Issue - meetings

Approved.

The Presiding Member set out the process that would be followed for this item.

The Section 151 Officer presented the report which proposed a Revenue Budget and Council Tax Levy for 2025/26.  There were no technical questions asked.

Original report proposed by Councillor R C Stewart. Seconded by Councillor D H Hopkins.

The Presiding Member stated that two budget amendments had been received. One from the Liberal Democrats / Independent Opposition Group and one from the Uplands Party Group.

Liberal Democrats / Independent Opposition Group Amendment

Proposed by Councillor C A Holley. Seconded by Councillor P M Black.

The amendment being:

We call on the Council to make the following amendment to the budget.

The cost of living is hitting everyone very hard currently with the cost of energy and food which have been with us for some time.  We would therefore propose Council tax to be set at 3.95% as opposed to 5.95%.

Whilst this would “cost” (i.e. reduce council tax) by £3.272m we know that roughly 20p in every £1 goes on CTRS so that can be cut by £0.654m offsetting the impact and making the net cost £2.618m.

We propose a draw from the capital equalisation reserve of the sum of £2.618 million to allow this.  There is more than enough funding in that to allow this draw to take place.  We understand that the current administration has done what we have been saying for many years and is now planning to use this fund to trim council tax itself. We hope that this Council Chamber will support our amendment to further reduce Council Tax.

Following debate and a vote, the amendment was not supported.

Uplands Group Amendment

Proposed by Councillor S J Rice. Seconded by Councillor P N May.

The amendment being:

·       Reduce spot hire vehicle costs for 25/26 by £350,000 to 24/25 levels.

·       Increase expenditure on Environmental Enforcement (fly-tipping) by £100k.

·       Remove proposed savings - Social Services Adult Services Reduce the costs of in-house homecare (domiciliary care) provision by 3% by increasing caseloads £250k.

Following debate and a vote, the amendment was not supported.

Substantive Motion

Discussion took place on the substantive motion.

Resolved that: -

1)    The Revenue Budget for 2025/26 as detailed in Appendix A, be approved.

2)    The Budget Requirement and Council Tax Levy for 2025/26 as detailed in Section 9 of this report, be approved.

Call In Procedure – Subject to Pre-Decision Scrutiny: This decision is exempt from the Authority’s Call In Procedure as “the decision has been subject to Pre-Decision Scrutiny and there is no material change in relevant information / evidence”.

The Section 151 Officer submitted a report that set out the current position with regard to the Revenue Budget for 2025/26 for consideration by Cabinet.

The Leader of the Council stated that the Welsh Government Budget announcement was scheduled to be made later that day and that the Cabinet were keen to align with the aims of the Welsh Government and the Local Government Borrowing Initiative (LGBI) with those of Swansea Council. This could mean amendments being made at Council on 6 March 2025 to ensure that the Council delivered as much as possible quickly.

Resolved that:

1)             The outcome of the formal consultation exercise be noted and any changes to the Budget Proposals in Appendix D of the report be agreed, together with the position regarding delegated budgets as set out in Section 4.15 and 4.17 of the report.

2)             The current Total Funding Requirement identified in Section 4.6 of the report be noted and in line with the potential actions identified in Section 9 and 10 of the report, a course of action be agreed to achieve a balanced Revenue Budget for 2025/26.

In addition to a review of current savings proposals Cabinet:

a)         Reviewed and approved the Reserve transfers recommended in the report.

b)         Agreed a level of Council Tax for 2024/25 to be recommended to Council.

3)             Subject to the changes, Cabinet recommends to Council for approval:

a)         A Revenue Budget for 2025/26.

b)         A Budget Requirement and Council Tax Levy for 2025/26.

4)             Authority be delegated to the Section 151 Officer to make normal minor technical adjustments for latest matters regarding Precepts and Levies etc.

5)             Authority be delegated to the Section 151 Officer to make technical adjustments for final settlement around matters such as taxbase changes, passporting obligations, transfers to or from specific grants, capital financing for LGBI etc.

6)             Any other significant additional funding would be placed into contingency temporarily to balance and decisions on the allocations would be for Council to decide.