Purpose

To obtain Full Council approval for the annual
capital budget, treasury management strategy and revenue budget, as
recommended by Cabinet and to pass the statutory formal Council Tax
resolutions.

Content

1.     
That it be agreed, the issue of RAAC in
the Council Buildings be referred to the next meeting of the
Scrutiny Board and the Leader of the Council was welcomed to attend
to explain what he knew and when.   
2.     
That the updated City of Wolverhampton Capital Strategy be
approved.
3.     
That the revised, medium term General Revenue Account capital
programme of £373.7 million, an increase of £14.6
million from the previously approved programme, and the change in
associated resources be approved.
4.     
That the authorised borrowing limit for 2024-2025 to support the
capital strategy as required under Section 3(1) of the Local
Government Act 2003 to be set at £1,261.30 million (Reference
PI 3, Appendix 3 of the Cabinet report) be approved. The forecast
borrowing is below the authorised borrowing limit.

5.     
That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2024-2025 as set
out in Appendix 1 of the Cabinet report be approved.

6.     
That the Annual Investment Strategy 2024-2025 as set out in
Appendix 2 of the Cabinet report be approved.

7.     
That the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators as set out
in Appendix 3 of the Cabinet report be approved.

8.     
That the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement setting
out the method used to calculate MRP for 2024-2025 as set out in
Appendix 4 of the Cabinet report be approved.

9.     
That the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Treasury
Management Practices as set out in Appendix 6 of the Cabinet report
be approved.

10.  
That authority be continued to be delegated to the Interim Director
of Finance to amend the Treasury Management Policy and Practices
and any corresponding changes required to the Treasury Management
Strategy, the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, the
Investment Strategy and the Annual MRP Statement to ensure they
remain aligned. Any amendments would be reported to the Cabinet
Member for Resources and Cabinet (Resources) Panel as
appropriate.

11.  
That authority be continued to be delegated to the Interim Director
of Finance to lower the minimum sovereign rating in the Annual
Investment Strategy, in the event of the UK’s credit rating
being downgraded by the third credit rating agency, due to the
current economic climate.

12.  
That authority be delegated to the Cabinet Member for Resources, in
consultation with the Interim Director of Finance, to amend the MRP
statement should this be required following the outcome of the
consultation.

13.  
That the net budget requirements for 2024-2025 of £332.0
million for General Fund services be approved.

14.  
That the Medium Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2024-2025 to
2026-2027 as detailed in Section 9 and the key assumptions
underpinning the MTFS as detailed in Appendices 1, 2 and 3 of the
Cabinet report be approved.

15.  
That a Council Tax for Council services in 2024-2025 of
£2,004.27 (Council element) for a Band D property, being an
increase of 4.99% on 2023-2024 levels, which incorporates 2% in
relation to Adult Social Care be approved.

16.  
That the refreshed Reserves Strategy as detailed in Appendix 8 of
the Cabinet report be approved.
17.  
That it be noted that the Council Tax base for 2024-2025 is
calculated at 66,645.60(Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the
Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the
“Act”), as reported to Cabinet on 17 January 2024.
18.  
That it be agreed, to calculate the Council Tax requirement for the
Council’s own purposes for 2024-2025 was
£133,575,000.
19.  
That it be agreed that the following amounts be calculated for the
year 2024-2025 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local
Government Finance Act 1992 as amended:
 
(a) £781,402,170
       
 being the aggregate of the amounts
which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2)
of the Act.
 
(b)  £647,827,170         being the
aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items
set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.
 
(c)  £133,575,000         being the
amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate
at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section
31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year.
                                   
    (Item R in the formula in
Section 31B of the Act).
 
(d)  £2,004.27              
being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T
(section 1 above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with
Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for
the year (including Parish precepts).
 
(e)  £0                          
 being the aggregate amount of all
special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the
Act.
 
(f)   £2,004.27              
being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing
the amount at 3(e) above by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the
Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic
amount of its
                                   
  Council Tax for the year for dwellings
in those parts of its area to which no Parish precept relates.
 
20.  
That it be noted that West Midlands Police and Fire Authorities
have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40
of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of
dwellings in the Council’s area as detailed in the
report.
21.  
That it be agreed that the Council, in accordance with Sections 30
to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the
aggregate amounts shown in the tables as the amounts of Council Tax
for 2024-2025 for each part of its area and for each of the
categories of dwellings as detailed in the report.
22.  
That it be agreed, having calculated the aggregate in each case of
the amounts at (3) (f) and (4) above, the Council, in accordance
with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby
sets the amounts detailed in the report as the amounts of the
Council Tax for the year 2024-2025 for each of the categories of
dwellings as detailed in the report.
23.  
That it be agreed, that a notice of the amounts payable in respect
of chargeable dwellings in each valuation band for the year
commencing on 1 April 2024 be published in at least one local
newspaper and that in accordance with Section 3(2) of the Local
Government Finance Act 1992, this notice shall also make reference
to the National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier set by the Secretary
of State, and specify that the Council Tax and the non-domestic
rate demands are annual demands which cover the full financial
year.
24.  
That it be agreed that the Council had determined that its relevant
basic amount of Council Tax for 2024-2025 is not excessive in
accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB Local
Government Finance Act 1992.
25.  
That it be agreed, that as the billing authority, the Council had
not been notified by a major precepting authority that its relevant
basic amount of Council Tax for 2024-2025 is excessive and that the
billing authority is not required to hold a referendum in
accordance with Section 52ZK Local Government Finance Act 1992.
26.  
That it be noted, that the MRP charge for the financial year
2024-2025 would be £20.8 million; it was forecast to increase
to £23.2 million in 2025-2026 (paragraph 2.13 of the Cabinet
report).
27.  
That it be noted, that Cabinet or Cabinet (Resources) Panel and
Council would receive regular Treasury Management reports during
2024-2025 on performance against the key targets and Prudential and
Treasury Management Indicators in the Treasury Management Strategy
and Investment Strategy, as set out in the paragraph 2.11 and
Appendices 2 and 3 of the Cabinet report.