Agenda item

The Council considered a detailed report on the draft General Fund Revenue budget for 2020-21, which included a Council Tax requirement of £10,192,858 (excluding parish precepts) and a Council Tax increase of £5 per year (3%), resulting in a Band D charge of £176.82. 

 

The provisional Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) for 2020-21 had been received on 20 December 2019.  The figures included in the outline budget presented to the Executive on 26 November 2019 reflected the information contained in the settlement. 

 

The Settlement Funding Assessment comprising the local share of business rates, and revenue support grant, was set out in the provisional LGFS.  The settlement had been in line with expectations which enabled the Council to retain £2.929 million of business rates in 2020-21, an increase of 1.69% on 2019-20. 

 

In determining that the Council’s Core Spending Power had increased by £400,000, the Government had assumed that the Council would raise the Council Tax by the maximum amount (£5 or 3% whichever was the higher).   

 

The provisional award of New Homes Bonus (NHB) for 2020-21 totalling £851,019, was lower than the £1,066,849 included in the outline budget reported to the Executive in November.  Although 482 new homes had been added to the Council Tax base in 2019-20, which represented a 0.71% increase in tax base, the deadweight for qualifying NHB had been set at 0.4%, which was the minimum expectation Government had for the development of new housing.

 

The Joint EAB Budget Task Group and Joint Executive Advisory Board had considered the outline budget at their meetings on 8 and 20 November 2019 respectively. 

 

The Chief Finance Officer (CFO) presented her statutory report to the Council, a copy of which was appended to the main report. The CFO’s report provided information about the strategic context within which the budget had been prepared, the medium term financial plan, the robustness of the estimates, adequacy of reserves and budget risks. 

 

The financial monitoring report for the first eight months of 2019-20 had been reported to the Corporate Governance and Standards Committee on 15 January 2020.  The projected net expenditure on the General Fund for the current financial year had been estimated to be £96,766 less than the original estimate.  

 

The CFO, in consultation with the Lead Councillor for Finance and Assets, Customer Service and the Leader of the Council would determine the appropriation of the final balance in June 2020.  Any ongoing variances between actual expenditure and budget identified in 2019-20 had been taken into account when preparing the budget for 2020-21.

 

Appendix 3 to the report provided a list of fees and charges for approval as part of the budget.  The Executive had agreed the target increase given to service managers on 26 November 2019, subject to market constraints.

 

At its meeting held on 21 January 2020, the Executive had considered this report and had endorsed the recommendations therein and approved the transfer to reserves of the sums included in the proposed budget at Appendix 2 to the report and had approved the growth bids referred to in the report.

 

The Council’s attention was drawn to the corrections to the report which were set out in the Order Paper

 

Under The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 and Council Procedure Rule 19 (d), the Council was reminded that a recorded vote would be conducted on the proposed budget and Council tax resolution as set out in the report and the Order Paper circulated at the meeting which contained details of the respective precepts set by Surrey County Council and the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey.

 

The Lead Councillor for Finance and Assets, Customer Service, Councillor Joss Bigmore proposed and the Leader of the Council, Councillor Caroline Reeves, seconded the motion to approve the budget and council tax for 2020-21. 

 

Following the debate, the Council

 

RESOLVED:

 

(1)    That the budget be approved, and specifically that the Council Tax requirement for 2020-21 be set at £10,192,858 excluding parish precepts and £11,933,858 to include parish precepts.

 

(2)     That the Band D Council Tax for 2020-21 (excluding parish precepts) be set at £176.82, an increase of £5.00 (3.00%).

 

(3)     That the Band D Council Tax for 2020-21 (including parish precepts) be set at £207.02.

 

(4)     That the Council approves the following, as considered by the Executive on 21 January 2020:

 

(i)      the General Fund revenue estimates for 2020-21 including proposed fees and charges relating to General Fund services, as set out in Appendix 3 to the report submitted to the Council;

        

(ii)     the Housing Revenue Account estimates for 2020-21, including housing rents and other fees and charges;

 

(iii)    the Capital and Investment Strategy for 2020-21; and

 

(iv)    the Housing Revenue Account capital programme for 2020-21. 

 

(5)    That the Council notes that the Chief Finance Officer, in accordance with the terms of her delegated authority, has calculated the following amounts for the year 2020-21 in accordance with regulations made under Sections 31B (3) and 34(4) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended) (‘the Act’):

 

(i)  57,645.39  being the amount calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 3 of the Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) Regulations 1992, as its council tax base for 2020-21 for the whole Council area.

