Content

RESOLVED:
 
1. 
Cabinet is recommended to consider the report and make
the following recommendations to Council for approval:

 
2. 
Council is recommended:

 
1. 
To bring forward into 2024/25 the Council’s
projected 2023/24 General Fund balance of £17.0m with the aim
of increasing this to £20m over the medium-term period to
2026/27 noting the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) projected 2023/24
balance of £15m with the aim of increasing to £17.6m by
the end of March 2024.

 
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 £17.0m and the
level of other reserves are adequate to meet the Council’s
financial needs for 2024/25 and that considering the economic
uncertainty they should not fall below this level and that the aim
is to increase these to £20m over the medium term period to
2026/27 from a review of current earmarked reserves.

This view takes account of the reserves included in the
Council’s latest published 2022/23 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 £17.6m by 31 March 2024 are
also considered to be adequate at this point in time but will need
to continue to be reviewed in the light of the challenges facing
the HRA.

 
The
General Fund estimates are sufficiently robust to set a balanced
budget for 2024/25. This takes into account the adequacy of the
level of balances and reserves outlined above and the assurance
gained from the comparisons of the 2023/24 budget with the
projected spend identified in the December 2023 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 1st April
2024.

 
6. 
To continue the policy requiring the Interim Group
Director of Finance to seek to mitigate the impact of significant
changes to either resources or expenditure requirements.

 
7. 
To require the Mayor, Cabinet and the Corporate
Leadership Team to develop robust plans to deliver against the
revised Medium Term Financial Plan included at Appendix 5 taking
into account the recommendation of the S151 Officer as set out in
the Section 25 Statement (Appendix 11). This is needed to maintain
the financial resilience of the Council and to avoid the
requirement to make short-term decisions which will adversely
impact on our residents.

 
8. 
To note the summary of the HRA Budget and Rent setting
report proposed to Cabinet on 22nd January 2024.

 
9. 
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.

 
10.To approve:

 
The allocation of
resources to the 2024/25 capital programme referred to in Section
22 and Appendix 6.
 
11.To note that the new capital expenditure proposals match
uncommitted resources for the year 2024/25.

 
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
2024/25 as set out in Section 23 and Appendix 3.

 
13.To confirm that the authorised limit for external debt of
£792m agreed above for 2024/25 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 continue to support the approach of using reserves to manage
emerging risks and liabilities.

 
15.To note that at its meeting on 24th January 2024 the Council
agreed its Council Tax Base for the 2024/25 financial year as
77,766.9 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.

 
16.To agree that the following amounts be now calculated by the
Council for the year 2024/25 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) 
£1,374.738m 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.
 
17.The authority calculates the aggregate of: (in accordance with
Section 31A (3) of the Act)
a) 
£1,263.182m 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) 
£4.218m 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) 
£nil 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.

 
18.£109.338m 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.

 
19.£109.338m being the amount at (3.2.18) divided by the
amount at (3.2.15) above, calculated by the Council, in accordance
with section 31A of the Act, £1,405.97 as the basic amount of
its council tax for the year.

 
20.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
2024/25 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

£937.31

£1,093.53

£1,249.75

£1,405.97

£1,718.41

£2,030.84

£2,343.28

£2,811.94

 
21.That it be noted that for 2024/25 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.
 
Valuation Bands
GLA
 

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

£314.27

£366.64

£419.02

£471.40

£576.16

£680.91

£785.67

£942.80

 
22.That having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts
at 3.2.20 and 3.2.21 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 2024/25 for
each of the categories of dwellings as shown below.
 
Valuation Bands
Combined Hackney/GLA
 

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

£1,251.58

£1,460.17

£1,668.77

£1,877.37

£2,294.57

£2,711.75

£3,128.95

£3,754.74

 
23.To agree, subject to the decision of Members on recommendations
3.2.16 to 3.2.18 that Hackney’s Council Tax requirement for
2024/25 be £109.338m which results in a Band D Council Tax of
£1,405.97 for Hackney purposes and a total Band D Council Tax
of £1,877.37 including the Greater London Authority (GLA)
precept.

 
24.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 2024/25 as shown at
Appendix 8 is not excessive (5% or above) and therefore does not
require the Council to hold a referendum.

 
25.To agree the Treasury Management Strategy for 2024/25, set out
at Appendix 3.

 
26.To agree the criteria for lending and the financial limits set
out at Appendix 3.

 
27.To approve the Minimum Revenue Provision statement setting out
the method of calculation to be used, as set out in paragraphs
23.19-23.28 below.
 
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 2024/25 budget.
 
Previous decisions in this context relate
to:
· 
The Overall Financial Position reports presented monthly to Council
during 2023/24.
· 
The Calculation of the 2024-25 Council Taxbase & Local Business
Rates report approved by Council on 24th January 2024
 
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 2023/24.
 
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 28th February 2024.