Cabinet - Thursday 7 November 2024, 6:00pm - Vote_events Tab - Cotswold District Council Webcasting

Cabinet
Thursday, 7th November 2024 at 6:00pm 

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  1. Councillor Joe Harris
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  1. 03. Minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2024 - Approve
    Status: In progress
  2. 03. Minutes of the meeting held on 3 October 2024 - Approve
    Status: Ended
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  1. Councillor Joe Harris
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  1. Councillor Mike Evemy
  2. Councillor Paul Hodgkinson
  3. Councillor Mike Evemy
  4. Officer
  5. Councillor Joe Harris
  6. Officer
  7. Councillor Joe Harris
  8. Councillor Claire Bloomer
  9. Officer
  10. Councillor Joe Harris
  11. Councillor Mike Evemy
  12. Councillor Joe Harris
  13. 08. Council Tax Support Scheme - Approve Rec 1 & 2
    Status: In progress
  14. Councillor Joe Harris
  15. 08. Council Tax Support Scheme - Approve Rec 1 & 2
    Status: Ended
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  1. Councillor Claire Bloomer
  2. Councillor Joe Harris
  3. Councillor Juliet Layton
  4. Councillor Claire Bloomer
  5. Councillor Joe Harris
  6. Councillor Mike McKeown
  7. Councillor Joe Harris
  8. Councillor Claire Bloomer
  9. Councillor Joe Harris
  10. Councillor Paul Hodgkinson
  11. Councillor Claire Bloomer
  12. Councillor Joe Harris
  13. 09. Support for Cost of Living Crisis - Approve Recommendation 2
    Status: In progress
  14. Councillor Joe Harris
  15. 09. Support for Cost of Living Crisis - Approve Recommendation 2
    Status: Ended
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  1. Councillor Mike Evemy
  2. Councillor Joe Harris
  3. Councillor Paul Hodgkinson
  4. Councillor Mike Evemy
  5. David Stanley, Deputy CEO
  6. Councillor Joe Harris
  7. Councillor Mike Evemy
  8. Councillor Joe Harris
  9. 10. Draft Budget 2025/26 and Medium Term Financial Strategy - Approve Rec 1 & 2
    Status: In progress
  10. 10. Draft Budget 2025/26 and Medium Term Financial Strategy - Approve Rec 1 & 2
    Status: Ended
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  1. Councillor Mike Evemy
  2. Councillor Joe Harris
  3. Webcast Finished

1 Apologies

.
.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:01:28
Welcome to Kabbalah everybody.
Wednesday 30th October.
We'll start with apologies.
I've got apologies from Councillor Tony Dale and Councillor Lisa Spivey.
So that is two apologies.

2 Declarations of Interest

Does anybody have any declaration of interest with regards to anything on the agenda?
No?
Okay.

3 Minutes

We've then moved to the minutes of the previous meeting held on the 3rd of October.
Does anybody have any questions or queries on the accuracy of those minutes?
In that case, I'll propose that we accept those.
Do I have a seconder?
Mike, thank you.
Caleb, we'll go to the vote, please.
Lovely.

4 Leader's Announcements

Thank you very much. That is unanimous. Right then, leaders announcements.
Clearly it is the remembrance period. I know many of you here this evening
and councillors who aren't here will be joining the communities on Remembrance
Sunday for the acts of remembrance up and down the district and indeed on
Monday for Armistice Day. So I'd like to start please with a
with a minute silence to remember those who have died in conflict in service of our country.
.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:03:57
Thank you very much.
I've got two announcements this evening.
First of all, Anna Prowitt, she's over there.
I'm sorry, I wasn't going, I haven't told you I was going to do this.
This is Anna's last cabinet member, after the last cabinet meeting.
You've been a bit like a cabinet member over the years, Anna.
And this is Anna's last cabinet meeting with us before she's off to pass gives new with West Oxfordshire District Council
So don't worry. We're not gonna hold it against you
They are our partners after all and we do lots of joint working with them still
They're very fond of West Oxfordshire, but now I think on behalf of the cabinet
Can I just say a massive thank you for everything that you've done?
Only as a Democratic Services Officer, but before that as a cabinet support officer
We really appreciate everything that you've done for us
It's been great to see you grow as a person and indeed as an officer here at the council
So thank you so much. We really really appreciate it. All right, and wish you all the best for the future
Yeah, the next order of business
I'm going to be reshuffling the cabinet tomorrow
So throughout tomorrow we've been icing new members of the cabinet and new portfolios
So that will be going out via the Council's social media channels and we'll also be issuing a press release.
But there are going to be two departures which I can confirm this evening.
The first is Councillor Tony Dale who has announced at the last Council meeting unfortunately was in a very serious road traffic accident in Italy.
So he's got a long road to recovery.
I know a few of us here this evening have been to visit him.
He's in really good spirits actually, which is really heartening to see and of every confidence that you know
He'll make great progress and a great recovery, but clearly that's got to be his number one focus
So while he's doing that I've agreed with him
He would take a step back from cabinet
I very much hope to welcome Tony back to the cabinet in the future at a point when he's
fighting fit and
And ready to go but you know, I want to first of all pay tribute to Tony and say a massive
Thank you for everything that he's done in his five years as a cabinet member
He's got a number of achievements to his name, you know
I think you know when you when you go visit businesses across the the district they will know Tony
He's such a visible and active
You know person in our community and he he is mr. Business, isn't he in?
across the Cotswolds. So you know we thank him for that. The economic
growth strategy in particular is a brilliant document. Obviously we've just
about to adopt a second iteration of that and you know it's created up to 500
new jobs you know that we can link to that document. So you know we owe Tony a
massive debt of gratitude and I know residents across the Cotswolds are
grateful and I know that residents in his ward of North Leach they miss him
and we want him to make a speedy recovery. So I think the best way of
doing that is allowing him the time and the freedom to make that recovery. So I
hope, I hope in the not too distant future we welcome Tony back to cabinet
but for the time being he'll be taking a step back to focus on his recovery. And
then it's typical isn't it that Lisa Spivey can't make it this evening so
this will be Lisa's last cabinet meeting with us. She wants to focus on the County
Council elections. She's obviously leader of the opposition up at the County
Council so you know I'm sure of every confidence with her drive, her energy and
her enthusiasm she'll find herself as the leader of the County Council.
So you know she's going away to focus on that but again Lisa has been an
absolutely crucial you know figure in this administration over the last five
years you know not only her work on housing and getting us to a point where
you know we're really prioritizing delivery of genuinely affordable housing
but also in her role over the past 18 months or so
with flooding and with sewage.
We have a sewage scandal and, you know, it was Lisa backed
by a team of officers who brought community together
for that sewage summit, which has come up with real tangible,
real tangible recommendations
that we can hopefully take forward and implement.
So, you know, a massive thank you to Lisa,
a massive thank you for Tony.
They'll be missed, but they're not going too far.
They're still going to be members of our group and I'm sure both of them actually
Will be crucial members of our team and our family here at the Cotswold District Council into the future
So a massive thank you to them and I'll ask everybody to keep their eyes peeled tomorrow
From about 930. We're announcing the new cabinet

5 Public Questions

6 Member Questions

Okay, do we have any public questions? No. Okay. Do we have any member questions?

7 Issue(s) Arising from Overview and Scrutiny and/or Audit and Governance

We have issues arising from over -inscrutiny in government.
Are there any?
No.
Okay then.

8 Council Tax Support Scheme 2025/2026

Right then, the first item is the Council Tax Support Scheme.
I think we are very proud of and we are taking a fresh look at that.
So I am going to pass over to Councillor, like ever me, the Deputy Leader to take us through this.
Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:09:07
Thank you, Leader.
Yes, so on page 15 of the written papers we've got the annual review of the
council tax support scheme and we now look through this the revisions that
I'll go through in a little shortly and then those will be then sent on to
Council for agreement. The key elements to look at within the paper are how we
have obviously looked at the cost of living, the rise in incomes and the level
of support that we are therefore able to provide for people on the lowest incomes
in our district. And you can see in the table that within the report in table
3 .3 you've got the bands that we use to looking at the definite income bands and
then you can see across the top of that table the circumstances of the
individual and clearly the lower the income the more council tax support that
we provide. And for clarity, that's essentially the amount of council tax they are then required
to pay. And it's always worth noting, I think, at this point that our scheme is more generous
than most local authorities because we believe that asking people on the very lowest incomes
to pay any council tax is largely counter -productive and we want to do what we can to help them.
So, in those people in band one, if their incomes are lower than that, then we don't
ask them to pay any council tax.
And you can see how it then phases through.
As people's income rise, the share of council tax that we ask them to pay goes up.
So it's nothing that goes 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%.
And then, obviously, if they're over the maximum limit, then they have to pay the full council
tax.
I think it's also worth noting how significant this is in terms of revenues.
So I think in 4 .1 it highlights the fact that the support that is provided through this
scheme defrays £4 .9 million of council tax.
That's not just obviously from us as an authority but also from our colleagues at the County
Council and the police and our town and parish councils.
We've looked at, and Mandy is here to answer any questions
that members have, Mandy Fathers, who leads on this
for the council, but we've looked at obviously her
and her team have looked at the impact on claimants
and how this is going to work through,
and it's a 4 % increase we're proposing of those bans
from the figures that we had last year.
And then the other thing I wanted to draw members'
attention to is the hardship fund.
So we set up a hardship fund a couple of years ago,
in 22, 23, to enable Mandy and her team
to provide some relief for council tax
outside of the scheme when there were
exceptional circumstances.
and that was created with funds from Gloucestershire County Council as well
as ourselves and we have 33 ,000 remaining in that fund and we're
therefore asking as part of the recommendations for this report for that
to be carried over into the 25 -26 financial year. I think I'll stop there
and obviously members can ask questions of either myself or Mandy.
Councillor Paul Hodgkinson - 0:13:03
Yeah, thanks Mike. I think I'm right in saying,
I'm sorry, that this is one of the more generous council tax support schemes.
I don't know whether you or Mandy could answer just how generous in the scheme of things.
Are we in the top quarter?
Where do you know where we are regarding, you know, compared to other councils?
Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:13:19
I don't know the answer to that question.
I don't know whether Mandy is able to give an answer.
Officer - 0:13:28
I wouldn't know exactly where we are in that table but in comparison as some
council avenues already said in comparison to other local authorities
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:13:42
the scheme is extremely generous I think we're in the Champions League spots if
you know if it was a Premier League of council tax support but yeah I see
through my work through the LGA there are many councils that don't give a
100 % council tax discount.
In fact, many councils are not too far from us.
So in fact, we do that in itself.
Mandy, I've got a question.
One of the things that people often,
puts people off claiming is that they might put in
an application, but they might not be entitled
to council tax support, but the scale might be penalized.
So can you confirm that residents won't be penalized
if they put in an application?
Because one of the, it is complicated to work out,
Officer - 0:14:19
isn't it, quite often?
No, if somebody was to put in an application and after the assessment they weren't entitled
they would not be penalised at all. If their income changed at any period we would invite
another application.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:14:35
Thank you, I'm really pleased to see this as cabinet member for the
Councillor Claire Bloomer - 0:14:39
cost of living.
I've got one question though, if somebody is having difficulties accessing the internet
or you know has difficulties completing forms is there any support that they could get?
Officer - 0:14:50
Yes we have a client support officer and even if the residents unable to
come into the offices themselves then the client support officer can go out to them.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:15:04
Brilliant I'd like to formally second if I may and I'm proud to speak to this.
As has been said we have one of the most generous council tax support schemes
in the country and I think the scheme that we've got and you know the refresh
that we're giving it is testament to our commitment to helping residents in these
testing times. The cost of living continues to be an issue for many
residents and you know we are determined absolutely determined to make sure that
everybody in our district has the support they need. Things are tough for
councils we have limited we have limited ability to be able to help influence
quite often and provide financial support, but this is one of the levers that we have
and I'm proud that we have got one of the most generous schemes in the country.
I think if anybody is in any doubt about putting an application in, and you've heard it this
evening, you won't be penalised for putting in an application, even speculatively.
We want people to apply for this.
If you think you might be eligible, please put in an application.
You won't be penalised, it's means tested, which means we will look at varying factors.
You can't be accused of cheating the system because we assess every application depending
on each person's circumstance.
So to all residents out there, please put in an application.
You might well be entitled to some discount on your council tax.
Anybody else want to say anything on this before we move to the vote?
Okay, Mike will give you the opportunity to sum up if you wish.
Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:16:35
Yeah, thank you Joe and thanks colleagues for your contributions. I think it's just
important to note that by putting up the bands that's allowing for people to pay rises so
that actually the real terms value of the support that we give is maintained
because clearly having bands means if you fall over into the next one then the
amount of support that you get reduces as a share.
But the fact that we have five bands that they have sort of
graded at 20 percent increments, I think,
just makes the scheme work better.
And recognizing that last year we actually increased the lower
bands to 40 percent and 20 percent support from 30 percent
and 10 percent.
So recognize that, particularly the work that we had with
partners in CAB and Mary Covert who comment for this, who give us their views on this.
So we're continuing to make sure that they're giving a little bit more support than we were
before and we're maintaining that this year for those people who are at the upper end
in terms of the income but still below the threshold so they are qualifying for council
tax support. So I very much urge colleagues to support the resolutions. Thank you.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:17:58
If we could take that to the vote then please.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:18:08
Great, that is unanimous. Thank you very much.
And of course we'll be doing bus communications and encouraging people to sign up to this.

9 Update on the Council’s involvement in and support for Cost of Living related initiatives

Right, our next item then is an update on the Council's involvement and support for the cost of living.
and there's an awful lot going on and Claire you're going to give us a bit of an overview.
Councillor Claire Bloomer - 0:18:30
Thank you. Yeah so first and foremost I want to start with a huge thank you to our incredible
officers for pulling together such a fantastic report. I think you will all agree they've been
exceptionally busy with this almost 100 page report and it's not just this team let's not
forget our amazing partners who have also helped our residents. Their dedication, compassion and
hard work have truly brought these vital initiatives to life. Without their commitment, none of
this would be possible. I am deeply grateful for the positive impact they are having on
the Cotswolds. As Cabinet Member for the Cost of Living and Inclusion, it is my privilege
to share how our Council is stepping up to address the cost of living crisis with thoughtful,
long -term solutions that go well above short -term relief. One of those shining examples is Simon
The pantry does more than just put food on the table.
It's building a community around sustainability and support
by reducing food waste and promoting a culture of sharing.
The pantry supports a greener Cotswold while helping to provide affordable, nutritious food.
Then there's the Cotswold Food Network.
This just isn't any network.
With over 250 stakeholders, five major meetings to date,
It's becoming a foundation of resilience and collaboration,
bringing together food banks, community centers,
and local organizations.
The network is making sure every household has access
to nutritious, often locally sourced food,
another win for both people and the planet.
I thought you liked that mic.
Through various support funds, the Cotswold Council have
reached and uplifted over 30 community groups,
funded initiatives from local food banks to mental health programs. These funds are directed where they are needed most
creating a solid support network across our district.
Another new initiative launching in December is the low -income family tracker LIFT
program. LIFT will help the council use data to better understand and target support to families most in need
By connecting low -income households with essential resources like benefits, job opportunities and skill development,
LIFT will help families stabilise and thrive before financial issues become crisis.
It's about making sure our support reaches those who need it most, right when they need it.
The Household Support Fund is another great life plan which has reached over 26 ,000 households
to date, providing more than $4 million in energy rebates and supporting over 30 community -led
projects.
Residents have shared their relief and gratitude, with many saying these rebates have been a
crucial help in managing everyday expenses during challenging times.
Our holiday activity food, HAF, program has also been a big hit, providing over 2 ,200
meals and nearly 2 ,000 activity sessions this summer alone.
HAF have supported not only children's wellbeing, but also the whole family's quality of life.
Additionally, our benefit postcard, which you will find at the back of the report on
100 page 13, has just been delivered to households across the district, raising awareness about
essential support for rent assistance, wellness programs and financial aid.
This includes a real special focus on pensioners, as pension credits remain to promote unclaimed
benefits in our district.
With the recent loss of the winter fuel payment and the growing concerns that some pensioners
may face in the simple choice between heating or eating this winter, this is especially
worrying.
It is worth encouraging every pensioner to apply for pension credits.
Not only does it provide much needed financial relief, but it also quantifies them for winter
fuel allowance.
The postcard serves as a small powerful reminder that help is close at hand and ensures that
our residents know about the support available to them.
We are requesting this evening to note this report and to ensure that our cross -party
cost of living group continues to support more communities.
Together, these initiatives are building a more resilient,
supportive, and environmentally conscious community.
My heartfelt thanks goes out to everyone involved.
Your work is truly changing lives
and creating a stronger Cotswold district for all,
ensuring that nobody is left behind.
Thank you.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:23:19
Brilliant, thank you so much Claire.
I really, really, you know, it's quite inspiring actually.
And I know that, you know, you, Mandy, Jacqueline Wright, Joseph,
I know, this is a problem, I think, when you name check people,
you undoubtedly miss people out.
So, you know, thank you so much for all the hard work that you've done.
And I know for many people it makes a real difference.
And it's really hard at the minute, isn't it?
Because at a time when so many people are struggling,
actually feel a bit hopeless and a bit helpless in some cases.
We are limited in what we can do and the support we can provide and of course we'd love to
be able to do more, wouldn't we?
So many people are worried in our district about the changes to the winter fuel allowance.
Many – the government's changed to the winter fuel allowance with many – we estimate
30 ,000 to 40 ,000 people in the Cotswolds who are going to be affected by this and many
of those living just above the poverty line.
These aren't people in massive mansions, you know,
that are really well off.
These are people just above the poverty line.
So, you know, while we can't bring in a scheme
that basically replaces that money that they'll be losing,
what we can do is signpost.
We can, you know, use the schemes that we do have to try
and ease the financial burden.
And actually on that point about winter fuel allowance,
there are a lot of pensioners in this district
that might well be entitled to council tax support,
might be entitled to pension credit but aren't claiming it.
So the message needs to be, again,
put in applications on those.
We can only say no, and you might well be entitled
to some financial support.
So, no, at times people are worried,
at a time when the cost of living crisis
continues to run on,
and at a time when, you know,
we had the announcement of a winter fuel allowance.
I think it's, you know, it's really encouraging
to see that the council are responding to that and have schemes in place to try and
to try and ameliorate the situation. So a massive thank you to you Claire, I know you've been on the
front line and you're really good at getting under the skin of the community and telling people about
this so keep doing that for goodness sake we really do need that. Who else would like to ask
Councillor Juliet Layton - 0:25:35
a question or comment? Julia you were first and then Paul. Thank you yeah thank you very much Claire
that was it's really an excellent document and yeah and congratulations again to the team that
put it together.
I have got a couple of questions.
You mentioned Syrinsester Food Bank,
and I believe there are other food banks within the Cotswolds,
but you particularly mentioned Syrinsester,
so I just wondered where those other food banks were,
if you know.
My other question was Cotswold Food Network,
which there's a lot of information about it.
I didn't quite work that,
and maybe actually people listening,
It might be useful just to have a very brief few words
about how that affects people, how they access,
you know, what's it giving to people?
I wasn't sure of that.
There's a lot of information about how it works
and who's involved,
but I didn't know how that worked on the doorstep.
And my final thing is at the back here,
we've got an example of the postcard
that went out to every household.
So every household has got lots of information that they,
was that a couple of weeks ago?
It was very recently that this postcard landed
on people's doorsteps, which was last week.
So that's, I hope they've kept that.
Oh, and I have one other question,
is I love the whole thing about the Holiday
Activity and Food Programme.
Not everybody will be able to look online at this.
Is it worth having it in school libraries or something?
Or somewhere out there?
Is there a possibility?
I mean I know people don't so often go to the let their local libraries
unfortunately but it might be quite good to have hard copy so kids or parents at
parents evenings or the teachers actually know what we're doing because
this is an amazing amount of stuff that we're doing and fantastic support and
yeah so just a few questions and some thanks. Thanks Julia yeah so I'll start
Councillor Claire Bloomer - 0:27:34
back to front, I think you're absolutely right about having these printed out and
put into different places. I think that's really important. I think it's such a
good report, it should be shown off a bit more actually. You also mentioned about
the Food Network Programme. Now I've been to these meetings quite a few times. I
don't know all the ins and outs of the meeting. I know that they're run by the
amazing team and basically it's lots of different groups from all over the
district from Moreton right down to Tepary and they all come together and
discuss best ways of reaching communities and what we can do,
and joined up thinking, which is not just good for
collaboration, but it's also good financially as well.
So there's a lot of work being done there,
and I know that Jacqueline and Martin have been working really
hard on that.
So I'm sure I can get you some more information on that.
You also mentioned about the food bank.
It was a food pantry that I mentioned.
Yes, but there are food banks dotted around the district but the food pantry
is not obviously a food bank and is available to everybody.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:28:40
I think that's a point as well we've got lots of great food schemes across the
district they've all got really similar names so your food banks, community
fridge, community kitchen and community pantry so yeah we've got you know it's
great as well, isn't it, that a lot of these are about tackling food waste and
the knock -on effect is that yes, people that really do need it are able to
benefit from that as well. But you know, again, sign up, get a ticket because it is
it's really, you know, our community pantry here, it's fantastic, it's buzzing, you
know, it is absolutely buzzing and you meet people from all backgrounds there,
don't you, you really do and yeah, it's fantastic. Mike.
Councillor Mike McKeown - 0:29:25
So again, I think, again, brilliant program.
Thanks very much to you and the officers for doing this.
I just wanted to highlight that more help is coming fairly soon
as well, which will help because, of course, the cost
of living crisis is quite strongly linked to the energy
crisis and the cost of energy.
So one of the things we've got coming up very soon, we've
literally just last month brought on board a new
And they're collaborating with climate leadership.
Grosstra should, together we got a fairly substantial amount of funding to help go out.
And we'll be going out to communities with information for
residents on what they can do to improve the efficiency of their homes.
So they can cut their energy costs by improving their insulation,
fitting heat pump, solar, and so on.
What sort of grants they can get.
So for example those are on low income can get up to 100 % grants to spend tens of thousands of pounds on their on their houses to improve them and cut their bills and everybody can get seven and a half thousand pound grant to get rid of their old boilers and replace them with modern cheaper to run heat pumps.
And of course my perspective that all links nicely to climate change because we cut people's bills
We cut the carbon footprint at the same time. So looking forward to working with you on that to help our residents even more
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:30:50
Thank you, I wonder when you get heat pumps in
Councillor Claire Bloomer - 0:30:57
Because I think it's it's a real, you know
I think there is a lot of crossover with what we're doing
you know, and all the different names and everything.
I could almost cry when I visit Sire and Sutter Pantry
because it's got such a community buzz.
And what we're actually doing is we're giving power back
to the people to help one another.
So if somebody's been helped in one way, they can say,
well, actually, why don't you go and apply
for council tax credits or whatever,
and they're all helping each other.
I just wanted to mention that.
So, yes.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:31:29
You always come back with something different, don't you,
whether it's like, you know, 40 bananas or whatever.
Paul.
Councillor Paul Hodgkinson - 0:31:37
Yeah, no, I mean, thank you, Claire, for everything you've done on this.
I know how passionate you are, you're really good at leading this.
I mean, I think it's great to just see the various names listed down.
I have to mention my favourite cafe, the Black Cat Cafe in North Leech, because it's great.
And have you been?
You should go, Claire, you should go because, in fact, I invite you to come with me.
Okay.
So it's great to see that listed.
But I wanted to mention the holiday activity and food
program because, you know, I've kind of been involved in this in
terms of the offices and as part of the health portfolio.
And I know just how much this, how valuable this has been.
And I've chaired the sort of Cotswold Youth Network this year.
And when we have those meetings every three months,
a lot of organizations come together to talk about what
they're doing and how they plan it.
And just to answer your point, Julia,
there's quite a lot of activity goes on in making sure that families who would
benefit from the holiday activity food program get the information so whether
it's in places like you know primary schools, Chesterton primary school is a
good example of that or other organisations we can know people are
doing what they can to reach out to people on that. Also mentioning about the
holiday activity and food program is that it's coming to an end in terms of
the government funding of it right now.
So the Christmas version of that, the Christmas that's
coming, Christmas program will be the final one funded
because the previous government kind of stopped
the funding.
What I'm hoping is obviously the new government
reintroduces funding for it.
But in the interim, our team have made sure that next
year, and the dates are listed in the report,
there's a whole series of activities that we're going
to organize and lead on, which is great, isn't it?
So thank you.
Councillor Claire Bloomer - 0:33:28
Claire, just come back on that, because I think you made a really
valid point, and it is, you know, we want them to continue,
but I think one of the challenges that we face
specifically around siren system, surprisingly,
is the lack of community space.
There is community space across the district,
but there's not so much in siren system,
and I think this could actually end up causing a problem with
some of these activities because they can't run them,
and we're in such a rural area, and transport is such an issue
for some of these people.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:34:01
it does make it quite a challenge but yeah okay any more for any more on this
okay well in that case I will second that and we're voting to obviously note
the council's work but also requests that the cost of living steering group
continues consider further opportunities to support communities with the cost of
Living so if we could go to a vote on that then, please

10 Draft Budget 2025/26 and Medium Term Financial Strategy

Councillor Joe Harris - 0:34:30
Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:34:51
Thank you. It's that time of year again when we start talking about the budget
for next year which we will be setting at the February council meeting. This is
the first stage, the first report that we're going to receive on the budget and
there will be the obviously the final MTFS draft for us to consider in the new
year before we go to council and ask for council's approval for the budget at the
meeting in February. So what the work that David has led and that you know I've
been obviously working with him on is sort of outlined in the report. There's
not a fundamental change in terms of the budget position so you'll be familiar
that we have a budget gap projected into the future
due to the potential reduction in our support
by the government of two million pounds.
And so those figures are therefore reflected
in the MTFS that we've got in here.
You've also got some table ES1 shows some pressures there.
So the cost of auditors only goes one way.
and we assume that they're gonna go up by ten pounds a year and we've
recommitted to Crowdfund Cotswolds and the fees therefore then we put in to
needs to be put into the budget and we have we've sold the visitor information
center in Borton on the water either we've it's already gone through it's
eminently about to go through and therefore we won't be receiving the
rental income on that property.
So that's the 8 ,000 pounds that's the additional pressure there.
So if you look in going forward, the budget gap when we get to table ES3, and you can
see that's a revised figure there of just under 6 .5 million pounds, accumulatively in
27 -28.
We have had some benefits in terms of external factors. Inflation has continued to fall away.
We saw interest rates reduced today by 0 .25, but they still remain higher than we'd assumed they would be.
I heard the Governor of the Bank of England, as I was driving in this afternoon, suggesting that it will fall over time,
probably a little bit slower than people were previously anticipating. So the
benefit for us in that is that you know we have cash balances which are
generating a higher return than we had otherwise assumed. What we haven't done
in the report and David hasn't put in the report is put in directly the impact
of that lower inflation but you know we're expecting that to ease the
pressure since we met last time and recently.
We've seen the settlement of the pay award,
and that's referenced in the report,
and that was settled.
And David is going away doing some more work in
exactly what that impact that is has on the MTSS,
which we will see when we see the new version
in the new year.
But I think the positive message is it's less than
we budgeted for, so there'll be a positive
variance for us with that.
But we will need to set that aside in our financial resilience reserve to build up the
funds to be able to support the pressures that we've got coming further down the line.
The report makes reference to the public a review phase one and the estimates around
the enduring impact of that and the transition costs are shown in there and they're currently
within the amounts that we've allocated for those.
What isn't in there is any costs around phase two
because it's too early in the process
to be able to put anything in.
But so what we're hoping is that we will be able
to be at that point when we have a revised
and updated MTSS for both councils to consider in February.
I think the other message that I want to get across
is that we will need to make further reductions in cost
or increases in income, and that will need to be around
a savings and transformation program,
because looking at the numbers in that table,
you can see that the figures start to get rather difficult
as we go forward.
What we have had within the report,
you'll see is a change to the business rates pool rather bizarrely by taking
Cheltenham out of the Gloucestershire business rates pool we can generate more
revenue for all councils including Cheltenham. We haven't had a change previously I
think in the sort of 10 years or so that we've been running the business rates
pool but other authorities where they have done this have made these
changes and that will essentially give us an incremental benefit by doing that.
On council tax we've assumed that there will be a five pounds bandy increase as
we have had in previous years and that the 1 % there'll be a 1 % growth in the
council tax base essentially more properties in the district. What the
strategy doesn't include at the moment is the premium for empty homes or second
homes. There was an announcement from the government on second homes and the
guidance and Mandy who's just left us and David are working through that in
terms of what that means in terms of the second home premium that we agreed in
principle to set back at the council meeting back in March earlier on in the
year. We've assumed that our core grant funding will remain unchanged so the
the government gives us isn't going to change this year and that's pretty much
what the budget announcement said. What we will see though is we will see a full
local government settlement as we always do before Christmas which will give us
the certainty around that and particularly with the new homes bonus
the position of that going forward but essentially given that the government
had a guarantee around how much we would be given that will probably not make any difference.
What they do to the new homes bonus will get the same amount of money.
You'll notice within the capital programme there is, specifically you look forward and
you've got the figures in a couple of years' time, the significant revenue, sorry, the
replacement of our waste vehicle fleet.
And I see that's something that I was at the overview
and scrutiny committee, presented this report to them
on Monday and they were asking some questions around that
and how we would finance that.
And I was also there in an earlier report talking about
the work that is going on to look at how we can
decarbonize that fleet and with, I think,
I think Councilor McKeown and myself involved in that,
discussions.
So that is ongoing in terms of that decision, but absolutely, the provision is there in
the budget to replace like for like, so the $5 .2 million that's there in 26, 27 in the
capital programme.
Just quickly, just finishing off, obviously the budget happened now just, it was only
last week, wasn't it?
happened since the budget on the 30th of October.
And the government, the chancellor in her budget
announced that the core spending power for local
authorities will increase by 3 .2 % in real terms.
And there will be 1 .3 billion in grant funding.
Now the core spending power includes council tax and
therefore it assumes that essentially councils will
increase their council tax to the maximum that they can.
So obviously the amount of money the government isn't giving doesn't mean that they will fund that.
That assumes that councils will fund a share of it themselves.
And of the 1 .3 billion, 600 million for social care, which obviously doesn't come to us,
and 700 ,000 million for targeted funding.
So that's not clear obviously at the moment how much of that is going to go to districts
and then within that how much will end up coming to a district like ourselves.
But there is an assumption the council tax referendum principles are the same
as they have been in recent years or last year I should say which was 2 .99 %
or five pounds for district councils. The government have said that they're going
to cover the increased cost of national insurance contributions as a consequence
of the budget but we're waiting for more detail about how we will be compensated
for that. The bit of good news is that the extended producer responsibility
which is a scheme that the government is bringing in around waste streams will be
a new revenue stream in the first year. There's been a lot of feedback I think
to the government about that so but we're not going to know until January
how much money we're getting on that.
And you might have picked up in the budget that the reliefs on business rates for regional
measure will be at a lower rate at 40%.
So those businesses in our district will have to pay more business rates than they have
had to in the post -COVID era next year, but they'll still be getting some relief.
The UK shared prosperity fund, which is continuing
but at a lower level.
There's a 40 % reduction in that next year.
So, obviously we'll wait and see how much of that
will come to us.
And we were just talking about the household
support fund and discretionary housing
payments the government's given a billion pounds
allocated to those.
I think I'll stop there.
So essentially the paper you've got before us is updating where we were and it's really
giving you the view about where the finances of the council, which is largely unchanged
other than the significant changes largely around how the public had transitioned finances
of work through.
But I'm happy to stop there and answer any questions or listen to colleagues' comments.
Thank you, Joe.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:46:16
Paul
Paul
Paul
Paul
We've got two mics, haven't we?
Paul.
Councillor Paul Hodgkinson - 0:46:28
Paul
Paul
Are they still going with that as far as we know are we still going to face that or?
Or have we not had any intelligence on that yet?
Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:47:05
Yeah, thanks Paul. I should have mentioned that in my presentation so what they've said is that we're going to have a
One -year settlement so the settlement that we get this year will be just for next year
But for in with the spending review comes around in the spring
the intention they're telling the government is indicating that we will then get three -year settlements.
So I think my understanding and I'll ask David maybe to add to what I'm about to say is that
through that process the spending
review will be part of
consultation about changes to funding for local authorities, so they will
suggest how they're essentially going to potentially
David Stanley, Deputy CEO - 0:47:54
There's probably a couple of things to bear in mind.
First, as Mike set out on the spending review period reports in the spring budget 2025,
which will be for a minimum of a three -year period, we'll then get the settlement.
The other issue will probably come through in the next couple of weeks where the government
will publish their white paper on devolution in England, that may reveal a little bit more
earlier than the spring budget in 2025 does in terms of where the government sees the
future of the different tiers of local authorities.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:48:33
Okay, any more questions or comments?
No?
I'd say, Mike, again, you know, lots of thanks this evening, isn't there?
but thank you to yourself and to David.
It might be a new government, but it
feels like a case of meet the new boss, same as the old boss,
quite frankly.
The local government sector has a shortfall of $2 .3 billion
in the next financial year.
And what the government announced
was a $1 .3 billion package.
So, you know, despite all of the bluff and bluster under this new government, austerity,
particularly for local government, remains alive and well. And, you know, I don't know about you,
I find that incredibly depressing. Since 2010, the sector has to have a 60 % real terms cut in
our funding as a sector.
And that's, I think, the biggest of any government department
in this country.
And that poses an existential question, doesn't it,
of not only do we value local government,
do we value this sector, but also, what is the future?
What is the future?
because it isn't sustainable.
We hear, don't we, about councils across the country
issuing what's known as a Section 114 notice,
which is an effective bankruptcy.
And you can see just down the road in Birmingham
the awful decisions that they're being made to make
by government in a huge, huge council tax rises,
fees and charges going up,
services people rely on being absolutely cut.
So you know in many cases already we've cut to the bone and you know we're gonna start soaring into the bone for a slightly grisly metaphor now.
Because there isn't there isn't a lot left.
And you know applying that to to here you know we have felt that those services that residents perhaps once relied on or perhaps more proactive.
Well they're probably not as proactive as they might have been.
We have to be honest about that and we're going to have to have further such
discussions going forward about the way we provide services and the way that we
do it. Our number one priority here, our number one priority is making sure that
this council is financially solvent, that we don't have to issue a bankruptcy
notice in effect and that is going to mean very tough decisions over the next
few years about how we provide services. Now we did of course have a bit of
optimism that with a new government there might be a new approach.
And nothing that has been announced so far gives us any calls for
optimism that we aren't going to have to make really tough decisions going ahead.
And while a commitment to multi -year funding settlements is of course
welcome until we see the detail of that and ultimately till we get to a point
when the government have their fair funding review or
whatever we're going to end up calling it.
You know there still remains a big question mark doesn't there around the viability of many councils and their finances.
So our number one priority, let me make clear for the public, is making sure that this council sets a balanced budget and that in future years we are still able to operate.
The alternative is that we don't do that. We don't think ahead to future years and we end up in a position like other councils,
working, Birmingham, you know, they're well publicised aren't they, where actually the cuts are ten times worse.
And actually in a lot of those councils, the political leadership didn't want to make difficult decisions.
They pushed them down the road and they just didn't get round to taking them, because they were too hard and the backlash would have been too much.
But what's happening now? They're being made to make those cuts and you know, they're being front loaded and it is very very painful.
So, you know, credit to David, our Deputy Chief Exec leading on the finances.
Credit to Mike, our cabinet member for finance because you know, it is a lot of hard work.
And it is going to require a lot more hard work to transform those services to identify what those tough decisions are going to be made.
But you know and I know Mike you've said this before our priority is absolutely making sure
That we protect the most vulnerable people in our society. We're making sure that the poorest in our district
You know that the cost doesn't fall on their backs because a time
And in a meeting where we've discussed a lot about the cost of living we've discussed a lot
About the way people are struggling in our district. It is right that we take tough decisions
but they don't fall on the shoulders of the most vulnerable in our district. So
a little stream of consciousness there but it is really important that we set
out in which we're working. We're having to make uncomfortable decisions and
they're not, none of us came into this game did we, to make things worse or to
cut things but that is a reality of the situation. So Rachel Reeves if you're
watching, and I hope you are, you know I say to you we need long -term certainty
Yes, we need a cash uplift, but also give us the powers to raise more money locally
and we'll be able to meet the challenge.
So are you seconding that Paul?
Paul, Mike, I'm going to come back to you as our proposer and see if you'd like to sum
up or add anything.
Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:54:29
Thank you, Joe.
Just to, I think, thank you, support what you said about the pressure on the sector.
Councillor Layton and I were at the local government association conference a couple
of weeks ago and the discussion around the room was, you know, around the conference
was fundamentally, this was the most significant.
Obviously, I was attending various different meetings and discussions, one to ones with
people are at the financial situation of councils across the country.
Indeed, I even did a press interview from the conference talking about the fact that
18 councils had had exceptional financial support from the government, which essentially
they've been allowed to use their capital money to support their revenue budget.
And yeah, I've reassured in that interview that we weren't in that
situation but we won't get in that situation because we're planning ahead
and we're looking at the figures and we're taking decisions. Sometimes means
putting charges up, sometimes means closing some facilities like we've done
with toilets to amalgamate, to provide, scale it for what's affordable and those
the sorts of things that we need to do as well as looking at how we can do things differently
and transform our services in order to be able to make sure that we retain our financial
solvency and we can continue to provide the services that people rely on that you were
talking about, Joe.
So, yeah, there's quite a bit more work and thank you for your thanks on behalf of David
and myself.
There's quite a bit more work to do between now and the next time we bring the budget
papers back to you in advance of the council meeting in February and also we
will see within that period where the the government set up and sent ends up
for for this year but we are we continue to be looking at all the time about how
can we do things better and more efficiently because if we don't do that
we will end up like the situation like Birmingham we could like Birmingham and
and other places where they didn't look ahead and they didn't take difficult decisions.
In some cases they took very bad decisions but in other cases they just didn't take the
decisions that the timers should have done and then you end up with a situation where
you end up making, as you said, much worse, much harder decisions that affect people if
you don't take the decisions early and adjust accordingly.
So I will just stop there and I encourage and refer back to the recommendations.
So I think we've got a couple of recommendations.
I'm just trying to flick to the right page, which is not right in front of me at this
second.
So it's to approve the, yeah, got it, thanks.
I've got to approve the 25 -26 budget strategy as outlined in the report and to approve the
revised capital programme, which includes additional expenditure on disabled facilities,
which is good news, that's been funded by the disabled facilities grant as set out in
Annex B.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:57:42
Okay then, Caleb, we can go to the vote, thank you.
That's unanimous.
Thank you very much.

