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RESOLVED:
 
1. 
Cabinet considered the report and make the following
recommendations to Council for approval:

 
2. 
Council is recommended:

 
1. 
To bring forward into 2025/26 the Council’s
projected 2024/25 General Fund balance of £18.0m with the aim
of increasing this to £22m over the medium-term period noting
the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) projected 2024/25 balance of
£15m with the aim of increasing to £17m by the end of
March 2026

 
2. 
To agree for approval the directorate estimates and
estimates for the General Finance Account items set out in Table 2
in Section 14 of this report.

 
3. 
To note that the budget is a financial exposition of
the priorities set out within the Strategic Plan summarised at
Section 6 below.

 
4. 
To note that in line with the requirements of the Local
Government Act 2003, the Interim Group Director of Finance, is of
the view that:

 
The
General Fund balances which currently stand at  £18.0m and the level of other reserves are
adequate to meet the Council’s financial needs for 2025/26
and that considering the economic uncertainty they should not fall
below this level and that the aim is to increase these to
£22m over the medium term

This view takes account of the reserves included in the
Council’s latest published 2023/24 Accounts and the movements
of those reserves since that date – which have been tracked
through the Overall Financial Position (OFP) Reports, and the
latest OFP projections. Note also, that the projections in the HRA
Budget to increase the balance to £17m by 31 March 2026 which
is considered adequate at this point in time and that the aim is to
increase to 10% of turnover over the medium term.

 
The
General Fund estimates are sufficiently robust to set a balanced
budget for 2025/26. This takes into account the adequacy of the
level of balances and reserves outlined above and the assurance
gained from the comparisons of the 2024/25 budget with the
projected spend identified in the December 2024 OFP. The overall
level of the corporate contingency has been set at £2m.

 
5. 
To approve the proposed General Fund fees and charges
as set out in Appendix 7 for implementation from 1 April
2025.

 
6. 
To require the Mayor, Cabinet and the Corporate
Leadership Team to develop robust plans to continue the work
already begun to close the revised Medium Term Financial Plan
budget gaps set out in Appendix 5 and deliver a year on year
balanced position, taking into account the recommendation of the
S151 Officer as set out in the Section 25 Statement (Appendix 12).
If the multi-year 2026-27 Local Government Finance Settlement
allocates more resources to Hackney than currently estimated,
consideration should be given  to
building in increases to our revenue reserves to improve the
financial resilience of the Council in the medium term. 

 
7. 
To note the summary of the HRA Budget and Rent setting
report proposed to Cabinet on 27 January 2025.

 
8. 
To authorise the Interim Group Director of Finance to
implement any virements required to
allocate provision for demand and growth pressures set out in this
report subject to the appropriate evidence base being
provided.

 
9. 
To approve the allocation of resources to the 2025/26
capital programme referred to in Section 22 and Appendix 6.

 
10.To approve the Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy for
2024/25 and 2025/26 (Appendix 10), with a maximum expenditure limit
of £8.95m (2024/25) and £24.4m (2025/26), recognising
that this approval does not constitute a commitment to utilise the
strategy (paragraph 22.5 and Appendix 10).

 
11.To agree to delegate authority to the Section 151 Officer to
authorise the implementation of the Flexible Use of Capital
Receipts Strategy at the conclusion of the financial year,
contingent upon a comprehensive assessment of the council's overall
financial position (paragraph 22.5 and Appendix 10).

 
12.To agree the prudential indicators for Capital Expenditure:- the
Capital Financing Requirement; the Authorised Limit and Operational
Boundary for External Debt; the Affordability prudential
indicators; and the Treasury Management Prudential Indicators for
2025/26 as set out in Section 23 and Appendix 3.

 
13.To confirm that the authorised limit for external debt of
£1,059m agreed above for 2025/26 will be the statutory limit
determined under section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003.
Further reassurance about the robustness of the budget is the
confirmation that the Council’s borrowings are within the
boundaries of prudential guidelines.

 
14.To note that at its meeting on 27 January 2025 the Council
agreed its Council Tax Base for the 2025/26 financial year as
78,754.1 in accordance with regulations made under section 33(5) of
the Local Government Finance Act 1992. The Council Tax Base is the
total number of properties in each of the eight council tax bands A
to H converted to an equivalent number of band D
properties.

 
15.To agree that the following amounts be now calculated by the
Council for the year 2025/26 in accordance with Sections 31A to 36
of the Localism Act 2011.

 
The
authority calculates the aggregate of: (in accordance with Section
31A (2) of the Act)

 
a. 
£1,348.384m being the expenditure which the
authority estimates it will incur in the year in performing its
functions and will charge to a revenue account, other than a BID
Revenue Account, for the year in accordance with proper
practices.

 
b. 
£2m being such allowance as the authority
estimates will be appropriate for contingencies in relation to
amounts to be charged or credited to a revenue account for the year
in accordance with proper practices.
 
c. 
£nil being the financial reserves which the
authority estimates it will be appropriate to raise in the year for
meeting its estimated future expenditure.
 
d. 
£nil being such financial reserves as are
sufficient to meet so much of the amount estimated by the authority
to be a revenue account deficit for any earlier financial year as
has not already been provided for.

 
e. 
£nil being the amount which it estimates will be
transferred in the year from its general fund to its collection
fund in accordance with section 97(4) of the 1988 Act, and

 
f. 
£nil being the amount which it estimates will be transferred
from its general fund to its collection fund pursuant to a
direction under section 98(5) of the 1988 Act and charged to a
revenue account for the year.

