General fund revenue budgets

2021/2022

The financial planning context for this budget report was set out in the Medium Term Financial Plan reported to Cabinet on 5th January 2021. This identified a total savings requirement of £4.8m over the next 5 years. Some savings have already been identified which leaves net savings of:

 

2021/22

£’000

2022/23

£’000

2023/24

£’000

2024/25

£’000

2025/26

£’000

Total

£’000

Net                   savings

requirement

 

0

 

1,155

 

(32)

 

(466)

 

(199)

 

468

The budget report plays a key integral role in the development of the Council, and the services it provides for local people. This budget centres on five main known factors:

  • The savings made during the last 12 months;
  • The consolidation of further budget pressures (including the impact of Covid-19);
  • Support for the Council Plan and Members’ priorities;
  • The significant withdrawal of Revenue Support Grant funding, which represents a 70% reduction in funding between 2018/19 and 2021/22;
  • Members’ aspirations for Council

This report sets out for Members all of the considerations that have had to be made to balance the budget for 2021/22, and to establish savings targets for future.

As Members are aware, the continual reduction of Bassetlaw’s grant income is putting sustained pressure on the Council, and this is compounded by the late release of the Provisional Local Finance Settlement information, which was not announced until 17th December 2020.

Revenue Budget Overview

The Council’s budget requirement is measured by the amount of Council expenditure that can be funded from external finances (Revenue Support Grant and Retained Business Rates), and from council tax income. The budget requirement comprises gross expenditure on services, less gross income from services, less any planned use of reserves.

The budget requirement for 2020/21 (excluding parishes) was £15.081m. The budget requirement for 2021/22 is calculated as follows:

Net Expenditure on
Services
£’000 External Finance £’000

Gross Expenditure

Gross Income

49,497

(34,599)

Revenue Support Grant

Lower Tier Services Grant

Retained Business Rates - Baseline

Retained Business Rates – Above Baseline

Section 31 Business Rates Grants

Renewable Energy Retained Business Rates

Capital Grants

New Homes Bonus Grant

Rural Services Delivery Grant

Neighbourhood Planning Grant

Misc Govt Grants

Council Tax Admin Support Grant

229

173

4056

392

1927

1200

60

822

56

114

26

126

Net Expenditure:

Transfer to Reserves

14,898

812

External Finance:

Council Tax Income

9,181

6,529

Budget Requirement:

15,710

Income from Grant and Council Tax:

15,710

The annual decrease in the budget requirement (net spending) for 2019/20 is £0.629m 4%.

2021/22 Budget Pressures

As part of the budget process undertaken last year, the Council set a savings target of £1.17m to balance the budget for 2021/22. This was based on the premise that the Fair Funding Review and Business Rates Reform were completed during 2020/21 and introduced from 1st April 2021. These reforms have been delayed and it is unclear when they will be implemented. It has been assumed that the delay will be for a year and consequently the savings have been pushed back into 2022/23. The 2021/22 balanced budget has been achieved in year through a combination of:

Expenditure:

  • Zero-based Budget Review;
  • Contract reviews
  • Improved Procurement
  • Service

Income:

  • Council tax increases and growth in the tax-base;
  • Sharing of office
  • Retained business rates
  • Development of new income streams

The underlying message is that each year the savings target is becoming increasingly difficult to A substantial amount of the savings target has been met from non-staffing areas, and this is not sustainable.

All service budgets have been reduced over a number of years now and this has impacted on the flexibility to respond to pressures once the budget has been set at the start of the financial year. Equally, it presents the continual challenge to senior managers and Members to identify suitable areas to address the identified shortfalls in funding year on year.

A particular problem is the proportionality of employee costs to the overall spending power of the Council. As illustrated in the table below, 58% of ‘real’ money (which excludes benefits payments and internal recharges), is attributable to the cost of employees. This means that the opportunity to find savings from non-employee expenditure becomes harder each year.

 

 

Budget 2021/22

Percentage

 

£’000

%

Employees

16,151

58

Premises

2,296

8

Transport

908

3

Supplies & Services

4,501

16

Third Party Payments

4,032

15

Total:

27,888

100%

2021/22 and 2022/23 Budget Pressures

The budget is summarised in Appendix 1, and this illustrates the magnitude of the task to provide a balanced budget each year. For 2022/23, the savings target has been set at £1.155m (which has changed slightly from the figure reported in the MTFP on 13thJanuary 2020 due to updated information received). After 2022/23 the identified budget pressures can be contained and show small surpluses, assuming the target of £1.155m has been achieved. Any shortfall will impact on future year’s budgets.

