Agenda item

The Council considered a report which set out the Mayor’s Budget Plan for 2018/19 to 2020/21, including the draft budget proposals to close the budget gap, in preparation for approval at Council on the 5th March, 2018.

In presenting her revenue budget proposals, Mayor Ros Jones stated that it was another prudent three year financial plan aligned to the Doncaster Growing Together Strategy approved by Council, which focused on protecting and improving front line services, and investing in Doncaster’s future.

The Mayor emphasised that in the current climate, this had been ‘no easy task’.  As everyone in the Chamber was aware, the Mayor highlighted that the Council continued to face a difficult financial challenge as further cuts had left this Council with another significant budget gap.

The Mayor explained that over the next three years, the Councilneeded to meet a further budget gap of £43million.  This was on top of the £224million of ongoing savings the Council had already had to find in its annual revenue budget since the Government austerity measures began.

The Mayor stated that it would take the total annual budget gap the Council had to bridge to £267million, since Government austerity measures took hold in 2010/11.

In light of the economic challenges the Council continued to face, the Mayor stated that it did not get any easier to prepare a budget which invested in the future, protected the most vulnerable and maintained the services that mattered most to the Borough’s residents.

However, the Mayor pointed out that this was the Council’s key priority and she believed that the Council had achieved this as set out in her draft budget proposals.

The budget proposals therefore continued to deliver the Mayor’s priority and the priority of the Labour Administration to:-

·      Increase jobs, apprenticeships, inward investment and grow the Borough’s economy, including more well paid, high skilled jobs that local people could access;

·      Deliver more new homes that meet the needs of everyone;

·      Developing the Borough’s Town Centres and the arts, culture and leisure offer;

·      Increasing physical activity, including through cycling, to improve the Borough’s population health and well-being;

·      Raise education standards and bring the education system and business community together, to give young people more opportunities to flourish;

·      Deliver vital services for children and vulnerable residents, joining up health and social care, focusing on prevention and support, and transforming services in Adult Services; and

·      Supporting and working with communities, to help keep them clean, green and safe.

The Mayor highlighted the great progress that had been made in Doncaster in recent years.  In the post-recession period since 2009, the latest figures showed that Doncaster had experienced the highest rate of economic growth in South Yorkshire; at almost 21%, it was the third highest rate of growth in the whole of Yorkshire.  Since 1997, the Authority’s economy had more than doubled in size, rising from the 9th largest in Yorkshire to the 7th largest by GVA (Gross Value Added), overtaking York and Hull in the process.

The Mayor reported that the Borough had seen some of its highest levels of employment, with thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships created, supported by the Council.  Housebuilding had reached a 15 year high, with new private sector homes, Council houses, bungalows for older people and new supported living units to help people live independently.

The Mayor added that education results were improving and earlier this year, the new National College for High Speed Rail opened, extending the Borough’s Higher Education provision and that these were just some of the Borough’s many recent successes.  However, the Mayor stated that the Council must look to the future and there was plenty to look forward to in 2018, including:-

·      The return of the ‘Tour De Yorkshire’;

·      Work commencing on the new £14m Central Library, Museum, Art Gallery and Archives facility;

·      More new house building across the Borough, including new Council housing and the opening of the new Extra Care facility in Thorne;

·      The completion of Phase 2 of the Great Yorkshire Way, taking the motorway link road right up to the front door of Doncaster Sheffield Airport; and

·      The development of the Railway Station ‘City Gateway’ and markets regeneration schemes.

The Mayor further reported that the Council would be progressing the development of a new Communication and Interaction School for children with autism, which was set to open in 2019.

Furthermore, the Council was stepping in where the market could not deliver, with the Herten Triangle project also expected to take shape next year.  It would develop new business and leisure opportunities at the Lakeside, creating jobs and generating business rates to help offset the impact of the Government cuts.

The Mayor commented that in these difficult times, the Council must live within its means, so to meet its goals, the Council must continue to modernise and improve its services, and deliver value for money.  The Council would therefore continue to develop online services for residents, and its transformation programme to support more people to live in their own homes for longer.  The Mayor believed that this was the right thing to do and also meant there was less need for long term or traditional care which saved money.

The Mayor pledged to support residents with the cost of living where possible, and commented that this year, the Council launched its new energy company which puts people before profits.  She explained that whilst there was a limit to what the Council could do to tackle increasing costs for residents, in this budget, the Council had sought to minimise the increase in fees and charges, and aimed to keep them in line with inflation.

The Mayor stated that she was extremely disappointed at the Government's complete failure to deal with the national funding problems facing Local Authorities, particularly with regard to Adult Social Care.  The Government’s answer was to underfund vital services and yet increase the financial burden on local taxpayers, which the Mayor felt was wrong.  This placed a strain on to those who could least afford it, through a regressive tax system that benefited wealthy areas over places like Doncaster and South Yorkshire. 

The Mayor commented that unfortunately, Government policy on Local Authority funding meant that Council Tax rises were inevitable in order to sustain vital services and further evidence had emerged this week of that approach, as the Government increased the Council Tax limits by a further 1%.  The Mayor emphasised that the Council Tax increases would not bridge the funding gap.  In Doncaster, like elsewhere, people would see their Council Tax rise as the Government squeeze on hard working families continued, yet the budget for vital public services would still reduce.

The Mayor explained that through careful planning and a prudent approach over the last four years, the Council had managed to limit the proposed rise in Doncaster next year to 3.99%, which was well below the maximum 6% that the Government was now allowing.

The Mayor commented that Council Tax in Doncaster would remain one of the lowest in the Country amongst Metropolitan and Unitary authorities, but she was deeply disappointed that the Prime Minister had forced these costs on to people who could least afford them.

The Mayor emphasised that the Council’s only course of action was to grow its way out of the situation, commenting that the good news was that in Doncaster, the Council was delivering on that agenda and its approach was paying dividends for Doncaster.

The Mayor thanked all staff in particular, Faye Tyas, Head of Financial Management and Steve Mawson, Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Director of Finance, and partners and colleagues in the Chamber, who had helped the Council to deliver its successes, in often difficult circumstances.

The Mayor stated that this proposal continued the Council’s prudent and effective, but ambitious approach to delivering services and supporting the Borough.

The Mayor said that she would also listen to any budget proposals brought forward by colleagues.

To conclude, the Mayor asked that if colleagues wished to bring forward any alternative proposals, Members do so at an early stage so that they could be discussed in detail in advance of the budget meeting in March, 2018.

RESOLVED that the Mayor’s Budget Plan for 2018/19 to 2020/21, including the draft budget proposals to close the budget gap in preparation for approval at Council on 5th March, 2018, be noted.