 
16.The authority calculates the aggregate of: (in accordance with
Section 31A (3) of the Act)
a. 
£1,213.468m being the income which it estimates
will accrue to it in the year and which it will credit to a revenue
account, other than a BID Revenue Account, for the year in
accordance with proper practices.

 
b. 
£10.688m being the amount which it estimates will
be transferred in the year from its collection fund to its general
fund in accordance with section 97(3) of the 1988 Act.

 
c. 
£nil being the amount which it estimates will be
transferred from its collection fund to its general fund pursuant
to a direction under section 98(4) of the 1988 Act and will be
credited to a revenue account for the year, and

 
d. 
£9.977m being the amount of the financial
reserves which the authority estimates it will use in order to
provide for the items mentioned in subsection (2) (a), (b), (e) and
(f) above.

 
17.£116.251m being the amount by which the aggregate
calculated under subsection (1) above exceeds that calculated under
subsection (2) above, the authority calculates the amount equal to
the difference; and the amount so calculated is its Council Tax
Requirement for the year.

 
18.£116.251m being the amount at (3.2.17) divided by the
amount at (3.2.14) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance
with section 31A of the Act, £1,476.13 as the basic amount of
its council tax for the year.
 
19.That the Council
in accordance with Sections 30 and 36 of the Local Government
Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts shown in the
tables below as the amounts of Council tax for 2025/26 for each
part of its area and for each of the categories of
dwellings.
 
Valuation Bands
Hackney
 

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

£984.08

£1,148.10

£1,312.11

£1,476.13

£1,804.16

£2,132.1

£2,460.21

£2,952.26

 
20.That it be noted
that for 2025/26 the Greater London Authority has stated the
following amounts in precepts issued to the Council, in accordance
with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, for each
of the categories of dwellings shown below. These precepts are
subject to the approval of the GLA Assembly at their meeting
scheduled for 25 February 2025.
 
Valuation Bands
GLA
 

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

£326.92

£381.41

£435.89

£490.38

£599.35

£708.33

£817.30

£980.76

 
21.That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts
at 3.2.19 and 3.2.20 above, the Council, in accordance with Section
30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the
following amounts as the amounts of Council Tax for 2025/26 for
each of the categories of dwellings as shown below.
 
Valuation Bands
GLA
 

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

£1,311.0

£1,529.51

£1,748.00

£1,966.5

£2,403.51

£2,840.51

£3,277.51

£3,933.02

 
22.To agree, subject to the decision of Members on recommendations
3.2.19 to 3.2.21 that Hackney’s Council Tax requirement for
2025/26 be £116.251m which results in a Band D Council Tax of
£1,476.13 for Hackney purposes and a total Band D Council Tax
of £1,966.51 including the Greater London Authority (GLA)
precept.

 
23.To agree that in accordance with principles approved under
section 52ZB of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, and the new
provisions included in the Localism Act 2011, the increase in the
Council’s Council Tax requirement for 2025/26 as shown at
Appendix 8 is not excessive (5% or above) and therefore does not
require the Council to hold a referendum.

 
24.To agree the Treasury Management Strategy for 2025/26, set out
at Appendix 3.
 
25.To agree the criteria for lending and the financial limits set
out at Appendix 3.

 
26.To approve the Minimum Revenue Provision statement setting out
the method of calculation to be used, as set out in paragraphs
23.19-23.34 below

 
3. 
Cabinet to agree that, should it be necessary following
the meeting of the GLA on 25 February 2025, the Interim Group
Director, Finance be authorised to update the content of this
report for any changes to the GLA’s band D council tax and
related GLA council tax income, by way of a written addendum, for
the approval of Full Council at its meeting on 26 February.
 
REASONS FOR DECISION
 
The Council has a legal obligation to set its
Council Tax and adopt its annual budget. This report is seeking
formal approval of the 2025/26 budget.
 
Previous decisions in this context relate
to:
 
· 
The Overall Financial Position reports presented monthly to Council
during 2024/25.
 
· 
The Calculation of the 2025-26 Council Taxbase & Local Business Rates report approved
by Council on 29 January 2025.
 
DETAILS OF ALTERNATIVE OPTIONS CONSIDERED AND
REJECTED
 
The requirement to agree a legal budget and
set the Council Tax for the forthcoming year has been laid down by
Statute. As such there are no alternatives to be considered.
 
The details of the budget, including savings,
have been the subject of reports to Cabinet and consideration by
the Corporate Leadership Team at meetings throughout 2025/26.
 
As part of the political process opposition
groups are permitted to put forward alternatives to these proposals
for consideration. Any alternative proposals put forward will be
tabled at the Council meeting on 26 February 2025.