 

(ii)  For those parts of the borough to which a parish precept relates:

 

Parish of	£
Albury	614.54
Artington	140.17
Ash	6,723.59
East Clandon	145.68
West Clandon	697.97
Compton	485.11
Effingham	1,409.54
East Horsley	2,519.93
West Horsley	1,528.13
Normandy	1,353.88
Ockham	261.42
Pirbright	1,240.97
Puttenham	308.70
Ripley	916.15
St.Martha	404.74
Seale & Sands	514.76
Send	2,053.33
Shackleford	373.12
Shalford	1,865.10
Shere	1,993.25
Tongham	885.12
Wanborough	166.96
Wisley (Meeting)	0.00
Worplesdon	3,484.73

           

            being the amounts calculated by the Council, in accordance with Regulation 6 of the 1992 Regulations, as the amounts of its council tax base for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

 

(6)     That the Council calculates the following amounts for the financial year 2020-21 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

 

(i)     £170,957,474      being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act taking into account all precepts issued to it by parish councils.

 

(ii)     £159,023,615     being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act

 

(iii)    £11,933,858       being the amount by which the aggregate at sub-paragraph (i) above exceeds the aggregate at sub-paragraph (ii) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act, as its council tax requirements for the year.

 

(iv)    £207.02              being the amount at sub-paragraph (iii) above divided by the amount at sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (5) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B (1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including parish precepts).

 

(v)     £1,876,544        being the aggregate amount of all special items (parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act as follows:

 

Parish of	£
Albury	45,070
Artington	4,052
Ash	487,080
East Clandon	8,234
West Clandon	23,472
Compton	27,176
Effingham	121,770
East Horsley	140,712
West Horsley	83,172
Normandy	139,999
Ockham	14,870
Pirbright	61,852
Puttenham	13,755
Ripley	67,099
St.Martha	15,030
Seale & Sands	19,000
Send	82,089
Shackleford	15,298
Shalford	96,063
Shere	129,852
Tongham	33,930
Wanborough	4,242
Wisley (Meeting)	0
Worplesdon	242,727
Total	1,876,544

 

(vi)    £176.82              being the amount at sub-paragraph (iv) above less the result given by dividing the amount at sub-paragraph (v) above by the amount at sub-paragraph (i) of paragraph (5) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no special item (parish precept) relates.

 

 

  

(vii)   Part of the Council’s area  

                                                            

Parish of	£   p
Albury	250.16
Artington	205.73
Ash	249.26
East Clandon	233.34
West Clandon	210.45
Compton	232.84
Effingham	263.21
East Horsley	232.66
West Horsley	231.25
Normandy	280.23
Ockham	233.70
Pirbright	226.66
Puttenham	221.38
Ripley	250.06
St.Martha	213.95
Seale & Sands	213.73
Send	216.80
Shackleford	217.82
Shalford	228.33
Shere	241.97
Tongham	215.15
Wanborough	202.23
Wisley (Meeting)	176.82
Worplesdon	246.47

                                   

being the amounts given by adding to the amount at sub-paragraph (vi) above the amounts of the special item or items relating to dwellings in those parts of the Council’s area mentioned above divided in each case by the amount at sub-paragraph (ii) of paragraph (5) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 34(3) of the Act, as the basic amounts of its council tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which one or more special items relate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(viii)  Part of the Council’s area

 

VALUATION BANDS
	Band A	Band B	Band C	Band D	Band E	Band F	Band G	Band H
PARISH	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p
Albury	166.77	194.57	222.36	250.16	305.75	361.34	416.93	500.32
Artington	137.15	160.01	182.87	205.73	251.45	297.17	342.88	411.46
Ash	166.17	193.87	221.56	249.26	304.65	360.04	415.43	498.52
East Clandon	155.56	181.49	207.41	233.34	285.19	337.05	388.90	466.68
West Clandon	140.30	163.68	187.07	210.45	257.22	303.98	350.75	420.90
Compton	155.23	181.10	206.97	232.84	284.58	336.32	388.07	465.68
Effingham	175.47	204.72	233.96	263.21	321.70	380.19	438.68	526.42
East Horsley	155.11	180.96	206.81	232.66	284.36	336.06	387.77	465.32
West Horsley	154.17	179.86	205.56	231.25	282.64	334.03	385.42	462.50
Normandy	186.82	217.96	249.09	280.23	342.50	404.78	467.05	560.46
Ockham	155.80	181.77	207.73	233.70	285.63	337.57	389.50	467.40
Pirbright	151.11	176.29	201.48	226.66	277.03	327.40	377.77	453.32
Puttenham	147.59	172.18	196.78	221.38	270.58	319.77	368.97	442.76
Ripley	166.71	194.49	222.28	250.06	305.63	361.20	416.77	500.12
St.Martha	142.63	166.41	190.18	213.95	261.49	309.04	356.58	427.90
Seale & Sands	142.49	166.23	189.98	213.73	261.23	308.72	356.22	427.46
Send	144.53	168.62	192.71	216.80	264.98	313.16	361.33	433.60
Shackleford	145.21	169.42	193.62	217.82	266.22	314.63	363.03	435.64
Shalford	152.22	177.59	202.96	228.33	279.07	329.81	380.55	456.66
Shere	161.31	188.20	215.08	241.97	295.74	349.51	403.28	483.94
Tongham	143.43	167.34	191.24	215.15	262.96	310.77	358.58	430.30
Wanborough	134.82	157.29	179.76	202.23	247.17	292.11	337.05	404.46
Wisley (Meeting)	117.88	137.53	157.17	176.82	216.11	255.41	294.70	353.64
Worplesdon	164.31	191.70	219.08	246.47	301.24	356.01	410.78	492.94
TOWN AREA
Guildford	117.88	137.53	157.17	176.82	216.11	255.41	294.70	353.64

