There were none received.

To receive any declarations of interest

There were none noted.

To consider the minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2023.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY that the minutes of the meeting held on 26 January 2023 were approved.

To consider any appointments as required.

There were none to be considered.

To consider the Forward Plan for the period February to May 2023.

Cabinet noted the Forward Plan for the next four months and there were no amendments to be noted.

Asset Management & Commercialisation, Finance

To consider and recommend to Council the financial plans for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and its Net Budget Requirement and associated Council Tax level for 2023/24.

Appended to the report are the various elements that form the basis of the budget, including:

·       Appendix 1 – the Revenue Budget, including its funding, growth and savings affecting service budgets, proposed Council Tax and the Council’s reserves and balances position. This appendix also includes the overall Equality Impact Assessment for the Budget.

·       Appendix 2 – the proposed Fees and Charges for 2023/24.

·       Appendix 3 – the Capital Budget, including the Capital Strategy and the proposed Capital Programme.

·       Appendix 4 – Treasury Management, including the Treasury Management Strategy which contains the counterparty lending criteria, the Minimum Revenue Provision and Prudential Code indicators.

·       Appendix 5 – the proposed Pay Policy Statement as required by statute.

·       Appendix 6 – the Proposed Pay Award for the year 2023/24.

·       Appendix 7 – Public Consultation and feedback from Overview and Scrutiny Panels. Please note this includes Part II minutes from the Place Overview and Scrutiny meeting which are not for publication by virtue of Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972.

·       Appendix 8 – Equality Impact Assessments

Cabinet considered the report regarding the proposed 2023/24 budget.

Councillor Hilton, Cabinet Member for Asset Management & Commercialisation, Finance, & Ascot presented the proposed budget to Cabinet. There were eight appendices that set out the financial plans for the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, its net budget requirement and associated Council Tax level for 2023/24.

Cabinet had considered the draft Revenue Budget and draft Capital programme on the 1 December 2022 and agreed to a public consultation to run until the end of January 2023. The results of that consultation were included within the report. Councillor Hilton focused on new elements within the report and significant changes to the revenue budget, driven by the final grant settlement that was issued after the draft budget was published:

·       He acknowledged that there had been a significant focus on parking charges when Fees and charges were reviewed by Corporate Overview & Scrutiny.

·       The Capital budget and Capital strategy were unchanged. He noted the budget, increasingly funded by S106 and CIL, included a full Highways capital programme with £5.2M for Highways including roads resurfacing, patching and pothole repairs, footway repairs, drainage schemes and highway safety.

·       There were investments in the borough’s schools including £3.4M to increase provision for Special Education Needs.

·       The Council was investing in new systems that would improve the management and quality of services. £500K would be invested in a replacement customer relationship management system, £1.1M in a children's social care system and £1M in a new Adult Social Care system which would enable the Council to implement Care Reforms from October.

·       The total capital programme was nearly £40m and included slippages from 2022/23, schemes approved by Council in previous years, fully funded schemes and corporately funded essential schemes.

·       The Treasury Management Strategy (appendix 4 of the agenda report) had been reviewed and endorsed by the Audit and Governance Committee in October 2022. He highlighted that the capital cash flow report showed that from 2025/26 there was a continuous decline in borrowing.

·       The policy set out in appendix 5 of the agenda report covered all aspects of pay from the salary bands of chief officers, the number of employees by salary bands, the ratio of the lowest salary to the highest, expenses and benefits. Councillor Hilton noted that the Council must publish a pay policy statement by 31 March 2023, which had been approved by Council.

·       He advised the meeting that the council operates a Local Pay Agreement and determines any pay award annually as part of its budget setting process which was set out in appendix 6. The paper responded to the local pay claim from UNISON and GMB Unions for 2023/24. The proposal for staff, who serve the borough’s residents well, was a two-year settlement with a pay award of 4% in 2023 and 3% in 2024. He confirmed that a 4% increase would ensure that the lowest paid staff would be paid above the national living wage.

·       Councillor Hilton thanked all residents and businesses who responded to the consultation and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 6.