Agenda and minutes

You are invited to declare any registerable and/or non-registerable interests in matters appearing on the agenda, and the nature of that interest.

You are also invited to disclose any dispensation in relation to any registerable and/or non-registerable interests that have been granted to you in respect of any matters appearing on the agenda.

Please complete the Declarations of Interests card available at the meeting and return it to the Democratic Services Officer before leaving the meeting.

Councillor J Harrison declared a registerable personal interest in agenda Item 3: 2023-2027 Financial Planning and Budget Process: Cabinet’s Final Budget proposals (CAB89/23), as he was appointed as co-opted Governor of Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

Councillor K Clark declared a registerable personal interest in agenda Item 3: 2023-2027 Financial Planning and Budget Process: Cabinet’s Final Budget proposals (CAB89/23), as she was a Director and Employee at Justice Prince CIC which had contracts with North Tyneside Council funded from the Housing Revenue Account (Working Roots).

To consider the 2023-2027 Financial Planning and Budget Process: to seek approval for Cabinet’s proposals for 2023/24 for the General Fund Revenue Budget, Dedicated Schools Grant, Investment Plan and Treasury Management and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan and Budget.

Cabinet considered a report on the 2023-2027 draft Budget and Council Tax proposals and final budget proposals for the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Business Plan and Budget. The report presented proposals to cover a four-year planning period from 2023-2027 for the revenue Budget and a five-year planning horizon for the Investment Plan.

On 19 September 2022, the Elected Mayor and Cabinet agreed its 2023-2027 Financial Planning and Budget Process incorporating the associated Engagement Strategy. This report represented a key milestone in the development of the 2023/24 Budget and 2023-2027 Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP), as it sets out Cabinet’s draft Budget proposals for the next financial year and beyond.

The Budget was driven by the Authority’s key priorities that made up the Our North Tyneside Plan – a thriving, secure, family friendly, caring and green North Tyneside. North Tyneside Council has a very clear and ambitious plan to ensure anyone who needs support can access it, to help the most vulnerable members of the community and to continue investment in all parts of the Borough.

The Authority’s Budget was already challenging following years of Government funding cuts and uncertainty, with the long-term impact of the covid pandemic, general demand for services, rising energy costs, inflation and the long-term impact of the war in Ukraine exacerbating this.  However, the Authority has a robust and fair approach to Budget-setting meaning that wherever possible, these challenges had been foreseen and provided for as the Authority headed into the current financial year.

The Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) position had been updated to include the impact of the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement (the Settlement) for 2023/24, which was announced on 19 December 2022.  Full details of the Settlement were included in Annex A, Section 3 to the report.  The allocation from the Settlement had been included in Table 2 of this report and noted the movement to income and expenditure since the last report to Cabinet in November.

The Settlement confirmed that Core Spending Power (CSP) for local authorities would increase nationally by 9.9% in cash terms for 2023/24.  The Government’s assumption to achieve this increase was that all authorities would implement the maximum allowed Council Tax increase of 4.99%, made up of a 2.99% increase for general Council Tax and a 2% increase for the Adult Social Care Precept.  In calculating the CSP, the Government had assumed that each authority’s Council Tax Base, used to calculate the total level of Council Tax resources, had increased in line with their average Council Tax Base growth since 2017/18.

The Elected Mayor and Cabinet’s draft Budget proposals therefore included for consideration, an increase of 2.99% for general Council Tax and 2% for the Adult Social Care Precept in line with the Government’s assumptions.  However, the current level of support to residents to pay Council Tax was maintained at £1.520m.  For 2023/24 the Government announced an additional one-off Council Tax Support Fund grant of which the Authority would receive £0.427m, this would be used to partially fund  ...  view the full minutes text for item CAB91/23

6.00pm on Monday 6 February 2023 (Extraordinary meeting)

6.00pm on Monday 20 February 2023 (Ordinary meeting)

Monday 6 February 2023 at 6.00pm (Extraordinarymeeting).