To allow Members an opportunity to [a] declare any personal, prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interests they might have in any items which appear on this agenda; and [b] record any items from which they are precluded from voting as a result of Council Tax/Council rent arrears; [c] the existence and nature of party whipping arrangements in respect of any item to be considered at this meeting. Members with a personal interest should declare that at the start of the item under consideration. If Members also have a prejudicial or disclosable pecuniary interest they must withdraw from the meeting during the consideration of the item.

Councillor Connolly declared a personal interest in item 5k.

The following procedure applies for this item:

       i.          The Committee will receive a statement by the Leader on the Executive’s budget proposals and the key issues underlining the budget process;

      ii.          The Committee is invited to consider any issues arising from individual Directorate Budget Plans that chairs of scrutiny committees wish to draw specific attention to;

    iii.          The Committee is invited to receive a Statement from the Executive Member for Housing and Development regarding the Housing Revenue Account calculations and to consider any amendment proposed in relation to the Housing Revenue Account 2024/25 to 2026/27;

    iv.          The Committee is invited to consider any amendments to the budget proposals; and

     v.          The Committee is invited to summarise its findings and formulate its recommendations to the Council meeting on 1 March 2024.

The committee considered reports of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which provided updates on the Council’s financial position following scrutiny of the draft budget proposals and directorate budget plans by all Scrutiny Committees.

The committee received a statement from the Leader of the Council on the Executive’s budget proposals. She thanked officers for their hard work in achieving a balanced budget for 2024/25 and acknowledged the challenges in doing so. She stated that the government had previously indicated that they were receptive to the fact that local government finances were in crisis and that they recognised their role in helping to address the £4bn funding gap forecasted over the next two years but this was not reflected in the Local Government Finance Settlement which allocated only a small amount of funding for the Council. She explained that the proposed budget took these issues into consideration but that the Local Government Finance Settlement did not provide enough funding. She stated that Manchester would have had double the amount of spending power if it had received the average budget cuts since 2010 but she highlighted that the Council had lots to be proud of, including its long-term view of investing in communities and supporting residents.

The committee received a statement from the Executive Member for Finance and Resources on the Executive’s budget proposals and the key issues underlying the budget process. He echoed the Leader’s comments and praise of officers and acknowledged the difficulty in achieving a balanced budget in the context of 14 years of austerity; the government’s failure to recognise the role of local government; and in-year budgetary pressures on adult’s social services, children’s services and homelessness despite significant work to reduce demand. He explained that Manchester had lost £443m in funding as a result of cuts to local government finances with a further reduction of £32m expected in future years and that the Council would have had an additional £74.5m per year if it had been subject to the average budget cuts across local government, which he accredited to ideological political choices. He highlighted how 8 local authorities had issued Section 114 notices in recent years, of which 3 of these notices had been issued in the previous 6 months and stated that Manchester was in a better position than many councils as a result of taking tough, long-term decisions.

Each Executive Member then summarised key points within the relevant directorate budget proposals.

The Chair then invited Chairs of other Scrutiny Committees to highlight any issues arising from individual directorate budget plans. The Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee highlighted challenges with the Children and Education Services directorate budget, particularly with regards to funding for high needs blocks in schools. She recognised the hard work of officers and the importance of early help work but stated that this would be difficult to continue after 2024/25 if the government did not continue to provide the Household Support Fund (HSF).

The Chair then invited questions from  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

Report of the Strategic Director (Growth and Development), Strategic Director (Neighbourhoods) and Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

The committee received a statement from the Executive Member for Housing and Development regarding the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) calculations for 2024/25 to 2026/27 and its use. The Executive Member for Housing and Development explained that there would be a rent increase of 7.7% in 2024/25 which was set by the government. He stated that there were challenges in balancing the HRA due to pressures with the Right to Buy scheme and the need to improve the Council’s housing stock, but work was ongoing to improve energy efficiency of the current stock and to build more social housing in areas such as Collyhurst. He also explained that £1.1m had been allocated to supporting Council tenants with the cost-of-living crisis in the 2023/24 budget and this would be continued in 2024/25 with £300k allocated to mitigate against pressures caused by rent increases and the cost-of-living.

Decision:

To endorse the proposals as recommended for approval at Council on 1 March 2024.

Report of the Head of Strategic Communications and the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

The committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer and the Head of Strategic Communications which provided a summary of the results of the 2024/2025 budget and council tax consultation.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·       The consultation had run from 31 October to 27 December 2023 and sought feedback on a proposed 2.99% increase in council tax and a proposed 2% Adult Social Care (ASC) precept;

·       This was undertaken through an online questionnaire on the Council’s website and paper questionnaires in libraries across the city. Paper copies of the consultation form were also issued to Councillors;

·       The questions asked and responses;

·       Analysis of responses;

·       Demographic analysis; and

·       Equality data.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

·       The reasons why 35% of respondents to the Budget Consultation viewed becoming a zero-carbon city as a least important priority; and

·       Whether respondents to the consultation were more likely to be those who would benefit from changes to council tax, and what could be done to widen participation.

