Agenda and minutes

Members are asked to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary or Affected Interests in respect of any matter to be considered at this meeting.

Any Member with a Disclosable Pecuniary Interest in a matter should withdraw from the meeting when the matter is under consideration and should notify the Democratic Services Officer in attendance that they are withdrawing as they have such an interest. If the Disclosable Pecuniary Interest is not entered on the register of Members interests the Monitoring Officer must be notified of the interest within 28 days.

Any Member with an Affected Interest in a matter must disclose the interest to the meeting.  There is no requirement to withdraw from the meeting when the interest is only an affected interest, but the Monitoring Officer should be notified of the interest, if not previously notified of it, within 28 days of the meeting.

To consider and approve the minutes of the meeting of the Executive held on 24 January 2023.

RESOLVED that the minutes of the meeting of the Executive on 24 January 2023 together with the accompanying decision records be confirmed as a correct record.

There were no urgent items of business.

The Executive considered the following items. The decisions are recorded in the

decision sheets attached to these minutes and summarised below:

RECOMMENDED that the Executive, in recommending to Council a budget and Council Tax level for 2023/24:

1.     Agrees the provision for inflation of £9.760m (section 8.2) of the Executive Director: Resources report.

2.     Approves a further council tax discount funded by Bracknell Forest Council in 2023/24 of £75 for working age households receiving council tax support as summarised in paragraph 8.3.1a) of the Executive Director: Resources report.

3.     In addition to the above, notes that the Government has made available a Council Tax Support Fund to provide a £25 reduction in the Council Tax bills for working age and pensioner households receiving council tax support as set out in paragraph 6.3.9 of the Executive Director: Resources report and agrees that the Executive Member for Transformation and Finance be authorised to determine the approach to the discretionary part of the fund.

4.     Confirms its support for the draft budget proposals as set out in the Executive Director: Resources report presented to the Executive’s meeting in December 2022, subject to the revisions in section 8.3.1b) to 8.3.1i) and those decisions to be taken elsewhere on this agenda on the capital programme.

5.     Agrees the additional budget proposals as set out in Annexe A and Annexe D and in sections 6.2 (Revenue Support Grant), 6.3 (specific grants), 6.4 (business rates), 7.3 (collection fund) , 8.2 (inflation) and 8.3 (updated pressures & savings) and notes that the Final Local Government Finance Settlement announced on 6 February increased the level of Services Grant payable to Bracknell Forest by £0.027m from the level in the Provisional Settlement, to £0.681m.

6.     Agrees that the Executive Member for Children, Young People and Learning approves the detailed budget allocations for High Needs pupils and Early Years provisions, up to the estimated level of available resources.

7.     Includes a general contingency totalling £2.750m (section 10.7) use of which is to be authorised by the Chief Executive in consultation with the Executive Director: Resources in accordance with the delegations included in the Council’s constitution.

8.     Approves the proposed Net Revenue Budget including the contribution of £3.590m to be made from the Future Funding Reserve (including £0.081m additional interest from the use of balances) to support revenue expenditure, as set out in Annexe G of the Executive Director: Resources report.

9.     Recommends a 4.99% increase in the Council Tax for the Council’s services and that the Council Tax requirement, excluding Parish and Town Council precepts, be set as £75.053m.

10.  Recommends that the Council Tax for the Council’s services and that each Valuation Band is set as follows:

11.  Recommends that the Council approves the following indicators, limits, strategies and policies included in Annexe E:

·       The Prudential Indicators and Limits for 2023/24 to 2025/26 contained within Annexe E(i);

·       The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Policy contained within Annexe E(ii);  ...  view the full minutes text for item 81.

RECOMMENDED to Council that:

1.     The General Fund Capital Programme of £14.987m for 2023/24 in respect of

those schemes listed in Annexes A – D of the Executive Director: Resources report, of which £6.621m be funded from Council resources.

2.     They approve the inclusion of £8.366m of expenditure to be externally funded

(including £2.930m of S106 funding) as outlined in paragraph 5.19 of the Executive Director: Resources report.

3.     Those schemes that attract external grant funding are included within the Capital Programme at the level of funding received.

4.     They Agree that capital schemes that require external funding can only

proceed once the Council is certain of receiving the grant.

5.     The inclusion of an additional budget of £1m for Invest to Save schemes.

RECOMMENDED to Council the approval of the revised polling district and polling place scheme, as set out in Annex A of the Working Groups report.

To consider the following motion:

That pursuant to Regulation 4 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) Regulations 2012 and having regard to the public interest, members of the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of items 9 to 11 which involve the likely disclosure of exempt information under the following category of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972:

(3)        Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority holding that information).

NB:      No representations were received in response to the 28 day notice of a private meeting.

RESOLVED that pursuant to Regulation 21 of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) Regulations 2000, members of the public and press be excluded from the meeting for the consideration of items 9, 10 and 11 which involves the likely disclosure of exempt information under the following category of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972:

(3)        Information relating to the financial or business affairs of any particular person (including the authority).

RESOLVED that a contract extension to the current Managing Partner contract be approved for a 2-year period.

RESOLVED that

1.     the Executive approves the repayment by Everyone Active to the Council of

over the life of the remaining contract to 31March 2033.

2.     the Executive agrees the amounts set out within the report as full and final settlement of all Covid financial support.

RESOLVED that

1.     The Heads of Terms that form the basis of a new Shared Service Agreement between all the Berkshire local authorities are agreed.

2.     Authority be delegated to the Borough Solicitor to negotiate the final version of the Shared Service Agreement, to agree and complete the same.