This Council notes with grave concern that visitor numbers in Brighton & Hove dropped by more than 14% year on year in the first four month period of 2012/13

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Green Group amendment 1

Additional welfare provision from TBM improvement

Given the cliff edge of many central government funding streams on the 1^st April 2022 and the energy price hike from the lifting of the cap, in order to alleviate the cost-of-living crisis as soon as possible, agree that up to £0.200m of any improvement to the council’s year-end financial position (TBM) be ring-fenced to provide immediately available support during 2022/23 for:

· Food support (including food for children on free school meals in holidays)

· Discretionary funds, e.g. Housing and council tax support

Chief Finance Officer comments

Members are advised that the proposed budget includes using significant one-off resources to ensure a balanced budget for 2022/23 and therefore the resources proposed to be deployed in this amendment could alternatively be considered for reducing this requirement.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Joint Green & Labour Group amendment 1

It is proposed to allocate:

One-off resources in 2022/23:

· In recognition of the significant help provided to local community groups and the benefit of bringing councillors closer to their constituents, restore ward budgets to £1,000 per councillor for 2022/23. This will require £0.027m one off resources.

· To provide £0.015m one off resourcesfor insect-friendly community led planting schemes to support biodiversity and bird populations; and to enable sometree planting provision. This fund will enable ward councillors to register interest and distribute bulk-bought plants in their communities.

· To reverse the £0.030m cut to youth grants restoring the youth grants fund to £0.110m in 2022/23.

Provide recurrent funding from 2022/23 to enable:

· Restoration of fundingof the youth artsprogramme relating to the saving of £0.48m shown on page 69 in Appendix 1;

· A planning programme manager to release resources to accelerate:

o A Planning Advisory Note (PAN) for building energy efficiency; Supplementary Planning Documents (SPD) for a liveable city centre and affordable housing. This post will require £0.043m in 2022/23 (to allow for post to start in July) rising to the full year cost of £0.060m in 2023/24, to be reviewed after 3 years. These policy documents will help the city win affordable, liveable and warm homes.

Provide recurrent funding from 2023/24 to enable:

· Recognising the greater success rate of Housing First in providing long term solutions for complex-needs homeless people, increase Housing First support by:

o providing additional recurrent funding for Housing First support in 2023/24 of £0.040m (equivalent to long term support for an additional 4 people), in addition to the recurrent £0.138m budgeted investment included in the 022/23 budget proposals bringing the total to £0.178m.

· Additional recurrent annual support of £0.045m provided to alleviate hardship arising from the cost-of-living crisis (food provision, discretionary payments and holiday vouchers for children on Free School Meals)

These proposals require £0.163m in 2022/23 and £0.193m recurrent funding in 2023/24. It is proposed to fund this from the £0.163m unallocated resources held in Contingency in 2022/23 and the full year additional resources of £0.193m for 2023/24 as set out in the Supplementary report.

Chief Finance Officer Comments:

The supplementary report to budget council identified £0.163m new resources to be held in contingency for 2022/23, increasing to £0.193m for 2023/24 and this proposal utilises this.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Labour Group amendment 1

It is proposed to:

· Provide £0.172m additional recurrent resources to provide more street cleaners (4 operatives and 1 driver), to improve the appearance of the city.

· Allocate £0.015m additional recurrent resources for repairs to, and more frequent cleaning of, the toilets on the Western Esplanade for the next 2 years, before new facilities can be put in place. The funding can then be allocated for cleaning and maintenance of toilets on the seafront generally in subsequent years.

· Provide £0.200m capital resources to support investment bids for improvements to the Stanmer Park Road. This will require £0.013m pa to cover financing costs of borrowing.

To fund this by:

· Increasing residential parking permit surcharge fees by £50 to £170 for second cars, and £100 to £340 for third and subsequent cars. This change is estimated to raise an additional £0.200m per annum.

· Use the net additional income raised to fund qualifying expenditure under Section 55 of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984, which covers provision of public transport services, road, air quality or environmental improvements. Thereby releasing £0.200m general fund resources.

