. This means that the Leeds element of Council Tax for 2024/25 will increase by 2.99% plus the Adult Social Care precept of 1.99% from 2023/24. This excludes the police and fire precepts which will be incorporated into the Council Tax report to be submitted to Council on 21st February 2024;

(ii)  That approval be given to grants totalling £73.1k to be allocated to parishes, as shown at Appendix 5 to the submitted report;

(iii)  That approval be given to the revised virement rules at Appendix 7 to the submitted report - Virement Decisions to Amend Approved Budgets, specifically that the de minimis level for virements below which any variations to net managed budgets will be deemed ‘Other Budget Adjustments’ is increased from £10k to £50k. Budget movements that are not between budget headings within the approved net managed budget will also be ‘Other Budget Adjustments’;

(iv)  That approval be given to the strategy at Appendix 9 to the submitted report in respect of the flexible use of capital receipts - specifically the additional planned use in 2023/24 of £6.7m and planned use in 2024/25 of £18.9m;

(v)  That in respect of the Housing Revenue Account, the budget be approved with:

·  An increase of 7.7% in dwelling rents;

·  An increase of 7.7% in garage and travellers site rent;

·  An increase of 7% for the standing charges in district heating schemes and the district heating unit rate will remain at 10p per kwh;

·  A 7% increase in heat consumption charges in sheltered complexes;

·  An increase in service charges for low/medium rise flats to £5.17 per week and for multi-storey flats to £12.20 per week;

·  An increase in the charge for tenants who benefit from the sheltered support service to £9.22 per week;

·  An increase in the Retirement Life charge for the provision of additional community facilities to £12.20 per week for services within complexes and £5.17 per week where they are within a standalone community centre;

·  An increase in the service charges for Wharfedale extra care scheme to £50.73 per week;

·  An increase in the service charge for Gascoigne House extra care scheme to £64.04 per week;

·  The support charge at both extra care schemes being increased from £24.54 in 2023/24 to £28.77 in 2024/25;

(vi)  That in respect of the Schools Budget, the High Needs Block budget for 2024/25, as set out in paragraph 3.4 of the Schools Budget Report at Appendix 8 to the submitted report (specifically the table at paragraph 3.4.6), be approved;

(c)  That Executive Board’s thanks be conveyed to Scrutiny Boards and all those who took part in the public consultation for their comments and observations made in consideration of the Council’s Proposed Budget.

(B) Capital Programme Update 2023 – 2028

RESOLVED –

(a)   That Executive Board recommends to Council:-

(i) the approval of the Capital Programme for 2024-2028 totalling £1,906.7m, including the revised projected position for 2023/24, as presented in Appendix A to the submitted report;

(ii) the approval of the MRP policy statements for 2024/25 as set out in Appendix C to the submitted report; and

(iii) the approval of the Capital and Investment Strategy as set out in Appendix D to the submitted report; with it being noted that as part of the Capital and Investment Strategy, the Council is required to set prudential limits for the total value of its non-treasury investments and, specifically, limits for the total value of service investments and the total value of commercial investments that it holds; and as such, Council be recommended to approve, as detailed within Appendix D that:-

·  the prudential limit for service investments be set at £80m;

·  that a limit of £200m be set for the carrying value of assets which are classed as commercial investments, with it being noted that these limits represent no change between 2023/24 and 2024/25.

(b)   That Executive Board approval be given to the following net injections totalling £264.7m into the Capital Programme, as set out in Appendix A(iii) to the submitted report:-

·  £31.7m to address Capital Programme Review budget pressures as detailed at Appendix A(iv) to the submitted report;

·  £72.6m of annual programme injections as detailed at Appendix A(v) to the submitted report;

·  £11.8m of ringfenced capital receipts for the District Heating Network Phase 4 scheme and the Future Ways of Working Programme;

·  £4.0m of Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Strategic Fund monies; and

·  £144.7m of other injections, primarily relating to annual capital grant allocations, one off capital grant allocations funding schemes such as junction improvements at Dawsons Corner and the LUF3 Heart of Holbeck project, the roll forward of the HRA Programme, invest to save borrowing schemes and other secured external grant funding.

(c)  That it be noted that the above resolutions to inject funding of £264.7m will be implemented by the Chief Officer - Financial Services.

(C) Treasury Management Strategy 2024/2025

RESOLVED -

(a)  That the treasury strategy for 2024/25, as set out in Section 8.5 of the submitted report, be approved by Executive Board, and that the review of the 2023/24 strategy and operations, as set out in Sections 8.3 and 8.4 of the submitted report, be noted;

(b)  That full Council be recommended to approve that the borrowing limits for the Authorised Limit and Operational Boundary for 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 be confirmed as set in February 2023 and that new limits for 2026/27 be approved at £3,200m for Borrowing and £490m for Other Long-term Liabilities for the Authorised Limit. For 2026/27 full Council be recommended to approve that the Operational Boundary be set at £3,000m for Borrowing and £470m for Other Long-term Liabilities, as detailed at Section 8.6 of the submitted report;

(c)  That full Council be recommended to approve the treasury management indicator for the maturity structure of the Council’s borrowing as detailed in Section 8.7 and Appendix A to the submitted report;

(d)  That full Council be recommended to set the investment limits for periods greater than 364 days for 2023/24, 2024/25, 2025/26 at £150m, and that a new limit for 2026/27 be set at £150m, as detailed in Section 8.8.9 of the submitted report.

(The matters referred to in Minute Nos.  99(A)(a) – 99(A)(b)(vi) (Revenue Budget and Council Tax); 99(B)(a)(i) – 99(B)(a)(iii) (Capital Programme) and 99(C)(b) – 99(C)(d) (Treasury Management Strategy), given that they were decisions being made in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules, were not eligible for Call In)

(Under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.5, Councillor A Lamb required it to be recorded that he abstained from voting on the decisions referred to within this minute)

(Further to Minute No. 90 above, Councillor Rafique left the meeting room for the duration of the Board’s consideration of this item).