General Fund Revenue Reserves & Balances

The Local Government Act 2003 requires authorities to consider the level of reserves when calculating their budget requirements. Professional guidance is set out to assist in this deliberation. The Council is maintaining its minimum working balance of £1.0m in 2020/21. This is essential, as the External Audit Engagement Lead will comment on it as part of his Value for Money Arrangements work for Bassetlaw, which is an important reputational issue. The estimated position at the end of 2020/21 is expected to be:

 

General Fund:

Estimated Position At

31st March 2021

£’000

Minimum Working Balance

1,000

General Reserve

1,717

Job Evaluation Reserve

566

Insurance Reserve

198

Business Rates Volatility Reserve

599

Business Rates Pooling Reserve

872

Retained Business Rates Reserve

2,482

Developers’ Contributions Unapplied

141

Leisure Management Trust

325

Invest to Save Reserve

813

VAT Refund

342

Revenues and Benefits DWP Grants

270

Other Minor Reserves

947

Total

£10,272

New Homes Bonus Reserve (Capital)

24

Total

£10,296

 

If the Council has to meet the costs of staff leaving under the voluntary redundancy and voluntary early retirement arrangements this year, it is expected that these will be found from in-year revenue savings. However, if these do not materialise, then some or all of these costs will have to be met from the Job Evaluation Reserve.

Local Government Finance Settlement 2021/22

The provisional finance settlement was published on 17th December 2020. It provides provisional figures for 2021/22, which, in the absence of the funding reforms, is a rollover of the 2020/21 settlement and a one-year settlement There is no indication of figures for 2022/23 or thereafter.

The Settlement Funding Assessment from Central Government consists of the Revenue Support Grant and the Business Rates Baseline. This has now reduced to 25% of Bassetlaw’s net budget for 2021/22. In 2010/11 this was 66% of our net budget. The following table illustrates the changes the Council has had to deal with year on year:

 

 

2017/18

2018/19

2019/20

2020/21

2021/22

 

£’000

£'000

£'000

£'000

£'000

Revenue Support Grant

1,191

734

224

227

229

Retained Business Rates Baseline

 

3,788

 

3,902

 

3,991

 

4,057

 

4,057

Total

£4,979

£4,636

£4,215

£4,284

£4,286

Financial Reduction

(£640)

(£343)

(£421)

£69

£2

Percentage Reduction

-11%

-7%

-9%

2%

0%

 

Members should be aware that the above figures for 2021/22 include an allocation in respect of Homelessness Prevention Funding of £0.232m.

The government use core spending power as the key measure of a Council’s funding. This is built up as follows:

  

Element of core spending power

2020/21

£’000

2021/22

£’000

Change

%

Settlement Funding Assessment (SFA):

 

 

 

  • Revenue Support Grant

227

229

0.9%

  • Business Rates Baseline

4,056

4,056

0.0%

 

4,283

4,285

0.0%

Business Rates multiplier compensation

161

211

31.1%

New Homes Bonus grant (NHB)

1,147

822

-28.3%

Rural Services Delivery Grant

54

56

3.7%

Lower Tier Services Grant

0

173

0.0%

Council Tax Income

6,313

6,600

4.5%

Core Spending Power

11,959

12,147

1.6%

These figures show an increase of 6% over 2020/21 which includes a new Lower Tier Services Grant partly to ensure Local Councils do less funding in 2021/22.

The consultation papers and the government indicative proposals has provided some information to allow an update of the financial projections on which the Council’s future savings requirements. The removal of Revenue Support Grant by the end of 2021/22 has been confirmed. Proposals to reform the business rates system has been delayed and is not expected until 2022/23 at the earliest. The mechanism of top-ups and tariffs is likely to remain. The government will be issuing a further series of consultation documents over the next year on both the Fair Funding Review for local authorities and Business Rates reform before the introduction of any new scheme.

The current Settlement Funding Assessment approach enables local authorities to benefit directly from supporting local business growth. The assessment includes a baseline level of business rates receivable (index-linked), with the level of rates receivable above that being taken by government as a ‘tariff’ – which is used to ‘top-up’ local authorities who would receive less than their funding level i.e. most counties and unitary authorities.

In addition the Council retains 40% of any business rates collected above the assumed baseline level (with the County and Fire also receiving 9% and 1% respectively), with the remaining 50% being contributed to the Nottinghamshire Business Rates Pool. If business rates income falls to less than 92.5% of the baseline, the Council will receive a ‘safety net’ payment from the Pool, so that any loss of income below the baseline is capped at 7.5%.

One of the challenges faced by all authorities is effectively predicting the level of movement in the business rate tax base. This is dependent on accurately forecasting the timing and incidences of new properties, demolitions and significant refurbishments – together with the consequent effect on valuations. This is further complicated by the need to assess the level of appeals that will be lodged successfully against new/revised valuations, together with their timing. Since the Covid-19 outbreak the level of appeals has increased significantly making this an accurate assessment even more difficult.

