Agenda item

(a)       That the verbal update on the updated budget forecast for 2019/20 be noted; and

(b)       That Members of Parliament and local and regional Assembly Members be invited to a meeting with all County Councillors, as soon as possible and preferably before 19^th December 2018.

The Chief Executive introduced the verbal report on the Council Fund Budget 2019/20 – Updated Forecast and Process for Stage 3 of Budget Setting. 

A presentation was delivered by the Chief Executive and the Corporate Finance Manager which focussed on the following areas:

·         #BacktheAsk – Campaigning Position;

·         #BacktheAsk – Council Tax;

·         #BacktheAsk – Public Debate;

·         Update on Recent National Funding Announcements;

·         Provisional Settlement Announcements;

·         First Minister Announcements;

·         Updated Budget Forecast for 2019/20;

·         Council Tax – Current Estimates;

·         School Budgets – Teachers Pay;

·         Additional Information ;

·         #BacktheAsk – Refresh;

·         Letter to Cabinet Secretary; and

·         Next Steps and Timelines.

The Chief Executive commented on the circular letter of the outgoing First Minister to all local authorities in Wales received later on the afternoon of the County Council meeting on 20^th November.  Following a number of specific Flintshire ‘asks’ that had been covered in that letter and granted, an updated letter from himself and the Leader of the Council to the Cabinet Secretaries for Finance and for Local Government and Public Services (on 28^th November) as the Council’s formal response to the consultation on the Provisional Settlement.  The letter represented the debate at Council on 20^th November.  Copies of both letters had been provided to all Members. 

The letter to the Cabinet Secretaries said that the Council believed that Welsh Government (WG) had enough financial flexibility to further improve the Settlement and called for an improved Final Settlement which was to be announced on 19^th December.  The letter also explained that if no further improvements were made to the Settlement, Flintshire may have to adopt a Council Tax rise of 9% upwards to balance the budget for 2019/20.  A formal request was made to improve the Settlement whereby Flintshire would benefit from a further minimum £2m of revenue funding.

On the Provisional Settlement announcements and additional grants, the Corporate Finance Manager explained the benefit of each to the Council.  He also provided details on how the First Minister’s announcements would benefit Flintshire in 2018/19, and 2019/20.

The Chief Executive reiterated that without any further announcements the remaining budget gap of £3.148m, following the updated forecast for 2019/20, would still require an overall Council Tax rise of in the region of 9.3%.  The final increase in the North Wales Fire and Rescue Authority Levy was still to be confirmed and would have to be added to this Council requirement.  Based on a provisional Levy increase of £0.420m, this would require a further increase of around 0.5% on Council Tax.

He explained the situation on teachers’ pay and said the recent announcement allowed the Council to meet the minimum position of providing an uplift to meet the pay award.  Additional funding through a specific grant was expected for 2018/19 which would be passported to schools to contribute to the additional costs incurred in-year.

A further report would be made to Corporate Resources Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 13^th December and to Cabinet on 18^th December.  The Chief Executive asked Members to continue to support #BacktheAsk campaign prior to the Final Settlement being received on 19^th December.  Once the Final Settlement had been received, the information would be reviewed with the aim of approving a balanced budget at County Council on 29^th January 2019.  The recommendation of the report was moved by the Leader of the Council, Councillor Aaron Shotton, and seconded by the Deputy Leader of the Council, Councillor Bernie Attridge.

Councillor Shotton said the situation was fast moving and that much had taken place since the last County Council meeting on 20^th November.  He paid credit and thanks to Councillor Debbie Wilcox, Leader of the Welsh Local Government Association (WLGA), for the work undertaken with Council Leaders.  He commented on the Council letter sent to the Cabinet Secretaries, noting the two areas which remained a concern for the Council - the potential for an approximate 9% rise in Council Tax and the threats to education funding.  Flintshire was committed to retaining existing funding for education but that funding was not enough.  He also expressed his thanks to the outgoing First Minister for being receptive to the plight of Flintshire and Local Government and he hoped there would be an opportunity for the incoming First Minister to look further at the need for additional funding.  The campaigning that had taken place, for the benefit of Flintshire residents.  He expressed his thanks for this work.

