HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Proposed Executive Decision:

With the concurrence of the Chairman under Section 100B (4)(b) of the Local Government Act 1972, this matter has been included on the agenda to ensure that the most up-to-date information is presented.

1) Summary:

The following decisions are sought, based upon the recommendations from the Leader and Cabinet to the County Council for the 2009/10 budget and council tax that:

1.1. the revised estimates 2008/09 (Appendix 1) be approved

1.2. the anticipated underspendings of £10.6m in Table 3 (paragraph 2.13) be carried forward to 2009/10 (£3.9m on Adult Services, £3.9m on Supporting People, £1.3m on Children's Services, £0.3m on Environment and £1.2m on Policy and Resources)

1.3. the additional pressures and growth proposals from Executive Members totalling £28.1m be approved (Table 5, paragraph 4.18 and Appendix 2)

1.4. the savings and redeployment proposals of £19.9m put forward by Executive Members, be approved (Table 5, paragraph 4.18 and Appendix 2)

1.5. cashable efficiency savings of £20.5m in 2009/10 (Table 6, paragraph 5.9 and Appendix 3) be approved

1.6. the annual review of charges and maximisation of income across services (Table 7, paragraph 6.2) be approved

1.7. the workforce implications of the proposed budget 2009/10 (Table 8, paragraph 7.3 and Appendix 5) be agreed

1.8. additional one-off growth of £6.1m be approved (Table 10, paragraph 8.20)

1.9. additional recurring growth of £1.5m be approved (Table 12, paragraph 8.36) including: £250,000 for Recreation and Heritage to meet all future initiatives and to complete the restructuring and modernisation of libraries; and £1.2m for Children's Services to make a substantial contribution to the reduction of risk in the practice of safeguarding children in Hampshire

1.10. adjustments to reserves as set out in Table 13, paragraph 10.14 and the overall level of reserves (Appendix 6) be approved

1.11. the estimated level of balances at 31 March 2009 of £29.0m (Table 14, paragraph 11.2) be approved, including £7.6m from use of underspends in 2007/08 and 2008/09 to reduce council tax in 2009/10 and 2010/11

1.12. the budget for 2009/10 as summarised in Tables 16 to 19, set out in detail in Appendix 4 and including the adjustments in recommendations 1.8 - 1.11, be approved

1.13. the provisional budgets for 2010/11 and 2011/12 summarised in Tables 22 to 25, together with provisional council tax rises of 2.5% in 2010/11 and 3.8% in 2011/12 be approved

1.14. the treasury management, annual investment strategies, prudential and financial health indicators for 2009/10, as set out in Appendix 8 be approved

1.15. it be a recommendation to Council that

a) the Treasurer's report under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 be taken into account when the Council determines its budget and precept for 2009/10 (Appendix 9)

b) the revenue budget for 2009/10 (as set out in the attached draft budget book) and the provisional budgets for 2010/11 and 2011/12 be approved

c) the total budget requirement for the general expenses of the County Council for the year beginning 1 April 2009 be £659,705,000

d) the County Council's band D council tax for the year beginning 1 April 2009 be increased by 2.5% to be £1,023.57

e) the County Council's council tax for the year beginning 1 April 2009 for properties in each tax band be:

	£
Band A	682.38
Band B	796.11
Band C	909.84
Band D	1,023.57
Band E	1,251.03
Band F	1,478.49
Band G	1,705.95
Band H	2,047.14

f) precepts be issued totalling £512,402,151.30 on the billing authorities in Hampshire, requiring the payment, in such instalments and on such dates set by them and previously notified to the County Council, in proportion to the taxbase of each billing authority's area as determined by them and as set out below:

	£
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council	62,657.70
East Hampshire District Council	47,514.78
Eastleigh Borough Council	43,666,14
Fareham Borough Council	42,383.00
Gosport Borough Council	27,670.70
Hart District Council	37,892.60
Havant Borough Council	42,674.00
New Forest District Council	72,350.90
Rushmoor Borough Council	31,184.03
Test Valley Borough Council	45,327.00
Winchester City Council	47,282.09

g) the annual investment strategy and policy for the level of minimum revenue provision (Appendix 8) be approved

h) the prudential and financial health indicators (annex 3 to Appendix 8) be approved.

2) Reasons for the decision:

2.1. The full County Council must agree the 2009/10 revenue budget and set the council tax for 2009/10 at its meeting on 19 February 2009. The Leader will present his budget speech and recommendations at that meeting. This report provides the background to those budget decisions and presents the recommendations from the Leader and Cabinet to the County Council.

2.2. The County Treasurer under Section 25 of the Local Government Act 2003 is also required to report to the full Council on the:

· robustness of the estimates for 2009/10

· adequacy of the financial reserves in the budget

2.3. These decisions support the corporate strategy by providing resources for:

a) Hampshire safer and more secure for all

b) maximising wellbeing

c) enhancing our quality of place

2.4. The budget is part of the integrated financial, performance and workforce planning process linked to the corporate strategy, and the corporate improvement plan. Resources have been allocated as the highest priority for maximising wellbeing towards meeting the needs of the most vulnerable in Adult Services and Children's Services, as well as supporting the capital programme.

3) Other options considered and rejected:

3.1. Other options are not available as far as process and timetable are concerned, but the leaders of the opposition parties may wish to present their own recommendations on the budget and council tax to the County Council as amendments to these proposals.

4) Conflicts of Interest:

4.1. Conflicts of interest declared by the Decision-Maker:

a) None

4.2. Conflicts of interest declared by other Executive members consulted:

a) None

5) Dispensation granted by the Standards Committee:

None

6) Any reasons for the matter being dealt with urgently:

None