Agenda item

The Executive Board considered the above report which provided an overview of the Revenue Budget for 2018/19 and the following two years. The report detailed the budget process timetable, summarised the Welsh Government’s provisional settlement, the final settlement timetable and identified the validation and budget pressures that needed to be considered by members in setting next year’s revenue budget. The report also formed the basis of the budget consultation process that would be undertaken with the Council’s scrutiny committees and the community during the period November, 2017 – January, 2018 prior to a report being submitted to the Executive Board and thence to Council.

The report outlined the key elements of the draft budget strategy and highlighted that Carmarthenshire’s provisional cash settlement, whilst better than originally anticipated, represented a 0.5% reduction in grant funding, which was significantly enhanced when the Authority took into account inflationary factors, demographics and demand changes.  However, the better than anticipated provisional settlement had enabled the Authority to revisit its efficiency targets, set in the original budget outlook report presented to the Executive Board in July 2017, and confirm the Strategy proposed no reduction in the schools’ delegated budget.

It was noted that the provisional settlement included the ‘transfer in’ of a number of major grants including the Single Environment Grant, at £35m across Wales, Independent Living Grant of £26.9m and Social Care Workforce Grant of £19m to support the Local Government Principle of providing more control to authorities to manage their services and assist in reducing the level of work in administering specific grants locally. It was further noted that only one new responsibility had been included in the settlement with an additional £6m to support the delivery of local services to meet Homelessness Prevention Duties.

The Budget Strategy contained £7.7m for essential validation together with an additional £3m for new expenditure, as identified by departments in Appendix B to the report. Departments had again identified efficiency savings, as detailed in Appendix A to the report, of £8.3m in year 1 and a further £17.2m over the following two years ensuring the authority, based on current projections could deliver essential services whilst endeavouring to contain any council tax increase to an acceptable level. The report also provided an overview of current reserves, which were to be further reviewed, with the anticipation of any reserves becoming available being used to support the capital programme and the delivery of regeneration opportunities, therefore sustaining future growth within the County.

The current budget proposals, having regard to the above factors had enabled the proposed council tax increase for 2018/19 to be contained to 4.12%.

Reference was made to page 134 of the report and to the Welsh Government Statement that ‘the school element of the settlement had been increased by £62m in 2018-19’. The Board was informed that the figure did not represent ‘new money’ but was merely a diversion of funding from other services. The Chief Executive confirmed that whilst that money had been incorporated within the settlement, it did not detract from the fact the Authority’s 2018/19 settlement would still be 0.5% less than 2017/18.

UNANIMOUSLY RESOLVED that the contents of the report be noted and the three year budget strategy be approved as a basis for consultation, and to specifically seek comments from consultees on the efficiency proposals detailed in Appendix A to the report.