Issue - meetings

The Leader and the Deputy Leader have been invited for this item.

The Chief Executive and Director of Corporate Resources will be present for this item.

The Commission considered a report of the Director of Corporate Resources setting out the context and background to the preparation of the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the period 2013/14 to 2016/17.  A copy of the report, which was circulated to all members of the County Council via the Members’ Information Service, is filed with these minutes.

The Commission also considered a supplementary report setting out the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Bodies on the MTFS relating to their respective service areas.  A copy of the supplementary report marked ‘C1’ is filed with these minutes.

The Chairman welcomed to the meeting the Leader of the Council, Mr N J Rushton CC, and the Deputy Leader of the Council, Mr J B Rhodes CC, who were attending for this item.

MTFS Context and Overall Position

The Director of Corporate Resources advised the Commission as follows:-

(i)    The draft MTFS, which had been approved by the Cabinet on 16 January, had been the subject of consultation.  The consultation closed on 27 January and the outcome would be reported to the Cabinet on 6 February.  An Information Item would be sent to all members of the Council summarising consultation responses.  The late notification of the settlement had meant that the consultation process was somewhat truncated.

(ii)  The County Council was facing significant financial pressures and it was likely that these pressures would continue for the next seven to ten years.

The Director of Corporate Resources then outlined the key changes to the MTFS since the report had been submitted on 16 January, as follows:-

(i)        The Council Tax Collection Fund surplus had decreased by £0.12m reflecting information from District Councils.

(ii)       The Council Tax base had been confirmed following receipt of figures from District Councils.  This was higher than anticipated; however, there were significant risks arising from the localisation of Council Tax Benefit and it was being suggested that additional resource be allocated to a contingency.

(iii)      An additional £350,000 had been included to meet the cost of supporting the Educational Excellence Board.

(iv)      An additional £1.2m had been allocated for investment in Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park.

(v)       The Public Health Settlement had been received late in the day and the report to the Cabinet on 6 February would set out proposals for how this ringfenced grant was to be used.

(vi)      With regard to reserves and balances, the Commission was advised that the earmarked reserves and balances stood at £99m.  The MTFS proposed using reserves and balances totalling £56m over the next four years.

(vii)    There were unidentified savings of £30m in the final years of the MTFS and decisions would need to be taken in the coming year as to how these were to be achieved.

The Chairman then invited the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Council to make comments. 

The Leader of the Council endorsed the comments made by the Director of Corporate Resources and, in particular, highlighted the need to set aside a contingency of £1.2m to offset the significant risk to Council revenues from the localisation of Council Tax Benefit.  The County Council would be facing considerable financial pressures and the Leader acknowledged the need for the County Council to play its role in the country’s deficit reduction programme.  However, he expressed concern that the Government’s funding allocations disadvantaged the County Council and highlighted in particular the adverse impact on the County Council’s finances from reductions made in the Early Intervention Grant and the arrangements for funding academies.  He also expressed concern regarding the tone of comments being made by Ministers about local  ...  view the full minutes text for item 328