Budget Council 27 February 2025 – Procedure Note

To help Members at Council on 27 February 2025 the procedure to be followed in respect of the Budget debate is set out below:

77. Declarations of Interest.

78. Mayor’s urgent communications:

Adoption of Special Procedures

The Leader will move that Council agrees that Council Procedural Rules be suspended in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 1.6 to the extent that it is necessary to enable the business of the meeting to be dealt with as set out in agenda items 79 –81 below.

79. General Fund Revenue Budget, Capital & Treasury Management Strategy 2025-26

80. Supplementary Financial Information for Budget Council

81. Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Budget & Capital Investment Programme 2025/26 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy

The Administration’s Budget Proposal based on a 4.99% Council Tax Increase incorporating a 2% Precept for Adult Social Care:

(i) The mayor will invite Councillor Taylor and Councillor Sankey to move and second the Administration’s Budget based on a 4.99% Council Tax increase incorporating a 2% precept for Adult Social Care.

Councillor Taylor will have unlimited time and Councillor Sankey will have 5 minutes within which to move and second the budget proposals, and to refer to the prevailing financial conditions in relation to the budget.

A. The Green Group’s Amendments:

(ii) The mayor will invite Councillor Sykes to move and Councillor Davis to second the Green Group’s amendments to the budget proposals.

Councillor Sykes will have unlimited time and Councillor Davis will have 5 minutes within which to move and second the amendments and to refer to the prevailing financial conditions in relation to the budget.

[The Chief Finance Officer / Monitoring Officer shall have discretion at any stage to remind Members of the proposed substantive budget motion and its implications following acceptance of any amendments.]

B. The Conservative Group’s Amendments:

(iii) The mayor will invite Councillor McNair and Councillor Meadows to move and second the Conservative Group’s amendments to the budget proposals.

Councillor McNair will have unlimited time and Councillor Meadows will have 5 minutes within which to move and second the amendments and refer to the prevailing financial conditions in relation to the budget.

[The Chief Financial Officer / Monitoring Officer shall have discretion at any stage to remind Members of the proposed substantive budget motion and its implications following acceptance of any amendments.]

C. Council Debate:

(iv) The mayor will then invite Councillors to debate the 2025/26 budget proposals for the General Fund Revenue Budget, Council Tax, Capital and Treasury Management Strategies and the Housing Revenue Account Budget & Capital Investment Programme and Medium-Term Financial Strategy; based on a Council Tax increase of 4.99% (items 79 - 81, and the amendments (as detailed in the addendum papers).

NOTE: Speakers are limited to three minutes each unless otherwise specified or extensions granted.

[The Chief Finance Officer / Monitoring Officer shall have discretion at any stage to remind Members of the proposed substantive budget motion and its implications following acceptance of any amendments.]

D. The Administration’s Right of Reply:

(v) At the conclusion of the debate the mayor will invite Councillor Sankey to give a final right of reply on behalf of the Administration. Councillor Sankey will have up to 5 minutes in which to respond.

Following this,

(i) The mayor will request that all Members are logged into their microphones so that they can use the voting facility and the outcome of the voting can be recorded.

(ii) There will be a slight delay between each vote to enable the results of the previous item to be recorded into the system for the minutes once they have been shown on the screens.

E. Voting on the amendments:

(vi) The mayor will then put the amendments to the vote in the following order:

(i) The Conservative Group’s amendments;

(ii) The Green Group’s amendments.

Following the conclusion of the voting on the amendments the Chief Financial Officer will confirm how the individual amendments that have been carried affect the council tax proposal as necessary.

There may be a need for a short adjournment to allow for the preparation of the council tax resolutions to reflect the budget proposals as amended / if amended to be printed and circulated prior to the substantive vote.

F. Substantive Votes:

(vii) The mayor will put the substantive motions (as amended) (if amended) relating to the General Fund Revenue Budget, Council Tax, Capital and Treasury Management Strategies 2025/26 to a recorded vote as follows:

1. Budget and Council Tax increase of 4.99% including a 2% Precept for Adult Social Care

1.1 If required, the Chief Financial Officer will clarify the amendments that have been agreed and how they affect the budget proposal which will then be put to the vote.

1.2 Item 79 General Fund Revenue Budget, Capital and Treasury Management Strategy 2025-26 based on a budget and council tax increase of 4.99% (incorporating a 2% precept for Adult Social Care), recommendations (1) to (7), as detailed in the extract from the Cabinet meeting held on 13 February 2025.

together with;

Item 80 Supplementary Financial Information for Budget Council recommendations (2.1 and 2.2) incorporating the council tax resolution at Appendix 8;

1.3 Note: Should the budget of 4.99% be approved, then the mayor will move to Item 79 on the agenda.

1.4 If the vote on the Budget is carried the mayor will then put the Housing Revenue Account Budget & Capital Investment Programme 2025/26 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy to the vote as detailed in (2) below.

1.5 If the vote on the budget is lost, then the Chief Financial Officer and/or the Monitoring Officer will outline the Council’s position and consult the Mayor.

