Issue - meetings

This report sets out the Council’s budget proposals for 2022/23.  It also sets out the results of the consultation, scrutiny and equalities processes.  Subject to approval by Cabinet, these will form the basis of the budget to be agreed at the Full Council meeting of 24 February 2022.

The report also sets out the overall financial position facing the Council for the medium term and highlights the significant risks, issues and uncertainties.

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,  ...  view the full decision text for item 7

Prior to consideration of the main report Councillor Muhammed Butt (Leader of the Council) invited Councillor Ketan Sheth to introduce the key themes within the Budget Scrutiny Task Group report, which had been included as an appendix to the Budget and Council Tax 2022/23 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 by the Council, 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 Government grant funding had ceased; 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.

In summing up, Councillor Ketan Sheth thanked the members and officers who had been engaged in the review process. In response, Councillor McLennan expressed her own gratitude for the hard work of members and officers in producing the report and highlighted its importance to the overall budget setting process, especially given the detailed analysis undertaken in respect of the wider budget and funding implications on services.

Councillor McLennan, as Deputy Leader and Lead Member for Resources then introduced the report which set out the Council’s budget proposals for 2022/23. The report also set out the results of the budget consultation, scrutiny and equality processes and the overall financial position facing the Council for the medium-term.

Councillor McLennan began by taking the opportunity to thank all officers and members who had been involved in the budget setting process and reminded Cabinet that the proposals represented the final year in a two year budget phase based on a savings programme (agreed in February 2021) profiled over 2021/22 and 2022/23.  In focussing on the detail proposals, Councillor McLennan highlighted that aside from the usual updating and adjustments to various technical assumptions the key features within the budget for 2022/23 included:

·                a proposed Council Tax rise of 2.99% for the Brent element, which included a 1% ring fenced for Adult Social Care.  The proposed increase had been designed to reflect rising inflationary pressures on the Council, alongside the wider financial, funding and economic position and outcome of the budget consultation  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7