Chief Finance Officer Comments

The net parking income generated by this amendment has been assessed by Parking Services as achievable and takes account of an estimated reduction of demand due to higher prices.

The proposal to raise additional borrowing is allowable. Under Standard Financial Procedures the scheme would need to come to Policy & Resources Committee setting out the full legal and financial implications of the proposed investment.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Labour Group amendment 2

It is proposed to:

· Allocate £0.049m in order to roll out free swimming for under 18s across Brighton & Hove; to include £0.025m to deliver free swimming for under 18s at Saltdean Lido; and £0.024m to extend the under 16s free swimming scheme in municipal swimming pools to under 18s during after school hours, including school holidays.

· Abolish library service fines for children in favour of an incentive model such as one that allows children to pay off any overdue book ‘fees’ by reading more library books; and freeze all other library service charges for children. This is estimated to reduce income for the service by £0.041m per annum.

To fund this by:

· Increasing the fees for civil ceremonies and weddings by an average of 10% (incorporating already agreed increases). This will raise an additional £0.023m per annum.

· Increasing pre application planning fees by a further 3% and increase all building control fees by 5% in total, raising an additional £0.047m per annum.

· Increasing Visit Brighton fees by 5%, raising an additional £0.007m per annum.

· Increasing commercial hire charges in parks for medium sized organisations by 11% in total; increase charges for Madeira drive for commercial events from £10,000 to £10,500, enthusiast events from £2,200 to £2,500 and increase charges for commercial promotions from £1,800 to £2,000 at weekends and from £1,500 to £1,750 for weekdays. This is estimated to generate an additional £0.013m per annum in total.

Chief Finance Officer Comments

The income estimates relied on in this amendment can be uncertain due to changes in demand and therefore there is a low-level risk associated with the proposed income sources, however, officers have advised that Visit Brighton is likely to the most price sensitive.

The estimated costs of providing extended free swimming is subject to negotiations with Freedom Leisure and Saltdean Lido CIC and could also be affected by demand.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Labour Group amendment 3

It is proposed to:

· Retain the 50% bulky waste discount for residents on low incomes or in receipt of benefits. This will reduce income by £0.020m recurrently.

· Freeze current parking charges in our city parks (this includes East Brighton Park, Preston Park and Stanmer Park).

· Freeze concessionary charges for sports.

· Allocate £0.003m recurrent resources in order to install and maintain CCTV on the Hove Station footbridge. An element of this resource could be used to support the financing costs of any capital investment required.

To fund this by:

· Increasing charges for crossover applications from the proposed £120 to £150 for stage 1; and from the proposed £158 to £450 for stage 2. These charges are estimated to generate an additional £0.023m per annum.

Chief Finance Officer Comments

The income estimates relied on in this amendment can be uncertain due to changes in demand and therefore there is a low-level risk associated with this income source.

The net parking income generated from the parks listed are ringfenced for reinvestment within those parks. Freezing these parking charges will potentially reduce the resources available for reinvestment.

The proposal to freeze concessionary charges for sports has an immaterial impact on income.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Labour Group amendment 4

It is proposed to:

· Reduce the saving of £0.028m from reviewing the chauffeur support to the mayor shown on page 134 by £0.011m to £0.017m and ask officers to bring forward a review of civic office, security and transport arrangements to a future Policy & Resources Committee.

To fund this by:

· Removing the facility for councillors to have printed committee agendas and rely on electronic documents and for officers to bring forward a review of document provision for members to a future Policy & Resources Committee. This will save an estimated £0.011m per annum.

Chief Finance Officer Comments

This amendment, if approved, would only be enacted following consideration of these reports from officers to Policy & Resources Committee. The removal of the facility to have printed committee agendas may need further legal advice and/or equality impact assessment as part of these reports.