 

being the amounts given by multiplying the amounts at sub-paragraphs (vi) and (vii) 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 listed in different valuation bands.

 

(7)    That the Council notes that for the year 2020-21, (i) Surrey County Council (SCC) have stated the following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance with Section 40 of the Act, for each of the categories of dwelling in the Council’s area as shown below and that (ii) the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey (PCCS) draft figures below will be presented at the meeting of the Surrey Police and Crime Panel on 7 February 2020.

 

			VALUATION BANDS
	Band	Band	Band	Band	Band	Band	Band	Band
	A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H
	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p
(i) SCC	1,007.64	1,175.58	1,343.52	1,511.46	1,847.34	2,183.22	2,519.10	3,022.92
(ii) PCCS	180.38	210.44	240.51	270.57	330.70	390.82	450.95	541.14

 

(8)     That theCouncil authorises the Chief Finance Officer to implement any variation to the overall level of Council Tax arising from the final notification of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey precept.

 

(9)     That the Council agrees, having calculated the aggregate in each of the amounts at sub-paragraph (viii) of paragraph (6) and paragraph (7) above, to set the following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for the year 2020-21 for each of the categories of dwellings shown below in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Act.

 

Part of the Council’s Area: 

 

	VALUATION BANDS
	Band            A	Band       B	Band       C	Band       D	Band       E	Band           F	Band       G	Band       H
PARISH	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p	£   p
Albury	1,356.81	1,582.95	1,809.08	2,035.22	2,487.49	2,939.76	3,392.03	4,070.44
Artington	1,327.19	1,548.39	1,769.59	1,990.79	2,433.19	2,875.59	3,317.98	3,981.58
Ash	1,356.21	1,582.25	1,808.28	2,034.32	2,486.39	2,938.46	3,390.53	4,068.64
East Clandon	1,345.60	1,569.87	1,794.13	2,018.40	2,466.93	2,915.47	3,364.00	4,036.80
West Clandon	1,330.34	1,552.06	1,773.79	1,995.51	2,438.96	2,882.40	3,325.85	3,991.02
Compton	1,345.27	1,569.48	1,793.69	2,017.90	2,466.32	2,914.74	3,363.17	4,035.80
Effingham	1,365.51	1,593.10	1,820.68	2,048.27	2,503.44	2,958.61	3,413.78	4,096.54
East Horsley	1,345.15	1,569.34	1,793.53	2,017.72	2,466.10	2,914.48	3,362.87	4,035.44
West Horsley	1,344.21	1,568.24	1,792.28	2,016.31	2,464.38	2,912.45	3,360.52	4,032.62
Normandy	1,376.86	1,606.34	1,835.81	2,065.29	2,524.24	2,983.20	3,442.15	4,130.58
Ockham	1,345.84	1,570.15	1,794.45	2,018.76	2,467.37	2,915.99	3,364.60	4,037.52
Pirbright	1,341.15	1,564.67	1,788.20	2,011.72	2,458.77	2,905.82	3,352.87	4,023.44
Puttenham	1,337.63	1,560.56	1,783.50	2,006.44	2,452.32	2,898.19	3,344.07	4,012.88
Ripley	1,356.75	1,582.87	1,809.00	2,035.12	2,487.37	2,939.62	3,391.87	4,070.24
St.Martha	1,332.67	1,554.79	1,776.90	1,999.01	2,443.23	2,887.46	3,331.68	3,998.02
Seale & Sands	1,332.53	1,554.61	1,776.70	1,998.79	2,442.97	2,887.14	3,331.32	3,997.58
Send	1,334.57	1,557.00	1,779.43	2,001.86	2,446.72	2,891.58	3,336.43	4,003.72
Shackleford	1,335.25	1,557.80	1,780.34	2,002.88	2,447.96	2,893.05	3,338.13	4,005.76
Shalford	1,342.26	1,565.97	1,789.68	2,013.39	2,460.81	2,908.23	3,355.65	4,026.78
Shere	1,351.35	1,576.58	1,801.80	2,027.03	2,477.48	2,927.93	3,378.38	4,054.06
Tongham	1,333.47	1,555.72	1,777.96	2,000.21	2,444.70	2,889.19	3,333.68	4,000.42
Wanborough	1,324.86	1,545.67	1,766.48	1,987.29	2,428.91	2,870.53	3,312.15	3,974.58
Wisley (Meeting*)	1,307.92	1,525.91	1,743.89	1,961.88	2,397.85	2,833.83	3,269.80	3,923.76
Worplesdon	1,354.35	1,580.08	1,805.80	2,031.53	2,482.98	2,934.43	3,385.88	4,063.06
TOWN AREA
Guildford	1,307.92	1,525.91	1,743.89	1,961.88	2,397.85	2,833.83	3,269.80	3,923.76

