Purpose

This report sets the budget for the financial year 2024-25 and
Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) for the years
2024-27.

Content

DECISION:
 
Propose a draft General Fund Revenue Funding Requirement of
£459.429m for 2024-25 subject to remaining changes
arising from the final Local Government Finance Settlement and any
other necessary adjustments.

 
1.   
Propose to levy a 2% Adult Social Care precept and an increase of
2.99% on the general Council Tax element for 2024-25.
 
2.   
Approve that the Corporate Director Resources, in consultation with
the Mayor and Cabinet Member for Resources & Cost of living, be
authorised to make any changes required to the draft budget
following receipt of the Final Local Government Finance Settlement
(LGFS).
 
3.   
Note the latest draft position of the Council’s reserves,
subject to final audit of the statements of accounts.
 
4.   
Approve the creation of the Council Tax Cost of Living Relief
Fund.
 
5.   
Note the results of the budget consultation at Appendix
10.
 
6.   
Propose the 2024-25 Housing Revenue Account budget as set out in
Appendix 7A.
 
7.   
Agree that the National Schools Funding Formula (NSFF) adopted by
Tower Hamlets originally in 2019-20 continues for 2024-25. The only
changes included are increases to the factor values in line with
the NSFF.
 
8.   
Agree that the Minimum Funding Guarantee (the mechanism that
guarantees schools a minimum uplift in per-pupil funding) is set as
close to 0.5% as affordable, the maximum allowed after
consideration for growth and factor changes in School
allocations.
 
9.   
Agree that the structure of the Early Years Funding Formula remains
unchanged except for the introduction of the expanded two-year-old
entitlement and new provision from 9 months from September 2024
with revised hourly rates increases in line with the Early Years
National Funding Formula.

10.Note that the Local Council Tax
Reduction Scheme will remain unchanged for 2024-25.
 

11.Note the School funding position set
out at Section 3.10, in particular the overall
Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit.
 
12. Note
the Equalities Implications as set out in Section 4.
 

13.Approve the three-year General Fund
(GF) Capital Programme 2024-27 as set out in Appendix 8A, totalling
£202.255m.
 

14.Approve the three-year Housing Revenue
Account (HRA) Capital Programme 2024-27 as set out in Appendix 8D,
totalling £384.918m.
 

15.Approve the revised 2023-24 General
Fund and HRA Capital Programme budgets as set out in Appendix 8A
and 8D, totalling £88.862m and £72.157m
respectively.
 

16.Approve the budget allocation growth
and reductions to schemes in the General Fund and Housing Revenue
Account capital programme as detailed in Appendix 8C, subject to
sign off through the council’s capital governance
process.
 

17.Approve delegated authority to the
Corporate Director of Housing and Regeneration in consultation with
the Corporate Director of Resources to take any steps required to
deliver the capital programme including but not limited to going
out to tender, appointing consultants and contractors in accordance
with the Procurement Procedures, acquiring land interests and
appropriating land from the General Fund to the Housing Revenue
Account (HRA) for the delivery of new council homes, subject to
approved budgets and in consultation with the Mayor and the Cabinet
Member.
 

18.Approve budget provisions relating to
the housing capital rolling programme to maintain and improve the
existing council stock, amounting to 23.903m in 2023-24,
£23.000m in 2024-25, £28.000m in 2025-26 and
£34.000m in 2026-27, totalling £108.903m, in line with
the latest update to the 30-year HRA Business Plan, with spend to
be only committed in consultation with the Mayor and the Cabinet
Member for budget provisions relating to financial years 2024-25 to
2026-27.
 
All capital projects within the capital programme will
only proceed once all due diligence relating to the council’s
capital governance process has been completed.
 
Action by:
CORPORATE DIRECTOR RESOURCES (J.
LORRAINE)
Interim Director of Finance, Procurement and Audit
(J. Harrison)