Decision details

To approve the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan for 2017 - 2022 for publication, including the Directorate and Service Revenue and Capital Budgets that will support the delivery of the Council’s Corporate Strategy.  The Medium Term Financial Plan integrates the Service Strategies and Finances into one document.

An addendum to Item 10 as well as an updated table outlining the County Council’s projected earmarked reserves and balances were tabled at the meeting, these are attached as an appendices 5 and 6 respectively.

RESOLVED:

That the Cabinet agreed;

1.               the release of provisions of £2m and to use reserves of £10m to balance the 2017/18 budget;

1.               the amended savings recommended by the Sustainability Review Board, as shown in Table 1 above;

2.               the capital programme of £387m from 2017 to 2020, which is a reduction of £21m from that approved 7 February 2017;

3.               the capital programme includes £150,000 for the Community Buildings Grant Scheme;

4.               to only borrow for capital schemes where there is a compelling business case and for officers to review future years’ budgets within the capital programme to reduce spending;

5.               the 2017/18 service strategies (Annex 1);

6.               the detailed service revenue and capital budgets for the year 2017/18 and indicative budgets for the years 2018-20 including amendments resulting from the Final Local Government Financial Settlement and other Government funding changes announced since 7 February 2017, including the March Budget (Annex 1);

7.               the proactive and systematic engagement of the County Council in responding to proposed changes in local government funding to ensure these changes do not further disadvantage Surrey, and seeking the appropriate recognition of the costs of delivering services in Surrey;

8.               the following in relation to the funding of Early Years providers:

·         The Local Authority to retain £4.4m of the Early Years grant to manage the sector and allow for a devolved provision for more targeted support.

·         Fund Early Years providers at rates which are commensurate with the levels of funding in the Early Years DSG:

-       £4.51 per hour for three and four year olds

-       £5.88 per hour for two year olds

Change in the distribution of deprivation funding which has been simplified to be based on the Early Years pupil premium funding (paragraph 22);

9.               the publication of the service revenue and capital budgets as the Medium Term Financial Plan 2017-20.

It is further recommended that Cabinet notes:

1.    the additional funding for adult social care announced in the Chancellor of the Exchequer’s Budget 2017;

2.               the options for areas for additional savings and service reductions identified by Sustainability Review Board (SRB) in a separate report (Annex 2);

3.               the Director of Finance’s letter to the Department for Communities and Local Government confirming that the Adult Social Care Precept will be spent entirely on adult social care functions (paragraph 8 and Annex 3);

4.               the fees & charges approved under delegated powers (Annex 4);

5.               the cabinet establish a member led task group to review all service fees and charges and to report to the cabinet in autumn; and

6.               the Equality Impact Assessments of the savings proposals within directorate and service budgets (Annex 5).

Reasons for Decision

The Council has a legal duty to prepare a balanced and sustainable budget and to deliver statutory services to residents.

The Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2017-20 is a three year budget. It reflects assumptions about the current local and national financial, economic and political environment. Setting a three year budget is a key element of the Council’s multi-year approach to financial management and its aim of achieving a sustainable financial position. Regular reporting through the year will enable effective tracking and management of progress with the strategy and the budget.

[The decision may be called in by the Council Overview Board]