Agenda and minutes

The Leader of the Council and the Executive Director Governance and Monitoring Officer, on behalf of all Members and officers’ present at the meeting, declared a general Non Registrable Interest in respect of items related to the setting of the Council Tax for 2023/2024.

Council was requested to approve the recommendations from the Cabinet meeting held on 21 February 2023 in relation to the Annual Budget and Council Tax Setting for 2023/24 and an update for the Medium Term Financial

Strategy (MTFS).

(In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 30.1, it was moved by Councillor Jason Zadrozny and seconded by Councillor Helen-Ann Smith that Procedure

Rule 16.4, in relation to the "Content and Length of Speeches", be suspended for this item only to enable Councillor David Martin (as mover) and Councillor David Hennigan (as seconder) to deliver their budget speeches for an allocated total time of 15 minutes each.  Having been put to the vote, the Council agreed with this course of action.)

RESOLVED that

a)    a £5.75 annual increase in the level of the District’s own Council Tax for 2023/24, setting the Band D equivalent at £201.21 (representing a 2.94% increase compared with 2022/23) be approved;

b)    the proposed 2023/24 Revenue (General Fund) and HRA Budgets as set out in this report (Sections 3 and 4), be approved;

c)    the proposed Capital Programme and associated borrowing 2022/23 to 2026/27 as set out in this report (Section 5 and Appendix 1), be approved;

d)    the 2022/23 Revised HRA and Capital Budgets as set out in the report (Sections 4 and 5), be approved;

e)    the estimated financial challenge in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2024/2025 to 2026/27 and the planned approach to address the challenge (Section 8), be noted;

f)     the proposed use of reserves as set out in the report (Table 6 [General Fund] and Table 9 [HRA]), be approved;

g)    the comments and advice of the Corporate Finance Manager (Section 151 Officer), provided in compliance with Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003, as to the robustness of the estimates included in the 2023/24 Budget and the adequacy of the reserves for which this budget provides (Section 9), be received and accepted;

h)    the proposed 2023/24 budgets reflecting the agreed changes to Fees and Charges as approved by Cabinet on 24th January 2023, be noted;

i)     the proposed 2023/24 Capital Strategy (Appendix 2), be noted and approved;

j)     the proposed 2023/24 Treasury Management Strategy (Appendix 3), be noted and approved;

k)    approval be given for the recently notified successful bid for funding of £2.012m from the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (Phase 3b) being added to the Capital Programme. (Paragraph 5.6).

RESOLVED

that the Council Tax levels for 2023/24 on the basis of a Band “D” tax level for the District Council’s own expenditure of £201.21 (2.94% increase), be approved as follows:-

1.    That it be noted that on 13 December 2022 the Council calculated the Council Tax Base for 2023/24

a.    for the whole Council area:  34,428.3

b.    for dwellings in those parts of its area to which a Parish precept relates –

The Parish of Annesley and Felley:  569.5

The Parish of Selston:  3,721.6

2.    That the calculation of the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2023/24 (excluding Parish precepts) is £6,927,318.

3.    That the following amounts be calculated for the year 2023/24 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

5.    That the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the tables below as the amounts of Council Tax for 2023/24 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings.

  2023/24 Council Tax amounts by band:

Council received an update in respect of the new requirement for voters to take eligible photographic identification to polling stations to be able to vote and the process for obtaining Voter Authority Certificates by voters who do not have eligible photographic identification.  Members were also asked to authorise nominated officers to act as Deputy Electoral Registration Officers for the purposes of signing Temporary Voter Authority Certificates.

RESOLVED that

a)    the new legal requirement introduced as part of the Elections Act 2022 for voters to produce photographic identification at polling stations in order to vote at future elections and the process for obtaining Voter Authority Certificates, be received and noted;

b)    the following officers be authorised to act as Deputy Electoral Registration Officers for the purposes of signing Temporary Voter Authority Certificates, in addition to the Electoral Registration Officer (Ruth Dennis):

·       Theresa Hodgkinson, Chief Executive

·       Michael Joy, Assistant Director – Democracy

·       Ian Dobson, Electoral Services (AEA) Consultant (for elections in May 2023)

·       Carla Benedetti, Electoral Services Officer

·       Louise Ellis, Assistant Director – Legal.

Council considered a recommendation from a meeting of the Cabinet held on 21 February 2023.

Minute No. CA.

Cabinet, 21 February 2023

Council Tax Discounts and Premiums

RESOLVED that

a)    approval be given to the following:

Empty discounts –

·         The current empty discount for Class C - Unoccupied/substantially unfurnished which is allowable for a maximum of 6 months remains at 100% discount for 1 month followed by 25% discount for 5 months;

·         The current Class A - Second Homes, No one’s sole or main residence/furnished – 28 days planning restriction remains at the current 0% discount;

·         The current Class B – Second Homes, No one’s sole or main residence/furnished – No planning restriction remains at the current 0% discount;

·         The Class D Structural repairs (Unoccupied & substantially unfurnished) which is allowable for 12 months should be a 0% discount for the whole period;

Empty premiums -

·         The Council continues to apply the maximum premiums allowable in legislation for Long Term empty properties as it currently does.

b)    approval in principle be given to the following:

·         That the following additional Council Tax premiums be applied from 1 April 2024, or as soon as possible thereafter, subject to the required legislation being in place:

o   100% premium for properties which have been empty and unfurnished for a period of between 1 (previously 2) and 5 years

c)    Council Tax Support Scheme - The Council in accordance with Schedule 1A Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (Council Tax Reduction Schemes) approves an unchanged scheme for Council Tax Support for 2023/24.