Subject:
Budget Protocol
Date of meeting: 30 January
2025
Report
of:
Director of Governance & Law
Contact Officer: Name:
Anthony Soyinka
Tel: 01273 291006
Email: Anthony.Soyinka@brighton-hove.gov.uk
Ward(s) affected: All
For general release
1
Purpose of the report and
policy context
1.1
To agree the protocol for
setting the council’s budget and council tax including
proceedings at the February Budget Council meeting of the full
Council in order to facilitate the decision-making
process.
2
Recommendations
2.1
That the budget protocol
outlined in Appendix 1 be approved for use at the Budget Council
meeting on the 27 February 2025.
2.2
That the Legal Advice Note as
set out at Appendix 2 be noted.
3
Context and background
information
3.1
Budget Council is a special
meeting of the Authority to set the Council Tax for each year and
approve the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account budgets for
the year ahead. In order to help councillors with the process and
running of the meeting, and provide clarity for members of the
public, a protocol has previously been adopted requiring the
suspension of Standing Orders in so far as it is required to adhere
to the protocol.
3.2
The protocol is being put to
the Council ahead of the budget meeting so that all Members can be
fully aware of the procedure that will be followed should the
protocol be approved. The protocol also proposes that there will be
a limitation as to the number of amendments that directly impact
the budget proposals (‘budget amendments’) and a
defined timeline for their clearance prior to Budget Council to
ensure safe and manageable decision-making.
3.3
The budget proposals are first
considered by the Cabinet for recommendation on to Budget Council.
Under normal procedure rules amendments can be submitted up to
10:00am on the morning of the day before the meeting. However, in
the case of amendments that impact the budget proposals, this is
not appropriate as such amendments would be highly likely to be
disallowed due to the lack of time to undertake the necessary
checks, including by the S151 Chief Financial Officer and
Monitoring Officer.
3.4
To further aid the smooth
running of the budget and Council Tax setting process, a Legal
Advice Note is normally provided to the Budget Council meeting
setting out the legal, financial and practical consequences of a
failure or delay in setting the Council Tax. A copy of the advice
note is provided at Appendix 2.
4
Analysis and consideration of
alternative options
4.1
Without the proposed protocol,
the Budget Council meeting will need to follow the usual process
for its meetings, and this would prove difficult and lead to
potentially lengthy adjournments and points of clarification. As
such, the use of the protocol is recommended as has been custom and
practice in this authority.
5
Community engagement and
consultation
5.1
The Council has provided budget
information on its website to inform members of the public how the
budget is formulated and set. A ‘Budget Simulator’ has
also been developed to enable members of the public to share their
own views of how they would balance the council’s budget.
This has been provided through the council’s ‘Your
Voice’ consultation portal. Further details of consultation
and engagement undertaken will be provided in the General Fund and
Housing Revenue Account budget reports to Cabinet and Budget
Council. The budget proposals will also be shared and discussed at
Overview & Scrutiny meetings in February.
6
Conclusion
6.1
The budget protocol has been
used successfully at previous budget meetings and it is recommended
that this approach is continued in order to ensure clarity of the
process for all councillors in advance of the meeting.
7
Financial
implications
7.1
There are no direct financial
implications as the proposals are aimed at facilitating a smooth
but robust procedure for facilitating the budget and Council Tax
setting process at the Budget Council.
Finance officer consulted: Nigel
Manvell
Date consulted: 6.01.25
8
Legal implications
8.1
The legal implications of not
setting a budget are outlined in Appendix 2 to the report. The
adoption of a clear protocol to support the meeting will assist
councillors with the smooth running of the meeting and support the
Council to meet its legal obligation to set a budget within the
statutory timescales.
Lawyer consulted: Elizabeth
Culbert
Date consulted: 6.01.25
9
Equalities
implications
9.1
The protocol has been drawn up
to enable a full discussion of the budget and for all Members who
wish to participate in the debate and budget setting
process.
9.2
The budget reports that will be
considered at the meetings will include equalities impact
assessments as appropriate.
10
Sustainability
implications
10.1
The protocol is proposed
primarily to ensure the smooth running of the Budget Council
meeting and to enable the budget to be set rather than having to
reconvene the meeting on another day which would then have an
impact in terms of the resources required for a further
meeting.
11
Crime & disorder
implications
11.1
There are no crime &
disorder implications associate with the report.
12
Public health
implications
12.1
There are no public health
implications associated with the report.
Supporting Documentation
Appendices:
1.
Budget protocol for 27 February
2025 Budget Council meeting
2.
Setting a lawful budget for 27
February 2025 Budget Council meeting