Decision details

To set out and agree the Council’s budget proposals for 2022/23 for recommendation to Council.

NOTED the comments made by Councillor Ketan Sheth in summarising the key themes from the Budget Scrutiny Task Group report.  In introducing the report, Councillor Ketan Sheth highlighted that the Task Group in undertaking their review had recognised the challenging financial environment in which the Council was operating given the long term reduction in Government funding, level of savings already achieved, social and economic impact of the pandemic and increasing complexity of demand for Council services along with similar pressures on other statutory and voluntary and community sector support. 

In considering the second year of a two year budget phase, Councillor Ketan Sheth advised that the Task Group had undertaken extension consultation and engagement in order to seek evidence from a wide range of stakeholders with a number of areas scrutinised in depth.  These had includes the pressure within the Dedicated Schools Grant; the Covid Recovery programme; the impact of the pandemic on Adult Social Care, particularly in relation to mental health; the impact on health inequalities work once the Government grant had ended; the impact of the pandemic on business rates, Council Tax and HRA rent collection.  As a result the Task Group had made a number of recommendations, as detailed within section 2 of their report, which were commended to Cabinet for consideration and approval as part of the final budget decision making process.

Having noted the comments provided, and welcomed and supported the approach taken and recommendations made by the Budget Scrutiny Task Group, CabinetRESOLVED:

(1)        To recommend to full Council an overall 2.99% increase in the Council’s element of Council Tax for 2022/23, with 1% as a precept for Adult Social Care and a 1.99% general increase.

(2)        To recommend to full Council the General Fund revenue budget for 2022/23, as summarised in Appendices A & B of the report.

(3)        To recommend to full Council the savings proposals for 2022/23 as detailed in Appendix C of the report.

(4)        To note the report from the Budget Scrutiny Panel, as set out in Appendix D of the report.

(5)        To recommend to full Council the HRA budget for 2022/23, as set out in section 7 of the report.

(6)        To agree the HRA rents for council dwellings, tenant service charges and garages, as set out in section 7 of the report.

(7)        To agree the rents set under the Housing General Fund for Brent Housing PFI and traveller’s site pitches and to note the rents for Hillside dwellings as set out in section 7 of the report.

(8)        To note the Dedicated Schools Grant as set out in section 8 of the report.

(9)        To agree to recommend to full Council the changes to the existing Capital Programme in relation to additions of new schemes and reprofiling, as set out in section 10 and Appendix E of the report and to note the Capital Pipeline Schemes in Appendix F of the report

(10)    To agree to recommend to full Council the Capital Strategy, the Investment Strategy, the Treasury Management Strategy and the Minimum Revenue Provision Statement as set out in Appendices G, H, I and J of the report.

(11)    To agree to recommend to full Council the Reserves Strategy and schedule of reserves, as set out in Appendix K of the report.

(12)  To agree the action plan to implement CIPFA’s Financial Management Code, as set out in Appendix L of the report.

(13)  To agree, and where relevant agree to recommend to full Council, the schedule of fees and charges for 2022/23 as set out at in Appendix M of the report.

(14)  To note the results of the budget consultation as set out in section 6 and detailed in Appendix N of the report.

(15)  To note the advice of the Director of Legal, HR, Audit and Investigations as set out in Appendix O of the report.

To note and approve the specific recommendations identified for consideration by Full Council as detailed in section 2.16 – 2.35 of the report.