Decision details

To consider the report of the Head of Finance & IT (the Chief Financial Officer) setting out the General Fund Revenue Budget development for 2014/15 to 2016/17.

(i)  Note the pre budget consultation on the Council’s priorities that has already taken place in the form of the “Your City Your Say” and the results, which are summarised in paragraphs 16 to 22 and set out in more detail in Appendix 1 (Section A).

(ii)  Note the formal consultation on the Executive’s draft budget proposals commenced on 11 November, and note the consultation proposals and methodology set out in paragraphs 4to 11 and Appendix 1 (Section B) of this report.

(iii)  Approve that delegated authority be given to the Assistant Chief Executive,following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resources, to fine tune and implement the consultation proposals and methodology.

(iv)  Note the high level forecast for the General Fund for 2014/15 and the underlying assumptions contained in Appendix 2.

(v)  Note the pressures which have been included in the forecast and which are set out in Appendix 3.

(vi)  Note the Executive’s initial savings proposals put forward for consultation in Appendix 4 which total more than £13.5M.

(vii)  Note that the Executive’s initial savings set out in Appendix 4 propose the deletion of 50.25 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) posts, of which 22.10 FTE are vacant, leaving 28.15 FTE at risk of redundancy.

(viii)  Note that the Executive’s budget proposals for consultation are based on the assumption that they will recommend a Council Tax increase of 2.0% to Full Council.

(ix)  Note the medium term financial forecast for 2014/15 to 2016/17 contained in Appendix 5.

(x)  Approve the updated budget setting timetable contained in Appendix 6.

(xi)  Note the Executive’s proposals to implement a revised Pay & Allowances Framework

(xii)  Note the commencement of formal consultation with the recognised Trade Unions and employees in relation to the proposals to implement a new Pay & Allowances Framework which began on 11 November 2013.

(xiii)  Note the intention to commence a number of service reviews across the Council, to aid the formulation of proposals for future service provision to support the Council’s medium term budget position

(xiv)  Delegate authority to the Chief Financial Officer (CFO), following consultation with the Cabinet Member for Resources, to do anything necessary to give effect to the proposals contained in this report.

1. The production of a financial forecast and an outline timetable are a requirement of the Council’s Budget and Policy Framework Procedure Rules.
2. In addition, it is good practice for the Council to consult with a range of stakeholders on its proposals for developing the budget.  The recommendations in this report have therefore been put forward to allow this process to formally begin.

The proposals presented in this report represent the Executive’s draft budget for 2014/15 that is being published for consultation.  Clearly there are a huge number of variables and alternative options that could be implemented as part of the budget.  The budget will be set by Full Council in February 2014.

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