The Chief Officer (Financial Services) submitted a report which presented the Council’s initial budget proposals for 2020/21, and which sought agreement for them to be submitted to Scrutiny for consideration, and also used as a basis for wider consultation with stakeholders.
Responding to a Member’s enquiry, the Board received further information regarding the ‘New Towns Fund’, an initiative which had been announced by the Government.
RESOLVED –
(a) That the initial budget proposals for 2020/21, as detailed within the submitted report, be agreed, with the Board’s agreement also being provided for them to be submitted to Scrutiny and also for the proposals to be used as a basis for wider consultation with stakeholders;
(b) That the initial budget position for 2021/22 and 2022/23 be noted, with it also being noted that savings proposals to address the updated estimated budget gaps of £47.4m and £29.9m for 2021/22 and 2022/23 respectively will be reported to a future meeting of the Executive Board;
(c) That it be noted that the proposal to approve the implementation of an additional Council Tax premium on any dwelling where the empty period is at least five years, from 100% to 200% premium, will be determined by Full Council in January 2020;
(d) That the Board’s agreement be given for Leeds City Council to become a member of the new North and West Yorkshire Business Rates Pool for 2020/21 and act as lead authority for it, with it being noted that the establishment of this new Pool will be dependent upon none of the other proposed member authorities choosing to withdraw within the statutory period after designation;
(e) That with regard to the final year of Government funding to offer discretionary relief to businesses most impacted by the 2017 Business Rates Revaluation, the Board’s agreement be provided for this to be distributed to childcare businesses in the city.
(Under the provisions of Council Procedure Rule 16.5, Councillors A Carter and S Golton both required it to be recorded that they respectively abstained from voting on the decisions referred to within this minute)
(The resolutions referred to within Minute No. 128 (a), (b) and (c) (above) given that these were decisions being made in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules, were not eligible for Call In, as Executive and Decision Making Procedure Rule 5.1.2 states that the power to Call In decisions does not extend to those decisions made in accordance with the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules.
However, the resolutions referred to in Minute No. 128 (d) and (e) were eligible for Call In, given that these were decisions not being taken as part of the Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules)