Issue - meetings

That:

1)              the Chief Finance Officer’s (CFO) report and the issues contained within, including the local government finance settlement and the sections on key risks be noted, and that these be considered when setting the council tax for 2021/22 and agreeing the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP);

2)              the Council’s response to the local government finance settlement, as set out in Appendix Two to the report, be noted;

3)              the Council’s ongoing representations for fairer funding for the residents of Wokingham Borough Council be supported.

The Executive considered a report setting out the major financial issues facing the Council which were required to be taken into account when setting the level of Council Tax.

During the introduction of the report the Executive Member for Finance and Housing highlighted that the Local Government Act 2003 required the Chief Finance Officer to report to Members, when setting the level of Council Tax, on the robustness of the budget presented and adequacy of reserves. Councillor Kaiser highlighted the letter that the Council had written to the Local Government Finance Settlement Team as its consultation response to the Local Government Finance Settlement, as set out in Appendix 2.

In response to a query from the Leader, Councillor Kaiser advised that due to operational issues usually only around 60% of the capital budget was spent per annum therefore the borrowing requirements may not be as high as stated. However, the Council needed to ensure that sufficient borrowings were available in the event that all projects were completed.  

RESOLVED that:

1)              the Chief Finance Officer’s (CFO) report and the issues contained within, including the local government finance settlement and the sections on key risks be noted, and that these be considered when setting the council tax for 2021/22 and agreeing the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP);

2)              the Council’s response to the local government finance settlement, as set out in Appendix Two to the report, be noted;

3)              the Council’s ongoing representations for fairer funding for the residents of Wokingham Borough Council be supported.