Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor New would be arriving later in the meeting.

There were no declarations of members' interests.

A copy of the record of the previous decisions taken at Cabinet on 8 January 2015 are attached.

RECOMMENDED that the record of decisions of the previous Cabinet meeting held on 8 January 2015 be agreed as a correct record and signed by the Leader.

DECISION: The record of decisions of the Cabinet meeting held on 8 January 2015 were agreed as a correct record to be signed by the Leader accordingly.

N.B. the budget reports will follow and will be circulated to all members of the Council with their papers for the Council meeting of 10 February 2015. 

MEMBERS ARE ASKED TO BRING THEIR COPIES OF THEIR COUNCIL PAPERS WITH THEM CONTAINING THIS REPORT

The purpose of the Head of Financial Services and Section 151 Officer's report is to:

·       Summarise the key features of the Capital Strategy approved by the City Council on 4th February 2009 and the revised Capital Investment Priorities of the City Council, approved by City Council on 24^th January 2012

·       Highlight the inter-relationship between the capital programme, the revenue budget and the Medium Term Financial Strategy.

·       Determine the corporate capital resources available including:

o   Adjustments for under and overspendings to the existing approved Capital Programme

o   Update the capital resources available for all new and changed grants, capital receipts, revenue contributions and other contributions

o   The identification of additional assets which the Administration wishes to declare surplus to requirements

·       Seek approval of the overall Capital Programme and "new starts" (including the Housing Investment Capital Programme) for 2014/15 and future years in accordance with the Capital Strategy

·       Describe and approve the provisional Prudential Indicators arising from the revised Capital Programme 2014/15 to 2019/20

·       Delegate authority to the Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer to alter the mix of capital funding to make best use of City Council resources.

The recommendations as contained in the report were forwarded to Council of 10 February 2015, (with a change to the description only of the Capital Scheme set out in Appendix 2 page 65 relating to the Primary School Places Expansion; the description referring to providing additional places at St.Jude's CofE Primary School is to be removed as this is now planned to take place in a subsequent year once additional capital resources become available) and are therefore not subject to call-in.

The recommendations as contained in the report by the Head of Financial Services and Section 151 Officer were forwarded to Council of 10 February 2015, with the exception of a change to the description only of the Capital Scheme set out in Appendix 2 relating to the Primary School Places Expansion.  The description referring to providing additional places at St. Judes CofE Primary School is to be removed as this is now planned to take place in a subsequent year once additional capital resources become available.

RECOMMENDED to Council that

1)            The Revised Capital Programme 2014/15 to 2019/20 attached as Appendix 1 which includes all additions, deletions and amendments for slippage and re-phasing described in Sections 6 and 8 be approved.

2)            The passported Capital Allocations (Ring-fenced Grants) as set out in Section 7 be noted.

3)            The Head of Finance and Section 151 Officer be given delegated authority to determine how each source of finance is used to fund the overall Capital Programme and to alter the overall mix of financing, as necessary, to maximise the flexibility of capital resources used and minimise the ongoing costs of borrowing to the Council.

4)            The following schemes as described in Section 9 and Appendix 2 be reflected within the recommended Capital Programme 2014/15 to 2019/20 and be financed from the available corporate capital resources:

5)            It be noted that the Improvements to Community Facilities (Fratton Area) of £100,000 in recommendation 4) above is available for the community to use to enhance the overall community provision but is conditional upon the scheme demonstrating that it will lead to the City Council realising savings in future years.

6)            The following schemes as described in Section 10 and Appendix 2 be approved as Invest To Save Schemes and funded from Prudential Borrowing (subject to the approval of a detailed financial appraisal by the Head of Finance & S.151 Officer) up to the limit shown:

7)            The Harbour School Fratton located in Penhale Road is declared surplus to requirements and disposed.

8)            The following Schemes as described in Section 13 be included within the “Reserve List” of Capital Schemes to be considered once additional capital resources are identified.

9)            As outlined in Section 12 and Appendix 2 the City Council note the use of Portfolio Specific Reserves to fund the following scheme:

10)         The City Council note that Prudential Borrowing can only be used as a source of capital finance for Invest to Save Schemes as described in Section 14.

11)         The Prudential Indicators described in Section 14 and set out in Appendix 4 be approved.

The primary purpose of the report by the Head of Financial Services and Section 151 Officer is to set the Council's overall Budget for the forthcoming year 2015/16 and the associated level of Council Tax necessary to fund that Budget.

N.B. the budget reports will follow and will be circulated to all members of the Council with their papers for the Council meeting of 10 February 2015. 