Date of meeting 24 February 2022

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Conservative Group amendment 1

· To reverse the proposed £0.048m saving from stopping the Youth Arts programme shown on page 69 in Appendix 1

· To reinstate £1,000 per councillor ward budgets by reversing the £0.027m saving shown on page 134 of Appendix 1

· To reinstate the £0.110m Youth led grants programme by reserving the proposed £0.030m saving shown on page 69 in Appendix 1

· To reverse the proposed saving in community libraries of £0.017m as shown on page 110 in Appendix 1

· To reverse the proposed saving of £0.028m from the review of Chauffeur support to the mayor shown on page 134 of Appendix 1

· Provide £0.035m capital investment in ‘Fish Bins’ to promote plastic recycling to replace some existing bins along the seafront. This proposal will require £0.006m to cover the financing costs.

· Allocate capital investment of £0.200m to commission a Monarchist statue commemorating Her Majesty and her platinum jubilee, to include lasering the name of every child, subject to parental consent, in the City in the Platinum Jubilee year onto the base of the statue and to send a card of congratulations to her majesty on behalf of the residents of Brighton & Hove. This will require £0.007m revenue funding to support financing costs.

· Provide £0.030m one off resources to support City in Bloom across the Jubilee weekend in red, white and blue flowers.

These proposals require £0.163m recurrent revenue resources and it is proposed to fund this from the £0.163m unallocated resources held in Contingency as set out in the Supplementary report.

In addition, the £0.030m one off resources will be funded by deferring £0.400m capital investment of the proposed 2022/23 allocation to the Carbon Neutral 2030 fund until 2023/24 which released £0.030m one off funding from the financing costs budget.

Chief Finance Officer Comments:

The supplementary report to budget council identified £0.163m new resources to be held in contingency and this proposal utilises this.

The proposal to raise additional borrowing to fund the Monarchist statue is allowable. Under Standard Financial Procedures the scheme would need to come to Policy & Resources Committee for approval, setting out the full legal and financial implications of the proposed investment.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Conservative Group amendment 2

· Freeze the Beach Hut licence fees at 2021/22 prices. This will reduce income by £0.014m revenue.

· Provide £0.110m capital resources funded through £0.009m financing costs for borrowing to provide:

o £0.020m for better boundary protection for Patcham Place Park;

o £0.020m for playground equipment in Horsdean Recreational Ground;

o £0.020m for Skating facilities at Knoll Park;

o £0.050m to provide a road crossing at Bexhill Road park.

· To provide £0.050m capital investment in street lighting and additional CCTV to support safer environments at night for women. The capital financing cost of this is £0.004m.

· Allocate £0.003m to increase the proposed allocation of £0.005m for drink spiking kits.

· Allocate £0.013m to support the maintenance of the additional street lighting and CCTV, and additional resources for women’s safety in the night-time economy (for example supporting safe spaces, taxi marshals, and communications campaigns about drink spiking).

· Provide 6 additional mobile cameras to help prevent fly tipping at a capital cost of £0.087m, requiring £0.010m revenue financing costs

· Allocate £1.300m capital resources to the Madeira Terrace restoration programme which requires £0.047m revenue financing costs.

The above proposals require £0.100m recurrent revenue resources and this will be funded by replacing the £0.100m recurrent funding allocation for investment to support planning reforms shown in table 2 on page 20 with £0.100m one-off resources only. The one-off resources will be funded by deferring £1.250m capital investment of the proposed 2022/23 allocation to the Carbon Neutral 2030 fund until 2023/24 which releases £0.100m one off funding from the financing costs budget.

Chief Finance Officer Comments:

It should be noted that the proposal to freeze beach hut licence fees will require revised bills to be issued.

The proposal to raise additional borrowing to fund proposals within this amendment is allowable. Under Standard Financial Procedures the various capital investments would need to come to Policy & Resources Committee setting out the full legal and financial implications of the proposed investments.

Works to Madeira Terraces are complex and for various reasons the first phase has not yet started as explained in detail in response to a written question from Cllr Theobald at full Council on 3 February 2022. While the restoration programme will therefore need additional capital resources in future, it is unlikely that additional capital budget will need to be accessed until at least 2023/24, possibly later, and could therefore be considered in later budget rounds.