Significant uncertainties currently exist around the operation of the business rates retention scheme in the next few years. These include:

  • The indication that the Business Rates reform will mean the transfer of additional funding burdens to local government.
  • A proposed reset of the business rates baseline, which will take into account any growth, achieved in previous years.
  • A Fair Funding review which will assess the relative needs and resources of local authorities.
  • Transition arrangements as we move from the old system to the new one.
  • The appeals position nationally remains difficult to forecast accurately. The number of appeals lodged with the Valuation Office has increased considerably and reductions have been agreed for all office premises under appeal.
New Homes Bonus

The New Homes Bonus was introduced in 2011/12 and this gave some relief against the backdrop of government grant cuts, but it is another variable that is top-sliced from the Revenue Support Grant, and is paid as a separate specific From 2017/18 the Government implemented:

  • A move to 5 year payments for both existing and future Bonus allocations in 2017/18 and then 4 years from 2018/19: and
  • The introduction of a national baseline of 0.4% below which allocations will not be

Although this has no direct effect on revenue, it has reduced the amount available for capital projects. After 2021/22, it has been assumed that the funding will be rolled into the settlement figure, although this is by no means certain.

Cabinet agreed to a phased reduction in the amount used for core funding and in 2019/20 the reduction meant that New Homes Bonus didn’t provide any core funding for revenue. The £0.822m shown in Appendix 1 has been transferred to reserves.

It was agreed by Cabinet that the balance of New Homes Bonus would then be utilised to fund the capital programme in future years. This is being allocated to capital bids on an annual basis.

Inflation and Other Budget Provisions

An annual pay award of 2% for 2021/22 and 2% thereafter has been included in the budget. This has been supplemented in the budget for increases associated with the discretionary Living Wage.

A Corporate Contingency of £0.100m, plus a provision for external legal costs of £0.100m and a Health and Safety contingency of £0.025m has been included in the budget. These measures should ensure that the Council has enough in-built flexibility to manage budgets throughout the financial year. There has however, been no increase allowed for inflation on supplies and services - in effect this means an in-built efficiency on these budgets.

Discretionary Grants to Outside Bodies

Despite current financial pressures, Bassetlaw will still provide a significant level of funding to the third sector, parish/town councils, and other external organisations during 2021/22 as follows:

  

 

£’000

Grants for Voluntary & Community Sector

45

Councillor Community Grants

48

Parish/Town Concurrent Grants

2

Parish/Town Street Cleaning Grants

24

Parish/Town Public Convenience Grants

14

Parish/Town Cemetery Grants

12

Misterton Centre

6

Notts Wildlife Trust

3

Total

154

Council Tax

Bassetlaw did not increase its level of council tax between 2009/10 and 2013/14 and instead opted to take the now discontinued Council Tax Freeze grant. It is estimated that this represents £1.2m per annum in lost income to the Council. For 2014/15 and 2015/16, members agreed a 1.5% increase and forego the 1% Council Tax Freeze Grant.

There was no offer of a Council Tax Freeze grant for 2016/17 and 2017/18 and members approved an increase of 1.9% for both years. For 2018/19, Council took the option provided by government to increase Council Tax by the equivalent of £5 per Band D equivalent rather than stay within the 3% referendum This resulted in an increase of 3.06%.

A similar decision was made in 2019/20 increasing Council tax by £5 per Band D equivalent, which represented a 2.96% increase, which was just below the 3% referendum limit.

In 2020/21 the referendum limit was reduced to 2% whilst retaining the option to increase Council Tax by £5 per Band D equivalent and this limit is part of the provisional settlement for 2021/22.

The average Band D council tax for 2020/21 for Bassetlaw District Council is £178.48 or £3.43 per week. Due to the tight financial constraints in 2021/22, the budget has been prepared assuming a £5 increase that would mean a new council tax of £183.48 per Band D property. This represents a 2.80% increase or 10p per week.

The report to Council on 5th January 2021 proposed a council tax base for collection purposes of 35,771.49 Band D properties for 2021/22, which reflects a growth in Band D of 398 properties or 1.1%.

The majority of properties (approximately 50.8%) in the Council's area are in Band A with a 2020/21 council tax of £118.99. An increase of £5 for 2021/22 would mean a new council tax level of £122.32. This would represent an annual increase of £3.33, or a weekly increase of 6p.

Parish, Police, Fire and County precepts are still to be set by the precepting authorities and will be included in the Council Tax Resolution in the 4th March 2020 report.

Collection Fund Surplus

The Council is statutorily obliged on 15th January each year to prepare an estimate of its Collection Fund transactions for Council Tax. This estimate enables Bassetlaw and the three major precepting authorities to take account of any surpluses or deficits on the Fund when they set their own authority budgets.