1.6 Note: There may then be a need for an adjournment.

Followed by:

(viii) The mayor will put the substantive motions (as amended) (if amended) relating to the Housing Revenue Account Budget & Capital Investment Programme 2025/26 and the Medium-Term Financial Strategy to the vote as follows:

2. Housing Revenue Account Budget & Investment Programme 2025/26 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy

2.1. If required, the Chief Financial Officer will clarify the position should an amendment have been agreed and how it affects the budget proposal which will then be put to the vote.

2.2. Item 81 Housing Revenue Account Budget & Capital Investment Programme 2025/26 and Medium-Term Financial Strategy recommendations (1) to (4) as detailed in the extract from the Cabinet meeting held on 13 February 2025.

G. H. Close of Meeting:

(ix) The mayor will then close the meeting.

Note: The mayor may adjourn the meeting at any time.

Nigel Manvell S151 Chief Financial Officer

Elizabeth Culbert, Director Governance & Law (Monitoring Officer)

Additional guidance regarding voting on proposed amendments:

Conservative Group Amendments 1 to 4

1 If Conservative amendment 1 is carried and subsequently Green amendment 1 is carried, this would result in £0.053m additional resources for Community, Jubilee and Hove Libraries.

2 If Conservative amendment 2 is carried and subsequently Green amendment 4 is carried, this would result in £0.090m additional resources for the unauthorised encampment service.

Additionally, if Conservative amendment 2 is carried and Conservative amendment 4 is subsequently carried, this would result in an overall reduction in trade union facility time resources of £0.088m.

3 If Conservative amendment 3 is carried and subsequently Green amendment 1 is carried, this would result in £0.026m additional resources for Youth Led Grants.

If Conservative amendment 3 is carried and subsequently Green amendment 2 is carried, this would result in £0.028m additional resources for Youth Led Grants.

If Conservative amendment 3 is carried and subsequently Green amendments 1 and 2 are carried, this would result in £0.054m additional resources for Youth Led Grants.

If Conservative amendment 3 is carried and subsequently Green amendment 3 is carried, this would result in £0.015m additional resources for the Warm Homes Strategy.

4 If both Conservative amendments 2 and 4 are carried, this would result in an overall reduction in trade union facility time resources of £0.088m.

If Conservative amendment 4 is carried and Green amendment 2 is subsequently carried, the risk provision would reduce by £0.056m overall.

Green Group Amendments 1 to 4

1 If Green amendment 1 is carried, and Green amendment 2 is subsequently carried,  this would result in additional resources of £0.014m for Youth Led Grants.

If Green amendment 1 is carried as well as Conservative amendment 3, this would result in £0.026m of additional resources for Youth Led Grants.

If Green amendments 1 and 2 are carried as well as Conservative amendment 3, this would result in £0.054m of additional resources for Youth Led Grants.

If Green amendment 1 is carried as well as Conservative amendment 1, this would result in £0.053m additional resources for Community, Jubilee and Hove Libraries.

2 If both Green amendments 1 and 2 are both carried, this would result in additional resources of £0.014m for Youth Led Grants.

If Green amendment 2 is carried as well as Conservative amendment 3, this would result in £0.028m of additional resources for Youth Led Grants.

If Green amendments 1 and 2 are carried as well as Conservative amendment 3, this would result in £0.054m of additional resources for Youth Led Grants.

Additionally, if Green amendment 2 is carried as well as Conservative amendment 4, the risk provision would reduce by £0.056m overall.

3 If Green amendment 3 is carried as well as Conservative amendment 3, this would result in £0.015m additional resources for the Warm Homes Strategy.

4 If Green amendment 4 is carried as well as Conservative amendment 2, this would result in £0.090m additional resources for the unauthorised encampment team.

Elizabeth Culbert                                                                Nigel Manvell

Monitoring Officer                                                               S151 Chief Financial Officer

Procedural Note: Setting a Lawful Budget for 2025/26

Introduction

Under section 30 (6) of the Local Government Act 1992 the Council has a duty to set the Council tax before the 11 March each year. A failure to set the tax by then does not in itself invalidate the tax demands but it has other adverse consequences including the potential loss of income to the Council. In practical terms this means the Council needs to reach a final position to meet billing deadline requirements before the 1 March 2025.

The legal obligations for setting the budget mean in practical terms that:

-      Members should not put forward proposals that would mean setting an unlawful budget and need to take officer advice in particular from legal and finance to ensure that their proposals are in order;

- Although the Council corporately sets the budget, the Council acts through Members collectively; each and every Member is therefore jointly and severally responsible for the setting of the budget; and

- Wherever possible, Members are expected to facilitate rather than frustrate the setting of a lawful budget.

The Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014 impose an obligation on the Council to require the vote of Members on the budget to be recorded. The votes on the amendments and the substantive budget will be conducted by electronic voting and the individual votes will be reflected in the minutes.

Please also note that the formal Council Tax resolution incorporates the following recommendations:

That Council notes:

“4) That Council notes the Equalities Impact Assessments to cover all relevant budget options as set out in Appendix 7.

“5) That Council further notes that approval of the budget is an indicative resourcing decision to be taken in the context of the explanation given in the Legal Implications paragraph 18.2.”

Elizabeth Culbert, Director Governance & Law (Monitoring Officer)