Following a question from Councillor Richard Jones, the Chief Executive explained that the slides on the First Minister’s announcements covered the impact on the two financial years of 2018/19 and 2019/20.

Councillor Peers commented on the letter to the Cabinet Secretaries where it was made clear that the funding for local authorities was grossly inadequate and that there appeared to be an acceptance that Council Tax rises would have to bridge the funding gap.  He asked what support was being received from the local Assembly Members and what Council Tax rises other authorities were considering.  The Chief Executive explained that the point on Council Tax had been made in all of the communications with WG knowingly shifting the responsibility for funding local services to the local Council Tax payer.  It was not known precisely what other authorities were looking towards on their Council Tax rise as the situation was fast changing.  He encouraged all Members to make contact with any of the decision makers at WG, including local and regional Assembly Members.

Councillor Patrick Heesom said he could not support any Council Tax rise over 4% and questioned the budget process and the strategy adopted.  The Chief Executive responded that the budget had been considered at each of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee along with the risk assessments.  These assessments demonstrated that there was no further scope within services to find any more savings of scale.  Each Overview and Scrutiny Committee had accepted that and the decision was a collective one, based on professional advice.   If any Member had ideas of where additional savings could be made they could ask the team to look into it without delay.

Councillor Hilary McGuill proposed an amendment that the two local Assembly Members should be invited to a meeting with all Members, prior to the 19^th December, so that they could hear, face to face, the situation and the experiences of Members.  Councillor Heesom seconded the amendment.  Councillor Kevin Hughes proposed a further amendment for the invitation should be extended to regional Assembly Members too; this was accepted by the mover and seconder of the original amendment.  Councillors Shotton and Attridge, as mover and seconder of the original recommendation, accepted the amendment from Councillor McGuill. 

Councillor Attridge then moved a further amendment that the local Members of Parliament also be invited to the meeting, which was seconded by Councillor Chris Bithell and accepted by the mover and seconder of the amendment, and became the substantive motion.  The Chief Executive indicated that it may not be possible to arrange a meeting in such a timescale and suggested early to mid-January may be more feasible.

Councillor Tony Sharps said he fully supported education and would never support a cut in the funding for that service.  He also commented on the cost of the office move to Ty Dewi Sant in Ewloe, and the income that was being lost on car park charges.  Councillor Carolyn Thomas responded to the point made on car park charges and said that if full cost recovery was sought the charges would increase significantly.  On the move to Ty Dewi Sant, the Chief Executive explained that a briefing note would be prepared for all Members showing the savings being made from the move.   On education, the Chief Executive confirmed that schools budgets would not be reduced as a policy position based on risk.

Councillor Glyn Banks asked if consideration could be given to asking WG if the Council could be released from the current loan agreements for buying out the arrangements whereby a portion of Flintshire rent were paid to WG and whether cheaper alternative rates could then be sought.  The Chief Executive suggested that a report could be submitted to Community and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee in the New Year.  The Chief Officer (Governance) said that WG had lifted the cap on borrowing so this was a timely request.

Councillor Carol Ellis said she was proud of the Social and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee as it had directly challenged the Minister over the last 12 months on inadequacies in the funding.

Councillor Shotton, in his summing up, said it was important to have cross party consensus on the budget and said he strongly disagreed with Councillor Heesom’s comments about the strategy not being right.  Nine years of austerity had resulted in the Council being in a position that there was nothing else that could be done to identify any other savings.  One of the main aims was to protect the key services of education and social services and no other strategy would have resulted in the Council being in a better position.  Significant savings had been made with many staff moving to Ty Dewi Sant and supporting the point made by Councillor Thomas, he said if full cost recovery was the aim for car parking income then charges would have to rise further.  He asked Members to continue to support #BacktheAsk as neither did he wish to see such a rise in Council Tax.

On being put to the vote, the substantive motion was carried.

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the verbal update on the updated budget forecast for 2019/20 be noted; and

(b)       That Members of Parliament and local and regional Assembly Members be invited to a meeting with all County Councillors, as soon as possible and preferably before 19^th December 2018.