Collections to 31st March 2020 were slightly less than forecast and resulted in a deficit of £0.007m carried forward. A surplus of £0.5m was declared on 15th January 2020 for 2019/20 and a deficit of £0.328m has been declared for 2020/21. The 2020/21 deficit of £0.963m was adversely affected by the Coronavirus pandemic and the government has allowed Councils to recover the deficit over the 3 years from 2021/22.

The Council tax base report to Council on 5th January 2021 recommended that the estimated collection rate be retained at 98.0%. The Collection Fund estimates are shown below.

 

Collection Fund

 

 

 

£’000

£’000

2019/20

 

 

Actual Surplus for 2019/20

493

 

Less: Surplus declared 15th January 2020

(500)

 

Surplus overstated

 

(7)

 

 

 

2020/21

 

 

Accounts Due

89,376

 

CTRS

(7,870)

 

Exemptions, Discounts and Reliefs

(9,076)

 

Precepts

(72,297)

 

Write-offs

(550)

 

Increase in bad debt provision

(546)

 

Estimated Deficit

 

(963)

Spreading adjustment

 

642

 

 

 

Deficit declared 15th January 2021

 

(328)

Business Rates

Central government requires all local billing authorities to complete a return (called the NNDR1 return), which sets out the business rate income baseline for the purposes of budget setting.

There is a direct link between the NNDR1 return and the amount of business rates retained by the Council. The total is currently allocated on the basis of:

  • 50% to be paid to the Central Government;
  • 40% allocated to the District Council;
  • 9% to be paid to the County Council;
  • 1% to be paid to the Fire & Rescue

From this figure, further calculations are applied for tariffs or top-up’s, and safety net payments or levies, before arriving at an individual business rate budget for a local authority.

The 40% retained business rate income allocated to Bassetlaw District Council is much higher than central government deems to be required, and therefore a tariff is payable back to central government for distribution to other councils where the amount collected is less than the baseline amount required. 

The position as to whether a safety net is receivable or a levy is payable is less clear, as it depends upon how much income is collected in year when compared against the government’s baseline position i.e. what central government expects Bassetlaw District Council to collect.

From 1st April 2013, all of the seven Nottinghamshire District Councils joined Nottinghamshire County Council to form a business rates pool. This arrangement works the same as for an individual authority, except the tariff or top-up, and the safety net payment or levy, is calculated on the Pool as a single entity. This approach has enabled a greater level of financial resources to be retained within Nottinghamshire.

Both Bassetlaw and the Nottinghamshire Pool have benefitted from Bassetlaw taking a proactive approach to inspecting Business properties through a dedicated Business property inspector who has significantly increased the Rateable Value of properties in the district. 

Part two of the Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention) Regulations 2013 require all billing authorities to calculate the following amounts and to notify these to the Secretary of State and any relevant precepting authorities by 31st January each year via the NNDR1 return

  1. the amount of the central share of its non-domestic rating income;
  2. the amount of each relevant precepting authorities share of its non-domestic rating income in accordance with regulation 5;
  3. the amount (if any) to be deducted from the central share payment in accordance with regulation 4(1);
  4. the amount of each relevant precepting authorities share of any amount to be deducted from the central share payment in accordance with regulation 4(1);
  5. the amount (if any) specified by regulation 7(2).

The NNDR1 return was completed and submitted by 31 January 2020 and is attached at Appendix 3.

Robustness of Estimates and Adequacy of Reserves

Under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2003, the Councils Section 151 Officer is required to report on the robustness of the estimates and the adequacy of the financial reserves. The Act requires Members to “have due regard to the report in making their decisions”. Where this advice is not accepted, it should be formally recorded within the minutes of the Council Meeting.

Robustness of Estimates

In assessing the robustness of the estimates in the 2021/22 revenue and capital budget proposals, the key strategic risks to consider in the context of the Medium Term Financial Plan are:

  • General Fund Revenue Income
    • Investment income interest rate assumptions have been set at 0.1%, which is prudent given current market forecasts.
    • Income budgets have been set in accordance with the Corporate Charging Policy with a minimum increase of 3.1%, and realistic estimates have been included within the budget based on estimated usage of each service.
    • Government has not yet confirmed the DWP Housing Benefits Subsidy Grant. The budget includes £0.241m for 2021/22 and assumes that this will reduce by 8% for the year after.
    • New Homes Bonus is no longer used for the revenue budget. It was agreed that this money will instead be transferred into the capital programme for future one-off capital projects that will provide future revenue savings for the authority.
    • The Local Government Finance Settlement announced on 17th December 2020 confirmed the Revenue Support Grant of £0.229m for Bassetlaw, and a retention of £16.9m of business rates collected for 2021/22. Officers also expect to collect a greater proportion of business rate growth in year, and an amount of £0.392m has been included in 2021/22 on top of the government’s figure. This has been less than in previous years due to the closure of a power station. The full impact of the closure of both coal-fired power stations has been included in the future year’s budgets.
    • The government’s intention to move to funding local services from business rates has created a degree of risk when setting Council A high degree of volatility still exists due to the impacts of business rate reforms, the success of outstanding appeals, and changes to relief schemes.
  • General Fund Revenue Expenditure
    • An average 2% in 2021/22 and 2% to each year thereafter in respect of the assumed pay award. The adoption of the discretionary Living Wage has been allowed for when setting budgets.
    • The Nottinghamshire County Council Pension Fund’s latest triennial review is effective from April The review set the employers' contribution percentage of payroll at 19.6% (16.2% 2019/20) for active employees, with an additional annual deficit lump sum. A decision was taken to pay the three-year lump sum element in one payment thereby saving the General Fund £0.196m. This saving has been spread over the three financial years 2020/21, 2021/22 and 2022/23 resulting in an annual budget requirement of £0.853m for the back-funding element attributed to former employees. The next triennial review is due April 2023.
    • The Council implemented a new pay structure form 2020/21 following a job evaluation A job evaluation reserve exists to meet any costs including equal pay claims. Any remaining balance on the reserve will be written back to revenue.
    • No inflationary increases have been applied to general budgets, however any contracts that are linked to RPI or CPI depending on individual agreements.
    • Through effective treasury management, the Council is currently under-borrowed which means that the budget for long-term borrowing interest can be kept lower than necessary. For cash flow purposes, if short-term funds are required in year, then temporary borrowing will be undertaken, however it is not envisaged that this will be needed.
    • The Council has been proactive in anticipating budget reductions and putting measures in place to meet the established savings A significant savings target was expected in 2021/22 resulting from the Local Government finance reforms, however, this has not materialised as the reforms have been delayed until a future date. To enable indicative future year’s budgets to be prepared this date has been taken as 1st April 2023.
  • Capital Programme and Funding
    • Funding for General Fund capital schemes, particularly in later years, remains subject to generating capital receipts and being successful in bidding for In the absence of that funding, some schemes may not be affordable. Prudential Borrowing will be used for ‘long life’ assets as a substitute for capital receipts and where positive cash flows can be demonstrated. Any additional pressure on the Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) has been included in the revenue budgets.
    • The Capital Programme is set out in a separate report. The costs of borrowing used to fund the Capital Programme are accounted for in the 2021/22 revenue budget.
  • General Fund Provisions and Reserves
    • The Council holds an Insurance provision against general fund losses. This is based upon 100% of the cumulative cost of the loss adjusters estimated value of each individual claim. This provision is re-assessed each year during the closure of accounts process.
    • As a further measure against financial risk, the Council operates strategic Corporate Contingency and Legal Contingency Funds for which £0.100m has been allocated to each for the 2021/22 budgets. A Health and Safety Contingency budget of £0.025m has also been included. These budgets are sufficient to cover exceptional budget variances or emergencies that may occur in the year.
    • The continuing uncertainty about the current economic environment has exacerbated the effects on the Councils' debt collection rates and increased housing benefit levels. In the interests of prudence, the Council has included a bad debt provision of £0.05m within the budget.
  • Housing Revenue
    • The government’s National Social Rent Policy allows rents to be increase by CPI plus 1%. For 2021/22 this amounts to 1.5% and has been included within the 30-year HRA business plan which will inform investment decisions for future years.
    • Under self-financing, all of the treasury management decisions are now made specifically for Housing as the loans pool is split into two i.e. one for General Fund and one for the Housing Revenue Account. The Treasury costs are one of the largest budgets within the Housing Revenue Account, and because of the changes, these are relatively fixed giving added stability to the decision-making process.
  • Statement of Accounts
    • The Council has sound Financial Management arrangements in place as evidenced by the positive Audit Completion Report received from Mazars as the external auditors.

Adequacy of Reserves

The Local Government Finance Act 2003 requires authorities to have regard to the level of reserves when calculating their budget requirements. Professional guidance is set out to assist in this deliberation (guidance note on Local Authority Reserves and Balances – LAAP Bulletin 99 – July 2014).

Earmarked Reserves are intended to be used for specific purposes over a period of more than a single financial These earmarked reserves either protect the Council against specific financial risks, or are used as a means of funding specific revenue projects. The main reserves held by the Council are detailed above in para 3.13.

