Additional documents:
Decision:
Having considered an open officer report, and presentations by the Cabinet
Member for Finance & Resources, Councillor Amanda De Ryk, and the Chair
of the Public Accounts Select Committee, Councillor Mark Ingleby, the Mayor
and Cabinet agreed that:
(1) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of 27 January
2022 be received;
(2) That, having considered the views of those consulted on the budget, and
subject to consideration of the outcome of consultation with business
ratepayers and subject to proper process, as required, the Mayor and Cabinet
adopted the following recommendations:
General Fund Revenue Budget
(3) asks Council to note the projected overall variance of £2.9m (or 1.2%)
against the agreed 2021/22 revenue budget of £243.100m as set out in
section 6 and that any year-end overspend will be met from corporate
provisions and reserves;
(4) endorses and asks Council to endorse the budget cut reduction measures
of £11.835m as per the Mayor and Cabinet meeting of the 2 February 2022,
as set out in section 6 and summarised in Appendix Y1 and Y2;
(5) agrees and asks Council to agree the allocation of £6.500m in 2022/23 be
set aside for corporate risks and pressures;
(6) agrees and asks Council to agree the allocation of £21.315m of resources
from the corporate risks and pressures, social care precept, new homes
bonus, social care grant, lower tier grant, market sustainability and Fair cost of care grant, services grant and legacy s31 monies in 2022/23 to be invested in
funding quantified budget pressures and opportunities, both recurring and
once-off and that within this £1.877m is held in corporate provisions for the
Executive Director for Corporate Resources to apply as necessary to the
identified but as yet unquantified risks as set out in section 6;
(7) agrees to recommend to Council that a General Fund Budget Requirement
of £248.610m for 2022/23 be approved;
(8) asks Council to agree to a 2.99% increase in Lewisham’s Council Tax
element. This will result in a Band D equivalent Council Tax level of £1,421.22
for Lewisham’s services and £1,816.81 overall. This represents an overall
increase in Council Tax for 2022/23 of 4.2% and is subject to the GLA precept
for 2022/23 being increased by £31.93 (i.e. 8.78%) from £363.66 to £395.59,
in line with the GLA’s draft budget proposals;
(9) notes the final settlement figure for 2022/23 has not yet been announced
and delegates authority to the Executive Director for Corporate Resources to
include any change to the provisional settlement of £124,170,641 in the report
for Council with any difference covered from provisions and reserves as
necessary;
(10) notes the provisional and estimated precept and levies from the GLA and
other bodies as detailed in Appendix Y6 and delegates authority to the
Executive Director for Corporate Resources to include any changes to these
in the report for Council with any difference covered from provisions and
reserves as necessary;
(11) notes and asks Council to note the Council Tax Ready Reckoner which
for illustrative purposes sets out the Band ... view the full decision text for item 621
Minutes:
The Mayor presented his fourth budget, the last of this administration by
reflecting that the Council had suffered Government cuts every year since
2010 and in real terms the Council’s budget had been slashed from over
£400m to £248m resulting in having 1,000 fewer members of staff
When austerity was combined with COVID an even more difficult position was
presented for all councils The Mayor added that one-year budgets made it
difficult to plan for the long term and suggested three-year budgets as
operated by Government Departments would be preferable. The Mayor noted
the “Levelling Up” agenda would drive money out of London. Added to that
was the cost of living crisis evidenced by inflation, rising food prices and fuel
costs.
The Mayor stated the intention to increase Council Tax by 2.99 per cent which
was the highest possible without holding a referendum. The budget did not
propose to use reserves to balance the budget. A balanced budget was a
necessity to avoid the alternative of a Council run by Government
commissioners.
The Mayor pledged to continue to prioritise good contract management and
improve demand management such as the Newton Review of Adult Social
Care. He said the Council needed to do more of this type of work –
transforming services to deliver differently not just trying to do more with less.
The Mayor acknowledged overspends were too big and cuts need to be
implemented. Despite huge challenges the Mayor noted significant
achievements had been made and he highlighted Lewisham officially had the
best parks in London; was a top-tier council for climate action; had been made
London Borough of Culture and was officially the UK’s first Borough of
Sanctuary.
The Mayor concluded by thanking Councillor Amanda de Ryk for her
leadership and the input made by the Executive Director for Corporate
Resources and her Senior Management Team.
This is a budget which delivers on our priorities, safeguards the Council’s
finances, and ensures we are able to continue the important work of putting
Councillor Amanda De Ryk formally moved the recommendations and
confirmed the Council Tax increase and the level of cuts. She reflected that
the long term picture was not positive. She ended by thanking the Officers
who had assisted her in preparing the budget.
Having considered an open officer report, and presentations by the Cabinet
Member for Finance & Resources, Councillor Amanda De Ryk, and the Chair
of the Public Accounts Select Committee, Councillor Mark Ingleby, the Mayor
and Cabinet, for the reasons set out in the report and by a vote of 6-0:
RESOLVED that:
(1) the comments of the Public Accounts Select Committee of 27 January
2022 be received;
(2) That, having considered the views of those consulted on the budget, and
subject to consideration of the outcome of consultation with business
ratepayers and subject to proper process, as required, the Mayor and Cabinet
adopted the following recommendations:
General Fund Revenue Budget
(3) asks Council to note the projected overall variance of £2.9m ... view the full minutes text for item 621