Agenda item

Officer: Jacqueline Harris Baker

Key decision: no

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions.

RESOLVED: To approve

1.    The approach to ensuring the financial challenge of the period 2019/22 continues to be managed efficiently and effectively including delegation of decisions on measures to deliver the 2019/20 budget to the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources in consultation with the relevant Cabinet member as set out in paragraph 4.12 of the report;

2.    The revised capital programme as detailed in section 5 and appendices 1 and 2 of the report; and

3.    The continued use of capital receipts for funding transformations as detailed in section 6 of the report.

RESOLVED: To note

4.    The final outturn of the 2018/19 budget as detailed in section 3 of the report; and

5.    The update on the Revolving Investment Fund as detailed in section 3.21 of the report.

The Leader stated that at the Local Government Association (LGA) conference the previous week that there had been cross-party anxiety as there had been no announcement in relation to the Local Government settlement. This continued to make it very difficult for councils to set budgets going forward. Despite this challenging background, the Leader noted that Croydon had a strong reputation for prudent budgeting and delivering improvements.

The unique position of supporting Unaccompanied Asylum Seeker Children (UASC) without Home Office support was highlighted by the Cabinet Member for Finance & Resources as particular pressure on the budget; in addition to a fast growing borough, cuts to public health and insufficient funding for SEND. Due to the pressures facing local government, the LGA had predicted that by 2025 there would be an £8billion shortfall in finances.

Despite these pressures, the Cabinet Member stated the council had a very good control of the finances of the council, and as such had not gone into emergency measures or been required to deliver statutory services only. It was, the Cabinet Member stated, a tribute to the s151 Officer and her team, and all Cabinet Members working together to ensure savings and investments were delivered with an overspend in 2018/19 of only 0.01%. Additionally, it was noted, that investment by the council continued with over £350 million invested in capital programmes which was ensuring investment in the future of the borough remained strong.

The £5.2 million spent of UASC was noted by the Cabinet Member, and whilst funding for UASC had been announced by the Immigration Minister; Croydon would continue to receive no funding to support these vulnerable young people. However, due to an over performance in collections it was possible to cover the costs without impacting upon the council’s reserves.

Ongoing pressures on the budget were highlighted in the report; however robust management of those areas continued and remained in the council’s control to ensure the books remained balanced. The Cabinet Member echoed the Leader’s concerns of the lack certainty as to the local government settlement which continued to cause issues in drawing up the Medium Term Financial Strategy. However, Members were assured that the council was planning and taking measures in 2019/20 to ensure continued delivery for future years.

In response to Member questions, the Cabinet Member confirmed that he would write to the Member with further detail on how the Brick by Brick interest levels had changed and when the last Housing Needs Assessment had been undertaken. In relation to the contingency fund, the Cabinet Member informed Members that for 10 – 15 years the fund had been £1million only and two years ago it had been doubled to £2million. As such it was felt that £2million was sufficient and allowed frontline services to be fully supported.

The Cabinet Member confirmed, in response to queries, that any over collection would be used to cover overspend for the financial year as had been done the previous year. To ensure Member oversight of the budget, quarterly finance monitoring reports would continue to be taken to Cabinet to ensure there was an understanding of the position of the council.

The Leader of the Council delegated authority to the Cabinet to make the following decisions:

RESOLVED: To approve

1.     The approach to ensuring the financial challenge of the period 2019/22 continues to be managed efficiently and effectively including delegation of decisions on measures to deliver the 2019/20 budget to the Cabinet Member for Finance and Resources in consultation with the relevant Cabinet member as set out in paragraph 4.12 of the report;

2.     The revised capital programme as detailed in section 5 and appendices 1 and 2 of the report; and

3.     The continued use of capital receipts for funding transformations as detailed in section 6 of the report.

RESOLVED: To note

4.     The final outturn of the 2018/19 budget as detailed in section 3 of the report; and

5.     The update on the Revolving Investment Fund as detailed in section 3.21 of the report.