In response to queries regarding the budget consultation, the Deputy City Treasurer stated that most respondents supported an increase in council tax to support vulnerable residents. The Leader stated that there was a wide variety of respondents to the consultation and that these were often those least in receipt of Council services. She also stated that many residents favoured investment over tax cuts.

The Deputy City Treasurer explained that the Council’s Communications team used different channels to reach a wide audience when consulting on the budget. He stated that the Council was pleased with the response rate this year compared to previous years and that the responses were beginning to reflect national polling.

In response to a query regarding why some respondents viewed becoming a zero-carbon city as a least important priority, the Leader explained that this could be because respondents considered the immediate issues affecting them rather than long-term ambitions or concerns.

Decision:

That the report be noted.

Report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer.

The committee considered a report of the Deputy Chief Executive and City Treasurer which detailed how the approach to Equality Impact Assessments and Poverty Impact Assessments was embedded in the budget setting and business planning processes. It also detailed the budget setting process for 2024/25 and the impact this will have on equalities and poverty.

Key points and themes within the report included:

·       Each service developed their own service plan for the year which detailed the steps to be taken to tackle inequalities;

·       A wide range of data, intelligence and insight about communities in the city and different neighbourhoods and localities was used to inform decisions and service priorities;

·       Support provided in children’s early help, reablement services and investment in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector;

·       The proposals recommended to Council which had been identified as requiring an Equality Impact Assessment;

·       Increased Investment and support for people experiencing poverty; and

·       The collective impact of proposals and ongoing management.

Some of the key points and queries that arose from the committee’s discussion included:

·       Welcoming the support offered by the Cost-of-Living Advice Line and investment in the Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) sector; and

·       How many households could be lifted out of poverty if the government removed the two-child benefit cap.

It was clarified that, as of July 2023, 7000 households in Manchester would be lifted out of poverty if the two-child benefit cap was removed.

Decision:

That the report be noted.

The Constitution provides that amendments to Executive’s budget recommendation are to be submitted by 4:00pm on the seventh day after the meeting of Executive.

The Chair next invited Councillor Leech to present his budget amendment. In doing so, Councillor Leech proposed the following:

1.     To allocate a budget of £770,000, subject to consultation,to enable the Council to deliver a Council Tax rebate to Manchester residents in receipt of the maximum Council Tax support equivalent to increasing the maximum support from 85% to 87.5%; to be funded through the transfer from the General Fund Reserve. 

2.     To allocate a budget of £75,000, subject to consultation, to enable the Council to deliver a Council Tax rebate to Manchester residents in receipt of the maximum Council Tax support equivalent to the increase that they would be expected to pay to cover the increased precepts for the Police and Fire services and to cover the increase of the Mayoral General precept; to be funded through the transfer from the General Fund Reserve.  

3.     To allocate a budget of £1,000,000 to invest additional resources into highways maintenance, to tackle the backlog of road and pavement repairs and gully repairs, to save money on future accident trip claims and to reduce the ongoing day to day maintenance costs on gully clearing and repairs; to be funded from the Budget Smoothing Reserve. 

4.     To allocate a budget of £350,000 to invest additional resources into CCTV to tackle flytipping hotspots by improving detection rates and increasing enforcement and reducing instances of flytipping and to add or replace unsuitable bins in specific problem spots where existing bin capacity results is insufficient; to be funded from the Budget Smoothing Reserve. 

5.     To allocate a budget of £105,000 to invest additional resources into CCTV enforcement vehicles to tackle specific parking enforcement hotspots; to be funded from the On-street Parking Reserve. 

6.     That a review be carried out on the cost-effectiveness of the parking enforcement income generated by the leasing of additional CCTV enforcement vehicles.

All proposals in this amendment were spending commitments for 2024/2025 only.

The Chair then invited the Executive Member for Finance and Resources to comment on the proposed amendment from Councillor Leech. He stated that local government finances had worsened from 2010 under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government and emphasised that reserves were to be used prudently for preventative strategies and initiatives to reduce demands on key services. He further stated that the Council had increased the maximum Council Tax Support to 85% and adjusted the Universal Credit excess bands to align with this. It was highlighted that £5.5m had been retained to support those residents most in need and it was stated that the Council was doing all it could to provide support considering the budget constraints it faced.

The Leader emphasised the support available to those most in need and that the Executive continued to focus on providing vital services for residents and investing in key priorities.

Some further clarity was sought on Councillor Leech’s amendment and he explained that the additional resources for CCTV enforcement proposed in the amendment was to be used in problem areas  ...  view the full minutes text for item 26.