MEMBERS ARE ASKED TO BRING THEIR COPIES OF THEIR COUNCIL PAPERS WITH THEM CONTAINING THIS REPORT

The report makes recommendations on the level of Council spending for 2015/16 and the level of Council Tax in the context of the Council's Medium Term Financial Strategy in order to achieve its stated aim as follows:

"In

"In year" expenditure matches "in year" income over the medium term whilst continuing the drive towards regeneration of the City and protecting the most important and valued services

The recommended Budget for 2015/16 has been prepared on the basis of the decisions taken by the City Council on the 9^th December 2014 relating to the approved budget savings, transfers from reserves (to create the Voluntary Sector Capacity & Transition Fund and the Business Intervention Fund)  as well as the proposed Council Tax freeze.  It also takes into consideration the Council's financial strength and the future outlook for both spending and funding over the next 4 years. 

This report also provides a comprehensive revision of the Council's rolling 3 year financial forecast for the new period 2016/17 to 2018/19 (i.e. extending the forecast to 2018/19) and describes the level of associated savings requirements necessary to balance spending and funding over that period.

Finally, the report stresses the important contribution that the MTRS Reserve and the Capital Programme can make to the Council's overall Medium Term Financial Strategy.   

In particular, this report sets out the following:

(a)          The challenging financial climate facing the City Council in 2015/16 and beyond and the consequential budget deficits that result

(b)          A brief summary of the Medium Term Financial Strategy for achieving the necessary savings as set out and approved in the report to Council in November 2013

(c)          A brief recap of the budget decisions taken by the City Council at its meeting of the 9^th December 2014

(d)          The Revised Revenue Budget and Cash Limits for the current year

(e)          The Local Government Finance Settlement for 2015/16

(f)           The recommended Council Tax for 2015/16

(g)          The proposed Revenue Budget and Cash Limits for 2015/16

(h)          The forecast Revenue Budget, provisional Cash Limits and revised Savings Requirements for 2016/17,  2017/18 and 2018/19

(i)            Estimated Revenue Balances over the period 2014/15 to 2018/19

(j)            The Medium Term Resource Strategy (MTRS) Reserve and its proposed use to achieve cashable efficiencies

(k)          The forecast Collection Fund balance as at 31 March 2015

(l)            The Non Domestic Rates poundage for 2015/16

(m)         The statement of the Head of Finance & Section 151 Officer on the robustness of the budget in compliance with the requirements of the Local Government Act 2003.

The recommendations as contained in the report were forwarded to Council of 10 February 2015 and are therefore not subject to call-in.

The recommendations as contained in the report by the Head of Financial Services and S151 Officer were forwarded to Council of 10 February 2015 for approval.

RECOMMENDED

(1)          That the following be approved in respect of the Council's Budget:

(a)          The revised Revenue Estimates for the financial year 2014/15 and the Revenue Estimates for the financial year 2015/16 as set out in the General Fund Summary (Appendix A)

(b)          The Portfolio Cash Limits for the Revised Budget for 2014/15 and Budget for 2015/16 as set out in Sections 7 and 9, respectively

(c)          Any underspendings for 2014/15 arising at the year-end outside of those made by Portfolios be transferred to the MTRS Reserve

(d)          The Head of Finance & Section 151 Officer be given delegated authority to make any necessary adjustments to Cash Limits within the overall approved Budget and Budget Forecasts

(e)          Managers be authorised to incur routine expenditure against the Cash Limits for 2015/16 as set out in Section 9

(f)           That the savings requirement for 2016/17 be set at a minimum on-going sum of £11.0m

(g)          Heads of Service be instructed to start planning how the City Council will achieve the savings requirements shown in Section 11 and that this be incorporated into Service Business Plans

(h)          The minimum level of Revenue Balances as at 31 March 2016 be set at £6.5m (£6.0m in 2014/15) to reflect the known and expected budget and financial risks to the Council

(i)            The Head of Finance & S151 Officer be given delegated authority to complete and authorise the statutory Government Returns for Business Ratesfor 2015/16 and all future years

(j)            The Head of Finance & S151 Officer be given delegated authority to approve the Council Tax Base and Collection Fund Estimates for all future years

(k)          Members have had regard for the Statement of the Head of Finance & Section 151 Officer in accordance with the Local Government Act 2003 as set out in Section 17.

