I. That the comments of the Overview and Scrutiny Committees and the Scrutiny Commission as set out in Appendix Q to the report be noted;
II. That the following be recommended to the County Council:
a) That subject to the items below, approval be given to the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) which incorporates the recommended revenue budget for 2023/24 totalling £512.1m as set out in Appendices A, B and E of this report and includes the growth and savings for that year as set out in Appendix C;
b) That approval be given to the projected provisional revenue budgets for 2024/25, 2025/26 and 2026/27, set out in Appendix B to the report, including the growth and savings for those years as set out in Appendix C, allowing the undertaking of preliminary work, including business case development, consultation and equality and human rights impact assessments, as may be necessary to achieve the savings specified for those years including savings under development, set out in Appendix D;
c) That approval be given to the early achievement of savings that are included in the MTFS, as may be necessary, along with associated investment costs, subject to the Director of Corporate Resources agreeing to funding being available;
d) That the level of the general fund and earmarked reserves as set out in Appendix K be noted and the use of those earmarked reserves as indicated in that appendix be approved;
e) That the amounts of the County Council's Council Tax for each band of dwelling and the precept payable by each billing authority for 2023/24 be as set out in Appendix M (including 2% for the adult social care precept);
f) That the Chief Executive be authorised to issue the necessary precepts to billing authorities in accordance with the budget requirement above and the tax base notified by the District Councils, and to take any other action which may be necessary to give effect to the precepts;
g) That approval be given to the 2023/24 to 2026/27 capital programme as set out in Appendix F;
h) That the Director of Corporate Resources, following consultation with the Cabinet Lead Member for Resources, be authorised to approve new capital schemes, including revenue costs associated with their delivery, shown as future developments in the capital programme, to be funded from funding available;
i) That the financial indicators required under the Prudential Code included in Appendix N, Annex 2 be noted and that the following limits be approved:
|
|
2023/24 £m |
2024/25 £m |
2025/26 £m |
2026/27 £m |
|
Operational boundary for external debt |
|
|
|
|
|
i) Borrowing |
262 |
262 |
275 |
309 |
|
ii) Other
long term liabilities |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
TOTAL |
263 |
263 |
276 |
310 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Authorised
limit for external debt |
|
|
|
|
|
i) Borrowing |
272 |
272 |
285 |
319 |
|
ii) Other long term liabilities |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
TOTAL |
273 |
273 |
286 |
320 |
j)
That
the Director of Corporate Resources be authorised to effect movement within the
authorised limit for external debt between borrowing and other long-term
liabilities;
k) That the following borrowing limits be approved for the period 2023/24 to 2026/27:
i. Upper limit on fixed interest exposures 100%;
ii. Upper limit on variable rate exposures 50%;
iii. Maturity of borrowing:-
|
|
Upper Limit |
Lower Limit |
|
|
% |
% |
|
Under 12 months |
30 |
0 |
|
12 months and
within 24 months |
30 |
0 |
|
24 months and
within 5 years |
50 |
0 |
|
5 years and
within 10 years |
70 |
0 |
|
10 years and
above |
100 |
25 |
iv. An upper limit for principal sums invested for periods longer than 364 days is 20% of the portfolio.
l) That the Director of Corporate Resources be authorised to enter into such loans or undertake such arrangements as necessary to finance capital payments in 2023/24, subject to the prudential limits in Appendix N;
m) That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement and the Annual Investment Strategy for 2023/24, as set out in Appendix N, be approved including:
(i) The Treasury Management Policy Statement, Appendix N, Annex 4;
(ii)
The Annual Statement of the Annual Minimum
Revenue Provision as set out in Appendix N, Annex 1;
n) That the Capital Strategy (Appendix G), Investing in Leicestershire Programme Strategy (Appendix H), Risk Management Policy and Strategy (Appendix I), Earmarked Reserves Policy (Appendix J) and Insurance Policy (Appendix L) be approved;
o) That it be noted that the Leicester and Leicestershire Business Rate Pool will continue for 2023/24;
p) That the Director of Corporate Resources, following consultation with the Cabinet Lead Member for Resources, be authorised to make any changes to the provisional MTFS which may be required as a result of changes arising between the Cabinet and County Council meetings, noting that any changes will be reported to the County Council on 22 February 2023;
q) That the Leicestershire School Funding Formula is subject to capping and scaling continues to reflect the National Funding Formula for 2023/24;
r) That the funding rates for Early Years providers, as set out in paragraph 114 of the report, be approved.
(KEY DECISION)
REASONS FOR DECISION:
To enable the County Council to meet its statutory
requirements with respect to setting a balanced budget and Council Tax precept
for 2023/24, to allow efficient financial administration during 2023/24 and to
provide a basis for the planning of services over the next four years.
To enable early work to be undertaken on the development of
new savings to address the worsening financial position.
Continuing an unchanged Leicestershire School Funding
Formula for 2023/24 will ensure that it fully reflects the National Funding
Formula (NFF).
To enable rates to be set for early years providers for 2023/24.