The General Reserve is a corporate contingency to be used by either Cabinet or Council for any purpose within the legal powers of the Council. Examples of the purposes for which it might be used include dealing with unforeseen in-year budget pressures, financing once-only items of expenditure, or creating a strategic earmarked reserve. For 2020/21, members will be asked to approve the use of the reserve to fund the deficit likely to be created by costs associated with the Covid-19 pandemic. 

In consideration of this guidance, the Council is maintaining its Minimum Working Balance of £1.0m for the General Fund, and £1.3m for the Housing Revenue In the event of these Minimum Working Balances being compromised, Cabinet and Council, as advised by the Section 151 Officer, must agree a plan to restore the balance in the following financial year.

The resulting levels of General Reserves and Balances for the proposed 2021/22 budget (i.e. at 31st March 2021) are shown in paragraph 3.13.

Future Years 

The budget report outlines the expected financial position of Bassetlaw between now and 2024/25. The savings target for 2021/22 has been set at £1.155m. Thereafter, as long as these savings are achieved, the budgets show small surpluses. However, numerous assumptions have been made about the future funding of the Council and if these prove to be inaccurate, future budgets may be affected. This is particularly pertinent this year as the Coronavirus pandemic adds another layer of uncertainty.

Having considered the above risks, the conclusion of the Section 151 Officer is that the Council be advised that overall:

  • The estimates are sufficiently robust, and,
  • The levels of reserves and balances forecasted to be held at 31st March 2021 are adequate, to allow the Council to set the Revenue Budget, Capital Programme and Council Tax for 2021/22.

Budget Consultation

Bassetlaw has a statutory duty to consult the business community as part of its budget preparations. This year it is not appropriate to hold a public meeting and instead consultation will take place in February via the website and social media.

Future Issues and Prospects

The impact of a number of uncertainties and challenges outlined below should become clearer in 2021/22. The new or developing issues and projects, which are not clear at the time of agreeing this budget report, include:

  • The ongoing impact of Covid-19 This affects almost all areas of the Council’s finances including:
    • Business Rates – businesses closures, changes in rateable values, changes in working practices, government funded reliefs.
    • Council Tax – increase in LCTS claimants, ability to pay, effect on Council Tax base, accelerated move to Universal Credit.
    • Government Funding – continuation of funding, expectation of Councils to use reserves.
    • Ongoing loss of income and increased expenditure.
  • How the proposed business rates reform will work in practice and what new responsibilities will be given to Councils are still unclear.
  • Whether the Fair Funding Review will affect the Council’s funding levels to a greater (or lesser) extent than expected.
  • How much future Comprehensive Spending Reviews will affect the amount of funding available to Local Government.
  • Delivery of planned savings – the Council has delivered significant savings in previous years. As a result, current and future savings are more difficult to deliver. This represents a considerable challenge for the organisation.
  • Financial pressure on other partners – as other agencies come under spending pressure there may be direct impacts on services which are currently funded by them or in partnership with them. The County Council is facing significant cuts over coming years and the health sector continues to be under pressure. Even when there are no direct cuts to Council funding there are likely to be indirect impacts on our community based services.
  • Welfare Reform – the government continues to reform the country’s system of welfare payments, which will have implications for the Council - not least the continuing and increased roll-out of Universal Credit due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

General Fund Budget 2021/22 to 2025/26

 

Approved

Budget

2020/21

£

 

Budget

2020/22

£

Budget

2022/23

£ 

Budget

2023/24

£

Budget

2024/25

£ 

Budget

2025/25

£ 

  SERVICE BUDGETS          
445,200 Chief Executive Department 458,300 471,500 484,700 488,300 490,400
2,433,200 Corporate Services 2,552,900 2,629,000 2,890,800 2,716,200 2,717,500
2,253,000 Finance & Property & Revenue Services 2,559,700 2,653,300 2,750,700 2,784,900 2,895,000
261,000 Human Resources 280,500 291,900 303,800 305,100 304,000
6,172,400 Neighbourhoods 6,702,000 6,851,000 6,783,600 6,849,700 6,910,900
2,094,500 Regeneration 2,307,700 2,366,700 2,447,400 2,446,400 2,476,300
301,900 Housing General Fund 313,600 334,000 324,000 328,400 330,400
13,961,200 Total Net Cost of Services 15,174,700 15,597,400 15,985,000 15,919,000 16,124,500
             
  OTHER BUDGETS          
100,000 Provisions - Corporate Contingency (inc Living Wage) 102,300 102,300 102,300 102,300 102,300
50,000 Provisions - Bad Debts 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000 50,000
100,000 Provisions - Legal Contingency 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000
25,000 Provisions - Health & Safety Contingency 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000
0 Vacancy Factor* -308,200 -316,500 -324,100 -327,300 -330,600
-25,000 Procurement Contract savings -25,000 -25,000 -25,000 -25,000 -25,000
-110,000 Profit Share/Dividend Income -210,000 -40,000 -40,000 -40,000 -40,000
140,000 Total Other Budgets -265,900 -104,200 -111,800 -115,000 -118,300
             