(2)          That the following be noted in respect of the Council's Budget:

(a)          The Revenue Forecast and the associated provisional Portfolio Cash Limits for 2016/17 onwards as set out in Section 10 and Appendices B and C, respectively

(b)          The estimated Savings Requirement of £31m for the three year period 2016/17 to 2018/19, for financial and service planning purposes, be phased as follows:

(c)          The MTRS Reserve held to fund the upfront costs associated with Spend to Save Schemes, Invest to Save Schemes and redundancies holds a relatively modest uncommitted balance of £2.9mand will only be replenished from an approval to the transfer of any underspends at year end

(d)          The Non Domestic Rates poundage for 2015/16 will be 49.3p, and 48.0p for small businesses

(3)          The advice from the Head of Finance & S151 Officer set out in the approved Budget report to the Council in December 2014 stated that:

the minimum savings requirement for 2015/16 is £12.5m (with a Council Tax increase of 1.95%) or £13.1m (with a Council Tax freeze) and anything below that would not be prudent.

(4)          That it be noted that at its meeting on 8 January 2015 the Cabinet calculated the amount of 53,277.2 as its Council Tax Base for the financial year 2015/16 [item T in the formula in Section 31 B(1) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”)].

(5)          That the following amounts be now calculated by the Council for the financial year 2015/16 in accordance with Section 31 and Sections 34 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992:

(e)          Valuation Bands (Portsmouth City Council)

Being the amounts given by multiplying the amount at 3.5(d) above by the number which, in the proportion set out in Section 5(1) of the Act, is applicable to dwellings listed in a particular valuation band divided by the number which in that proportion is applicable to dwellings listed in Valuation Band D, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 36(1) of the Act, as the amounts to be taken into account for the year in respect of categories of dwellings in different valuation bands.

(6)          That it be noted that for the financial year 2015/16 the Hampshire Police & Crime Commissioner is consulting upon the following amounts for the precept to be issued to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of the dwellings shown below:

Valuation Bands (Hampshire Police & Crime Commissioner)

(7)          That it be noted that for the financial year 2015/16 Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority are recommending the following amounts for the precept issued to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each of the categories of the dwellings shown below:

Valuation Bands (Hampshire Fire & Rescue Authority)

(8)          That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at 3.5(e), 3.6 and 3.7 above, the Council, in accordance with Sections 31A, 31B and 34 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for the financial year 2015/16 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below:

Valuation Bands (Total Council Tax)

(9)          The Head of Finance & Section 151 Officer be given delegated authority to implement any variation to the overall level of Council Tax arising from the final notification of the Hampshire Police & Crime Commissioner and Hampshire Fire and Rescue Authority precepts.

The purpose of the report by the Head of Transport and Environment is to inform the Cabinet Members of progress on the North Portsea Flood Defences as work moves into the construction of Phase 1, Anchorage Park.

RECOMMENDED that the Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety write to the Minister for the Environment and offer the Portsmouth Business Case as an exemplar case study for future projects.

That the Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety write to the Minister for the Environment and offer the Portsmouth Business Case as an exemplar case study for future projects.

The Leader, Cabinet Members and Chief Executive all asked that their thanks  be placed on record to Martin Lavers, Guy Mason and all involved in the successful bid for the flood defence scheme for North Portsea and they were very grateful for the effective consultation programme that had taken place with local residents.

DECISION: that the Cabinet Member for Environment and Community Safety write to the Minister for the Environment and offer the Portsmouth Business Case as an exemplar case study for future projects.

This report is written in response to Notice of Motion b) - Public Houses, City Council Meeting 11^th November 2014 (minute 103/b); it sets out a response to this Notice of Motion and the options already available to the Council in trying to protect local pubs from being sold.

This has been agreed by the Leader and Deputy Leader as a matter for urgent inclusion as a supplementary matter.

RECOMMENDED:

(1)That the Cabinet notes the Community Right to Bid and will support the community to pursue this option where a public house can be shown to be a viable community asset.

(2) That the Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration and Economic Development (PRED) considers the purchase of public houses as part of its commercial property portfolio, if and when they can be shown to provide the greatest available return.

(1)  That the Cabinet notes the Community Right to Bid and will support the community to pursue this option where a public house can be shown to be a viable community asset.

(2)  That the Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration & Economic Development (PRED) considers the purchase of public houses as part of its commercial property portfolio, if and when they can be shown to provide the greatest available return.

Alan Cufley, the Head of Corporate Assets, Business & Standards reported that a parliamentary bill regarding the Community Right to Bid was at the report stage for consideration in March 2015.  Cabinet Members were supportive of this paper which had been brought forward following a Notice of Motion by Councillor Hastings and stressed that the community value should be given consideration as well as the business case for properties under consideration.

DECISION:

(1)          That the Cabinet notes the Community Right to Bid and will support the community to pursue this option where a public house can be shown to be a viable community asset.

(2)          That the Cabinet Member for Planning, Regeneration & Economic Development (PRED) considers the purchase of public houses as part of its commercial property portfolio, if and when they can be shown to provide the greatest available return.