Cabinet considered a progress report on preparations for the 2018/19 budget.

The Chairman commented that, unlike the national government, local authorities had to balance their budgets and could not borrow for revenue expenditure.

The Lead Member explained that the report was being brought three months earlier than normal to allow for full scrutiny. He complemented all involved in putting it together. The current financial year was set to end with £2m of unallocated funds unspent. The indicative budget for next year proposed to use £700,000 of this to ensure a balanced budget. £4m was budgeted for investment in frontline care and to continue to appropriately reward staff and provide for pensions. This was largely offset by continuing efficiencies and savings. The indicative budget included a £350m capital programme, starting this year but running through to 2026 to support delivery of the BLP. The council’s projections were that the programme would be fully funded from receipts from the regeneration sites in Maidenhead owned by the borough.

There was an indicative need to raise council tax by 1.95% and an Adult Social Care levy of 3%. The recent LGA peer review had highlighted the strong and professional financial management of the council. The proposed budget was set to continue this trend. The Lead Member explained that the report was for noting other than one approval of the education capital programme, to enable advanced procurement arrangements.

The Chairman highlighted that 65% of the council spend each year was on vulnerable children and older members of the community requiring adult social care. There were 145,000 residents in the borough. Over 40% of council tax was spent to support 2500 older people. He referred to the graph contained within the main report that showed the plan for investment in infrastructure and the repayment of £60m debt and a pension fund deficit of £75m.

The Lead Member highlighted that the Overview and Scrutiny Panels had been generally supportive of the proposals, but had asked a number of questions. He confirmed that parking charges had been set through a benchmarking exercise with towns such as Reading, Wokingham and Slough for Maidenhead, and Bath and York for Windsor. The exercise showed that charges in the borough were substantially lower than the benchmark in comparable locations. Residents with an Advantage Card would see no increase in parking charges. There were some car parks without Advantage Card machines however in some of these locations residents benefitted from discounts as they were members of the sports clubs that the car parks supported. The council would explore the ability to use the Advantage Card  in as many car parks in the borough as possible.

In response to comments from Corporate Services O&S Panel, the Lead Member explained that the next version of the report would include a distinction between those savings that had already begun and those that were to be actioned. It would be important for Lead Members to pay attention to any capital programme item put forward by a Ward Councillor or Parish Council that had not been included in the programme for the next financial year. Lead Members should have a discussion with the relevant party because in some cases it was anticipated that the scheme would be included in the next financial year or be funded in a different way. Following O&S comments, the Lead Member had agreed to review charges at the coach park and Stafferton Way, sex shops, racecourses and items associated with the Gambling Act,. The Executive Director would look at all these issues and ensure responses were provided to the relevant Panel. Councillor Jones had requested further detail in relation to the Adult Social Care levy. A detailed schedule would be appended to the next Financial Update report to Cabinet. 

In response to a question whether any of the changes would affect services to residents, the Lead Member explained that there were effectively two budgets. The revenue budget funded through council tax fuelled the day to day services and had to balance. Therefore the council had to continue getting more for less and only raise additional council tax to meet the needs of residents. The expectation was that demand for adult social care would continue to rise. In the current year there had been a notable increase in the number of young children requiring care.  In relation to the capital budget, the council had to be innovative and smart. Where there were opportunities to generate significant capital receipts, the capital would be redeployed in providing infrastructure requirements. This would ensure the next generation had the services it needed and were not left with a large debt.

Councillor D. Evans commended the transparency of the capital  programme. The council would be borrowing to make investment  therefore the council needed to stick to its plan and be clear with residents that the plan was baked and the council had the determination to follow through on its commitments. He highlighted that parking charges at Stafferton Way were being raised from £5 to £6, whereas a comparable station car park at Reading charged £20.

RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Cabinet:

i)     Notes the report and progress made towards building the 2018/19 budget.

ii)    Approves the 2018/19 schools capital programme detailed in paragraph 4.6 and appendix D.