Amending the resources for planning reforms to cover 2022/23 only could result in slowing down the replacement of the City Plan unless funding is identified in the 2023/24 budget process.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Conservative Group amendment 3

Allocate £2.800m capital resources to the Madeira Terrace restoration programme including in its carbon neutral objectives which requires £0.100m revenue financing costs.

The above proposals require £0.100m recurrent revenue resources and this will be funded by replacing the £0.100m recurrent funding allocation to the implementation and actions to develop the Whole Estate Plan shown in table 2 on page 21 with £0.100m one off resources only. The one-off resources will be funded by deferring £1.250m capital investment of the proposed 2022/23 allocation to the Carbon Neutral 2030 fund until 2023/24 which released £0.100m one-off funding from the financing costs budget.

Chief Finance Officer Comments:

The proposal to raise additional borrowing to fund proposals within this amendment is allowable. Under Standard Financial Procedures the scheme would need to come to Policy & Resources Committee setting out the full legal and financial implications of the proposed investment.

Works to Madeira Terraces are complex and for various reasons the first phase has not yet started as explained in detail in response to a written question from Cllr Theobald at full Council on 3 February 2022. While the restoration programme will need additional capital resources in future, it is unlikely that additional capital budget will need to be accessed until at least 2023/24, possibly later, and could therefore be considered in later budget rounds.

Amending the resources to support the development of the Whole Estate Plan to cover 2022/23 could delay the implementation of the Downland Estate plan and delay delivery of corporate priorities. The Whole Estate Plan is due to be presented to Policy & Resources Committee later in 2022 and will identify resource requirements that will need to be included in the 2023/24 budget process.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Conservative Group amendment 4

· £0.040m to freeze trader permit prices at 2021/22 levels;

· £0.036m per annum to fund £0.750m capital investment in Stanmer Park Traditional Agricultural buildings renovation and road improvements in 2022/23;

· £0.076m per annum to fund £1.600m capital investment in Stanmer Park Traditional Agricultural buildings renovation and road improvements in 2023/24.

The above proposals will be funded by redirecting funding for the proposed development of a city-wide Strategic Transport Model shown in table 2 on page 20 of the agenda from the capital allocations for the Carbon Neutral 2030 fund over 2022/23 and 2023/24 which releases £0.076m in 2022/23 and a further £0.076m in 2023/24.

Chief Finance Officer Comments:

The redirection of funds to support development of a citywide Strategic Transport Model is a member choice.

The works to Stanmer Park Traditional Agricultural buildings renovation and road improvements require detailed cost estimates and, under Standard Financial Procedures the scheme would need to come to Policy & Resources Committee setting out the full legal and financial implications of the proposed investment.

Funding the Strategic Transport Model from the resources earmarked for the Carbon Neutral 2030 funds will reduce the funds available for allocation to other initiatives by £1.000m in both 2022/23 and 2023/24 (reflecting the different expected asset life of the investments) .

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Conservative Group amendment 5

Provide £0.840m capital investment to support the Madeira Terraces restoration including in its carbon neutral objectives which requires £0.030m revenue financing costs.

The above investment will be funded by deleting the proposed allocation to the City Tracker of £0.025m shown in Table 2 on page 24 and introducing charges for Planning Committee Members attendance at pre-application meetings. This is estimated to generate £0.005m per annum.

Chief Finance Officer Comments:

The City Tracker is estimated to cost £0.050m every 2 years with the next survey proposed for 2023/24. The City Tracker is the only citywide randomised survey the council conducts and allows the council to identify priorities and performance across the city. The removal of this funding will mean this survey could not take place without alternative funding being identified.

The income estimates relied on in this amendment can be uncertain due to changes in demand and therefore there is a low-level risk associated with these income sources.

GENERAL FUND REVENUE BUDGET, CAPITAL

& TREASURY MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2022/23

Conservative Group amendment 6

· Provide £11.250m capital investment towards Madeira Terraces restoration including in its carbon neutral objectives which requires £0.400m revenue financing costs.

· Provide £0.850m capital investment towards the replacement of seafront railings which requires £0.042m of revenue financing costs.