11 Schedule of Decisions taken by the Leader of the Council and/or Individual Cabinet Members

The last item is to note decisions taken by myself or individual cabinet members.
So we have two, one relates to the Baughton on the Water tourism levy.
They both do, don't they?
So yeah that is just for noting but for the members of the public that can be found as a supplementary document on the council's website next to this agenda.
However I should say I think the website's down at the minute isn't it?
That part of the website so you might have to wait a couple of days but it's really juicy and worth reading.
Mike would you like to add anything on that?
Councillor Mike Evemy - 0:58:38
If I can if it's yeah because this was a decision I took earlier on today.
I think it is good news. It's about how do we support Boughton on the Water to deal
with the volume of tourists and visitors that come to the village and it was
three and a half years ago we instituted a 50p levy on the car parking at
Rissington Road. That's generally £1000 a year to support the village in dealing with
dealing with the volume tourism and so that decision, there's two decisions
there one is about how to spend that for this year and we've talked with the
parish council so that's there and also have agreed to put it up to 60 pence
for next year as it hasn't increased in the last three years to take account of
the 20 % inflation we've had so they'll be estimating 66 ,000 pounds to spend in
next year for that to support the village in dealing with its number of visitors.
Councillor Joe Harris - 0:59:36
Brilliant. Thank you, Mike. Right, that concludes the meeting. Thank you to officers and to
the cabinet for joining me this evening and thank you to everybody watching at home. See
Webcast Finished - 0:59:50
you all soon.

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