627,000 Borrowing Interest 629,600 619,700 609,800 589,100 597,000
-130,000 Investment Interest Income -55,000 -25,000 -40,000 -50,000 -50,000
8,500 Other Interest 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000
-1,000 Renovation Grant Interest -1,000 -1,000 -1,000 -1,000 -1,000
0 HRA Internal Borrowing -117,700 -117,700 -117,700 -117,700 -117,700
1,500 Temporary Loans 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500 1,500
506,000 Net interest and borrowing costs 460,400 480,500 455,600 424,900 432,800
             
538,500 Drainage Board Levies 587,000 622,500 660,200 700,200 742,700
1,827,500 Housing Capital Receipts Pooling 266,100 542,700 553,200 553,200 553,200
1,185,000 Parish Precept 1,232,400 1,232,400 1,232,400 1,232,400 1,232,400
3,551,000 Other Operating Expenditure 2,085,500 2,397,600 2,445,800 2,485,800 2,528,300
             
-1,700 Amortisation of Intangible Assets Reversal -1,700 -1,700 -1,700 -1,700 -1,700
870,000 Capital Grants & Contributions used to Finance Capital Expenditure 760,000 760,000 760,000 760,000 700,000
-1,622,400 Reversal of Depreciation to Reserves -1,745,200 -1,745,200 -1,745,200 -1,745,200 -1,745,200
-1,827,500 Housing Capital Receipts Pooling Reversed to Reserves -266,100 -542,700 -553,200 -553,200 -553,200
-1,000,000 Reversal of Revenue Expenditure Funded from Capital under Statue -770,000 -720,000 -720,000 -700,000 -700,000
675,800 Minimum Revenue Provision 698,700 737,700 786,500 830,800 875,400
-2,905,800 Accounting Adjustments -1,324,300 -1,511,900 -1,473,600 -1,409,300 -1,424,700
             
0 Transfer to/(from) General Reserves 0 0 0 0 0
1,013,500 Transfer to/(from) Earmarked Reserves 811,900 -10,100 -10,100 -10,100 -10,100
0 Savings Target 0 -1,154,900 -1,122,700 -666,900 -467,700
             
16,265,900 Total Council Net Budget 16,942,300 15,694,400 16,168,200 16,628,400 17,064,800
             
  FUNDED BY          
-227,500 Revenue Support Grant -228,800 0 0 0 0
12,801,700 Tariff 12,801,700 12,150,100 12,390,200 12,630,400 12,883,000
-16,858,000 Retained Business Rates (baseline) -16,857,900 -16,394,100 -16,720,200 -17,046,400 -17,387,300
-4,283,800 Sub-total: Start-up Funding Assessment -4,285,000 -4,244,000 -4,330,000 -4,416,000 -4,504,300
-144,300 Retained Business Rates (over and above baseline) -392,000 0 -100,000 -150,000 -200,000
-1,900,500 Section 31 Business Rates Grants -1,926,800 -1,873,800 -1,911,100 -1,948,400 -1,987,400
-833,000 Renewable Energy Retained Business Rates -1,200,000 -1,200,000 -1,200,000 -1,200,000 -1,200,000
0 Lower Tier Services Grant -172,700 0 0 0 0
-1,145,600 New Homes Bonus  Grant -822,000 0 0 0 0
-126,100 Council Tax Support Admin Grant -126,100 -126,100 -126,100 -126,100 -126,100
-274,200 Miscellaneous Government Grants -195,900 -180,500 -180,500 -180,500 -180,500
-60,000 Capital Grants Received -60,000 -60,000 -60,000 -60,000 -60,000
0 Collection Fund Deficit/(Surplus) 34,000 32,000 32,000 0 0
-6,313,400 Council Tax - BDC -6,563,400 -6,809,600 -7,060,100 -7,315,000 -7,574,100
-1,185,000 Council Tax - Parishes -1,232,400 -1,232,400 -1,232,400 -1,232,400 -1,232,400
-16,265,900 Total Funding -16,942,300 -15,694,400 -16,168,200 -16,628,400 -17,064,800
35,373.06 Tax Base  35,771.49 36,129.00 36,490.00 36,855.00 37,223.00
178.48 Council Tax 183.48 188.48 193.48 198.48 203.48
  GENERAL FUND BALANCES          
  Balance @ 1 April 2,819,000 2,819,000 2,819,000 2,819,000 2,819,000
  Movement in year 0 0 0 0 0
  Balance @ 31 March 2,819,000 2,819,000 2,819,000 2,819,000 2,819,000