It is proposed to fund the £0.442m by:

· Increase the proposed saving in the Communications service shown on page 135 of Appendix 1 from £0.048m to £0.118m releasing £0.070m in 2022/23;

· Redirect the investment of £0.070m for weed removal shown in table 2 on page 20 and revert to using herbicides;

· Reduce the proposed budget of £0.313m for Union facility time funded by the council by £0.295m in 2022/23;

· Remove councillor bus passes which will save £0.007m.

The above proposals require £0.070m one-off resources to cover the time required for consultation and implementation of the changes to the communications service and the Union Facility time. This one-off requirement will be funded by deferring £0.880m capital investment of the proposed 2022/23 allocation to the Carbon Neutral 2030 fund until 2023/24 which released £0.070m one off funding from the financing costs budget.

Chief Finance Officer Comments:

The proposal to increase the savings within the Communications service is expected to significantly impact on the council’s ability to communicate with residents and other stakeholders across the city. The council is a high-profile local authority which attracts and seeks out media interest and coverage which would be limited by further reductions to this service.

The proposal is estimated to delete 2 further posts within the service and therefore requires a staffing Equalities Impact Assessment which is appended to this amendment.

The complete removal of facility time carries a high risk of industrial dispute up to and including industrial action. In addition, there is a significant demand for TU colleagues to be involved in various change programmes across the council. Much of this time is provided through the representatives on full time release, and therefore this proposal would be likely to slow down the pace of change across a wide range of services including those where significant modernisation and/or savings programmes are required. It will also impact development and implementation of our Digital, Customer and Future Ways of Working strategies. TU representatives also collaborate on our Fair & Inclusive Plans and our Wellbeing strategy, and removal of all facility time would impact these programmes of work. There are 8 FTE staff on full time release. The consultation process would need to identify any staff at risk of redundancy and consider options. A staffing Equalities Impact Assessment is required for this proposal which is appended to this amendment.

The removal of member bus passes could require agreement through the Independent Renumeration Panel and is therefore subject to their recommendation.

Budget 2022-23: Equality Impact Assessment – Communications Service – Strategy, Governance & Law

EIA No.	EIA Proposal
	Increase the proposed saving in the Communications service shown on page 135 of appendix 1 from £0.048m to £0.118m releasing £0.070m in 2022/23.
Groups potentially impacted	Impacts identified	Mitigating Actions
Note: As not more than 20 employees affected to preserve employee confidentiality, no employee equalities data has been gathered or analysed from the council’s employee database. Comments are based on evident information.	We know that in the council as a whole and in the directorate that most protected characteristics are under-represented. In Strategy Governance and Law this is the case for all protected characteristics.	1. Ensure staff support information is made clear in the staff consultation document. 2. Ensure management, trade union and HR support is available for all staff. 3. Ensure there are opportunities in the consultation process for staff to raise any issues in relation to protected characteristics. 4. Ensure any reasonable adjustments are considered and implemented as appropriate 5. Ensure that mental health support is highlighted to staff throughout the consultation in recognition that change management can impact adversely on mental health/stress/anxiety.

Budget 2022-23: Equality Impact Assessment – Trade Union facility time – Finance & Resources

EIA No.	EIA Proposal
	Remove all Union facility time funded by the council releasing £0.295m in 2022/23
Groups potentially impacted	Impacts identified	Mitigating Actions
Note: As not more than 20 employees affected to preserve employee confidentiality, no employee equalities data has been gathered or analysed from the council’s employee database. Comments are based on evident information.	We know that in the council as a whole that the protected characteristics which are under-represented are BME, White Other, and male employees.	1. Ensure staff support information is made clear in the staff consultation document. 2. Ensure management, trade union and HR support is available for all staff. 3. Ensure there are opportunities in the consultation process for staff to raise any issues in relation to protected characteristics. 4. Ensure any reasonable adjustments are considered and implemented as appropriate 5. Ensure that mental health support is highlighted to staff throughout the consultation in recognition that change management can impact adversely on mental health/stress/anxiety.