Agenda and minutes

The Leader of the Council and the Executive Director for 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 2024/2025.

RESOLVED

that the minutes of the meeting of the Cabinet held on 29 January 2024, be received and approved as a correct record.

“Recently there have been references in both the press and on social media about the level of borrowing at Ashfield District Council.  These messages deliberately ‘paint one side of the story’ and unfairly damage the reputation of the Council, causing unnecessary unrest for our staff and residents.

For this reason, this joint message from myself and the Council’s Chief Finance Officer is to reassure our staff and residents that the Council’s finances are robust and in excellent order. We have a healthy financial position, and our future financial sustainability is not something anyone should be concerned about.  Unlike other Councils we are not having to withdraw from our reserves to balance our budget.

Ashfield’s debt actually decreased by 6.6% from the end of March 2022 to the end of March 2023, and our level of borrowing is in line with other comparable Nottinghamshire District and Borough Councils of Bassetlaw, Broxtowe, and Newark and Sherwood.

Some of our borrowing is due to the investment properties we own. What is not stated in the press articles is that this borrowing, after paying interest costs, brings in a hugely significant amount of income for the Council to fund local services.  In 2024/25 this income will bring in £3million pounds.  Without the investment properties we would not have this income, which would mean we would have to cut discretionary and non-essential services by £3million pounds. This would be a huge loss to our residents.  So, we are in an incredibly fortunate position, thanks to the forward-thinking approach of this Council investing, in a business-like manner, to make income which help run our services.

It is concerning that in recent months a number of Councils have found themselves issuing a Section 114 notice – essentially declaring themselves bankrupt – being forced to limit service provision to the statutory minimum. Furthermore, it is concerning that an even larger number of Councils have indicated that they too are on the brink of issuing a Section 114 notice.

Please be assured that Ashfield is not one of the Councils who need to consider issuing a Section 114 notice. This Council’s financial position is strong, as evidenced by two completely independent organisations – the Local Government Association (LGA) and Mazars, our External Auditors.

An independent Finance Health Check conducted by the LGA in December 2021 confirmed that: ‘The Council is well managed financially and has consistently spent within its budget’.  Our 2021/22 accounts, which were signed off by Mazars in March 2023, included their Value For Money (VFM) opinion which is largely based on the financial sustainability of the Council. This opinion said there were no issues to raise and that the Council’s ‘reported financial position does not indicate a risk of significant weakness in VFM arrangements for financial sustainability’.  Our 2022/23 accounts are due to be signed off at Audit Committee at the end of this month where we are again expecting a clean report.

For years the Government has said it will introduce Local Government  ...  view the full minutes text for item CA.59

Key Decision

Councillor Rachel Madden – Executive Lead Member for Finance, Revenues and Benefits

Cabinet was presented with the Council’s Annual Budget, the Council Tax proposals for 2024/25 and a Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) update.

Members considered the alternative option of declining to apply an increase to

Council Tax for the 2024/25 financial year, but this was not recommended due to significant inflationary increases to its pay, energy, fuel and contracts costs in recent months, the estimated funding gap for 2025/26 and beyond and the recommendation in relation to Council Tax from the Local Government Association Finance Health Check undertaken in December 2021.

RESOLVED

that Cabinet recommends the following to Council:

a)    approval of a £5.92 annual increase in the level of the District’s own Council Tax for 2024/25, setting the Band D equivalent at £207.13. This represents a 2.94% increase compared with 2023/24;

b)    approval of the proposed 2024/25 Revenue (General Fund) and HRA Budgets as set out in the report (Sections 3 and 4);

c)    approval of the proposed Capital Programme and associated borrowing 2023/24 to 2027/28 as set out in the report (Section 5);

d)    approval of the 2023/24 Revised HRA and Capital Budgets as set out in the report (Sections 4 and 5);

e)    approval that the precept figures from Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Authority, Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner and the two Parish Councils within the District be incorporated, when known, into the Council Tax recommendation to Council on 4th March 2024;

f)     that it notes the estimated financial challenge in the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for 2025/2026 to 2026/27 and the planned approach to address the challenge (Section 6);

g)    approval of the proposed use of reserves as set out in the report (Table 6 [General Fund] and Table 9 [HRA]);

h)    that it notes and accepts the comments and advice of the Corporate Resources Director (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 2024/25 Budget and the adequacy of the reserves for which the budget provides (Section 7);

i)     notes that the proposed 2024/25 budgets reflect the agreed changes to Fees and Charges approved by Cabinet on 29th January 2024.