 

*Note: Wisley Parish Meeting

In accordance with the Executive’s decision at its meeting on 8 August 2002 (see Minute No. 270 – 2002-03), the Chief Finance Officer has anticipated the precept for 2019-20 for the Wisley Parish Meeting to be £nil and this is reflected in all the relevant Council Tax figures above.

 

(10)  That the Council determines that the Borough Council’s basic amount of council tax for 2020-21 is not excessive in accordance with the principles approved under section 52ZB of the Act.

 

(11)  That, as the billing authority, the Council notes that it has not been notified by a major precepting authority that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2020-21 was excessive under the regulations and that the billing authority was not required to hold a referendum in accordance with Section 52ZK of the Act.

 

(12)   That the Council agrees, in respect of council tax payments:

 

(i)      that the payment dates for the statutory ten monthly instalment scheme be set to run from 2 April to 2 January each year; and

 

(ii)    that the payment dates be set as the second day of each month for a customer who has requested to opt out of the statutory scheme under the provisions of The Council Tax (Administration and Enforcement) (Amendment) (No 2) (England) Regulations 2012.

 

(13)   That the Council agrees, in respect of non-domestic rate payments:

 

(i)      that the payment dates for the statutory ten monthly instalment scheme be set to run from 2 April to 2 January each year; and

 

(ii)   that the payment dates be set as the second day of each month for a customer who has requested to opt out of the statutory scheme under the provisions of the Non Domestic Rating (Collection and Enforcement) (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2014.

 

(14)  That the Council approves the annual statement of accounts for Wisley Parish Meeting, which is currently dormant, for the year ended 31 March 2019, as set out below:

 

 

Reason for Decision:

To enable the Council to set the Council Tax requirement and council tax for the 2020-21 financial year.

 

Result of the Recorded Vote:

The motion to adopt the Budget and Council Tax resolution above was approved, with thirty-nine councillors voting in favour, none voting against and two abstentions, as follows:

 

FOR:	AGAINST:	ABSTAIN:
Councillor Paul Abbey Councillor Tim Anderson Councillor Jon Askew Councillor Joss Bigmore Councillor David Bilbe Councillor Chris Blow Councillor Dennis Booth Councillor Ruth Brothwell Councillor Colin Cross Councillor Andrew Gomm Councillor Angela Goodwin Councillor David Goodwin Councillor Angela Gunning Councillor Gillian Harwood Councillor Liz Hogger Councillor Tom Hunt Councillor Gordon Jackson Councillor Diana Jones Councillor Steven Lee Councillor Nigel Manning Councillor Julia McShane Councillor Ann McShee Councillor Bob McShee Councillor Masuk Miah Councillor Ramsey Nagaty Councillor Susan Parker Councillor George Potter Councillor John Redpath Councillor Maddy Redpath Councillor Caroline Reeves Councillor John Rigg Councillor Tony Rooth Councillor Pauline Searle Councillor Patrick Sheard Councillor Paul Spooner Councillor James Steel Councillor James Walsh Councillor Fiona White Councillor Catherine Young		Councillor Richard Billington Councillor Marsha Moseley