General Fund Summary

  

Group

Budget 2021/22

Forecast

2022/23

£

Forecast

2023/24

£

Forecast

2024/25

£

Forecast

2025/26

£

 

Expenditure

         

15,444,100

Employees

16,150,500

16,565,500

17,025,100

17,094,600

17,250,900

2,179,500

Premises

2,295,600

2,320,900

2,389,400

2,359,400

2,359,400

901,200

Transport

908,400

908,400

908,400

908,400

908,400

5,489,100

Supplies and Services

4,501,300

4,451,300

4,525,800

4,420,300

4,420,300

5,550,800

Third Party Payments

4,031,700

4,329,300

4,128,300

4,152,500

4,177,400

17,943,300

Transfer Payments

19,988,900

18,047,500

18,117,400

18,613,200

18,854,900

10,340,600

Internal Services Recharged

0

0

0

0

0

870,000

Capital Grants Expenditure

760,000

760,000

760,000

760,000

700,000

2,299,900

Depreciation

2,445,600

2,484,600

2,533,400

2,577,700

2,622,300

505,100

Capital Financing Costs

459,500

479,600

454,700

424,000

431,900

61,523,600

TOTAL EXPENDITURE

51,541,500

50,347,100

50,842,500

51,310,100

51,725,500

 

INCOME

 

 

 

 

 

(10,521,400)

Internal Services Recharges

(180,800)

(180,800)

(180,800)

(180,800)

(180,800)

(3,755,800)

Revenue Account

(3,835,800)

(3,835,800)

(3,835,800)

(3,874,000)

(3,951,200)

(4,451,600)

Capital Grants Income

(2,783,000)

(3,009,600)

(3,020,100)

(3,000,100)

(3,000,100)

(20,333,900)

Grants/Contributions/Reimbursements

(21,868,500)

(21,682,800)

(21,677,300)

(21,666,500)

(21,675,800)

(6,194,800)

Customer & Client Receipts

(5,930,900)

(5,943,500)

(5,960,100)

(5,960,100)

(5,852,600)

(200)

Interest

(200)

(200)

(200)

(200)

(200)

(45,257,700)

TOTAL INCOME

(34,599,200)

(34,652,700)

(34,674,300)

(34,681,700)

(34,660,700)

16,265,900

NET BUDGET

16,942,300

15,694,400

16,168,200

16,628,400

17,064,800

 

Part 1B: Payments

This page is for information only; please do not amend any of the figures

The payments to be made, during the course of 2021-22 to:

  1. the Secretary of State in accordance with Regulation 4 of the Non-Domestic Rating (Rates Retention) Regulations 2013;
  2. major precepting authorities in accordance with Regulations 5, 6 and 7; and to be
  3. transferred by the billing authority from its Collection Fund to its General Fund, are set out below

 

 

Central Government

Bassetlaw

Nottinghamshire County Council

Nottinghamshire Fire Authority

Total

Retained NNDR shares

 

£

£

£

£

£

12. % of non-domestic rating income to be allocated to each authority in 2021-22

50%

40%

9%

1%

100%

Non-Domestic Rating Income for 2021-22

13. Non-domestic rating income from rates retention scheme

21,562,397

17,249,918

3,881,232

431,248

43,124,795

14.(less) deductions from central share

 

0

 

 

 

 

 

0

 

15

TOTAL:

21,562,397

17,249,918

3,881,232

431,248

43,124,795

 

Other Income for 2021-22

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16. add: cost of collection allowance

 

 

166,956

 

 

166,956

 

17. add: amounts retained in respect of Designated Areas

 

0

0

 

 

 

0

 

18. add: amounts retained in respect of renewable energy schemes

 

1,200,000

0

 

1,200,000

 

19. add: amounts retained in respect of Shale oil and gas sites schemes

0

0

0

 

 

0

 

20. add: qualifying relief in Designated Areas

 

 

0

0

0

 

 

0

 

21. add: City of London Offset

 

 

0

 

 

 

 

0

 

22. add: in respect of Port of Bristol hereditament

 

 

0

 

 

 

 

0

Estimated Surplus/Deficit on Collection Fund

 

£

£

£

£

 

£

23. Surplus/Deficit at end of 2020-21

 

-3,138,443

-2,510,754

-564,920

-62,769

-6,276,886

(including adjustment for three year spread)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 TOTAL FOR THE YEAR

£

£

£

 £

 

£ 

24. Total amount due to authorities

 

18,423,954

16,106,120

3,316,312

368,479

38,214,865

Download our General fund revenue budgets 2021/2022 (PDF printable version). (Please note this document does not meet accessibility requirements).


Last Updated on Monday, January 30, 2023