Reason:

In accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992 the Council must

set its annual budget by 10th March in the preceding financial year.

Key Decision

Councillor Rachel Madden – Executive Lead Member for Finance, Revenues and Benefits

Cabinet considered the Council’s proposed Capital Strategy prepared in

accordance with the Chartered Institute Public Finance and Accountancy

(CIPFA) Prudential Code for Capital Finance in Local Authorities.

As it is a requirement of the CIPFA Prudential Code for all Local Authorities to

have a Capital Strategy and a requirement of DLUHC Statutory Guidance on

Local Government Investments to have an Investment Strategy covering non treasury management investments, Members did not have any alternative options to consider.

RESOLVED that

a)    the contents of the Capital Strategy (CS) for 2024/25 including the Annexes 1-3, as presented, be received and noted;

b)    Council be recommended to approve the following:

·         Capital Strategy

·         Commercial Property Investment Strategy

·         Commercial Property Indicators

c)    it be duly noted that the Capital Strategy was considered and supported by the Audit Committee on 1 February 2024.

Reasons:

1.    It is a requirement of the CIPFA Prudential Code for all Local Authorities to have a Capital Strategy approved by Council.

2.    DLUHC Statutory Guidance on Local Government Investments require that the Council has an Investment Strategy that covers non-treasury management investments and includes quantitative indicators approved by Council.

Key Decision

Councillor Rachel Madden – Executive Lead Member for Finance, Revenues and Benefits

Members were requested to consider the Council’s Treasury Management Strategy for the financial year 2024/25 comprising the following:-

Treasury Management Policy

Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS)

Borrowing Strategy

Annual Investment Strategy

Minimum Revenue Provision Policy

Prudential Indicators and Treasury Management Indicators

Treasury Management Practices: Risk Management.

As it is a requirement of the CIPFA Treasury Management Code for all Local

Authorities to have a Treasury Management Strategy (TMS) and a requirement of DLUHC Statutory Guidance on Local Government Investments to have an Investment Strategy, Members had no alternative options to consider.

RESOLVED that

a)    the contents of the Treasury Management Strategy (TMS) for 2024/25, including the changes to the Annual Investment Strategy, as presented, be received and noted;

b)    Council be recommended to approve the Treasury Management Policy Statement incorporating the:

·         Treasury Management Strategy Statement (TMSS)

·         Borrowing Strategy

·         Annual Investment Strategy

·         Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy

·         Prudential Indicators and Treasury Management Indicators including the Liability Benchmark indicator

·         Treasury Management Practices: Risk Management which includes the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) update.

c)    it be noted that the Treasury Management Strategy was considered and is supported by the Audit Committee at its meeting on 1 February 2024.

Reason:

In accordance with Financial Regulation C.31. Cabinet is responsible for

providing effective scrutiny of the Treasury Management Strategy and Policies

and recommending the same to Council for approval.

Non-Key Decision

Councillor Matthew Relf - Executive Lead Member for Growth, Regeneration and Local Planning

Councillor Chris Huskinson – Executive Lead Member for Leisure, Health and Wellbeing

Cabinet was requested to approve the new Markets Fees and Charges Policy and the changes to the Outdoor Sports Booking Policy, as appended to the report.

Members considered the alternative options of declining to approve the new and updated Policies but this was not recommended for the reasons outlined in the report.

RESOLVED that

a)    the new Markets Fees and Charges Policy, as presented, be approved;

b)    the amendments to the Outdoor Sports Booking Policy, as presented, be also approved.

Reasons:

1.    In relation to the Markets Fees and Charging Policy, an audit review recommended that whilst the Council had an agreed scheme of delegation with regards to amending fees and charges, a clearly defined policy defining how and where these can be changed, would strengthen accountability.

2.    In relation to the Outdoor Sports Booking Policy, some minor amendments had been made to the policy regarding responsibility for damage to Council assets and information has been provided regarding defibrillators.