Agenda and decisions

Up to one hour is allowed for this item

Any member of the public or Councillor may participate in Public Forum. Petitions, statements and questions received by the deadlines below will be taken at the start of the agenda item to which they relate to.

Petitions and statements (must be about matters on the agenda):

• Members of the public and members of the council, provided they give notice in writing or by e-mail (and include their name, address, and ‘details of the wording of the petition, and, in the case of a statement, a copy of the submission) by no later than 12 noon on the working day before the meeting, may present a petition or submit a statement to the Cabinet.

• One statement per member of the public and one statement per member of council shall be admissible.

• A maximum of one minute shall be allowed to present each petition and statement.

• The deadline for receipt of petitions and statements for the Cabinet meeting on 26^th January is 12 noon on Monday 25^th January 2021. These should be sent, in writing or by e-mail to: Democratic Services, City Hall, College Green, Bristol, BS1 5TR

e-mail: democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

Questions (must be about matters on the agenda):

• A question may be asked by a member of the public or a member of Council, provided they give notice in writing or by e-mail (and include their name and address) no later than 3 clear working days before the day of the meeting.

• Questions must identify the member of the Cabinet to whom they are put.

• A maximum of 2 written questions per person can be asked. At the meeting, a maximum of 2 supplementary questions may be asked. A supplementary question must arise directly out of the original question or reply.

• Replies to questions will be given verbally at the meeting. If a reply cannot be given at the meeting (including due to lack of time) or if written confirmation of the verbal reply is requested by the questioner, a written reply will be provided within 10 working days of the meeting.

• The deadline for receipt of questions for the 26 January Cabinet is 5.00 pm on Wednesday 20^th January 2021. These should be sent, in writing or by e-mail to: Democratic Services, City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR.

Democratic Services e-mail: democratic.services@bristol.gov.uk

Please indicate whether you are planning to attend the meeting to present your statement or receive a verbal reply to your question by 4pm on Friday 22^nd January.

To note any declarations of interest from the Mayor and Councillors.  They are asked to indicate the relevant agenda item, the nature of the interest and in particular whether it is a disclosable pecuniary interest.

Any declarations of interest made at the meeting which is not on the register of interests should be notified to the Monitoring Officer for inclusion.

(subject to a maximum of three items)

To note any announcements from the Chair

Cabinet Approved:

1. The acceptance and incorporation of government funding totalling £9.6m into the Council’s Revenue budget in 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix A, Section 3.4.
2. The Spending of £0.9m Additional Restriction Grant (ARG) passed through to the Council in supporting Local Businesses, Appendix A, Section 3.4.
3. The incorporation of £436.667 grant from Home England if received into the capital programme as noted in Appendix A3.

4. That the Period 9 (December) monitoring report to be the only publicly reported budget monitoring report for 2020/21 financial year before the year-end outturn report (at P12). Internal monitoring and forecasting by budget holders will still take place, however no formal public report will be published except for any significant movement in forecast (if any) reported on an exceptional basis. This will ensure that resources during these periods are redirected and focused on a list of activities detailed under Appendix A section 6.

That Cabinet Noted:

5. Risks associated with the forecast outturn and the long-term financial impact on the Council as a result of COVID-19 pandemic.
6. A risk of non COVID-19 related overspend on General fund services, an overall forecast overspend of £6.3m for 20/21 at Period 8, representing 1.6% of the approved budget. This overspend is like to trigger a supplementary estimate at year-end, provisional approval will be sought from Council in the budget report to facilitate this.
7. Forecasts underspend of £3.3m with regards to the Housing Revenue Account.

8. A forecast in-year deficit of £8.6m and a total £11.4m carried forward deficit in the ring-fenced Dedicated Schools Account (DSG).
9. £1.021m bid had been submitted under National Leisure Recovery Fund (NLRF), details under Appendix A, section 3.
10. A forecast £13.5m underspend against the approved Capital Programme.

Cabinet Noted:

1. That a report from the Budget Scrutiny Committee will follow after their meeting on 4 February
2. The categorisation of earmarked reserves and provisions set out in Section 16 of appendix A
3. The advice given by the Chief Finance Officer with respect to the robustness of the budget estimates and the adequacy of the Council’s reserves as set out in Section 15 of Appendix A
4. The budget consultation process that was followed and feedback as outlined in Section 17 of Appendix A and Appendix 6.
5. The feedback provided by the Schools Forum, to Cabinet and Council, for their consideration in making final decisions on the Schools Budget for 2021/22.
6. The uncertainty around COVID response spend, COVID income loss and central government COVID funding levels for the full impact 2021/22 and beyond, and that the estimates provided could be subject to significant change over the medium term.
7. Council’s Ethical Investment Policy and Strategy is due for revision during 2021/22, which will be expended to incorporate Equitable Policy for Investment in addressing racial and other economic inequalities in the city.

Cabinet Approved:

1. The removal of £8 million allocation of strategic CIL from Temple Island in line with current capital programme.
2. The delegation of authority to the Director of Finance after consultation with the Deputy Mayor, Cabinet Member for Finance, Governance and Performance and the Mayor, to make any necessary technical adjustments or adjustments to the figures upon receipt of the final Local Government Finance Settlement, West of England Combined Authority Budget and Department for Education funding clarifications; with transfers to and or from reserves as appropriate.

Cabinet recommended to Full Council:

1. The Bristol City Council levels of Council Tax increase of 4.99%; which includes 3% precept to support Adult Social Care and noting the precepts of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Avon and Somerset and the Avon Fire Authority.
2. The Council’s General Fund net revenue budget for the year 2021/22 as £424.1 million and expenditure allocations as set out in Appendix 1; subject to any budget amendments properly notified to and approved by the Council in line with the Constitution.
3. The temporary movement in general reserves of up to £3.9 million to mitigate the forecasted year end emergent pressures in the People directorate as outlined in Section 5 Current Revenue Budget.
4. To Agree the Council’s capital budget (including the HRA) for the years 2021/22 - 2025/26, totalling £907.6 million as set out in paragraph 13 and detailed in Appendix 2.
5. The proposed total Schools budget of £404.7 million for 2021/22 as set out in section 9 Appendix A, which will be funded by the Dedicated Schools Grant.
6. The proposed Treasury Management Strategy for 2021/22 in Appendix 4, incorporating the Minimum Revenue Provision policy and the prudential indicators and limits.
7. The calculations for determining the Council Tax requirement for the year 2021/22 as outlined in Section 8 of Appendix A and in accordance with the Local Government Finance Act 1992.
8. To approve the Strategy for the Flexible use of Capital Receipts  ...  view the full decision text for item 9.

Cabinet recommended to Full Council:

1. Schools Block (detail in Appendix A.3)

a)      the Schools Block budget be set at £295.864m for 2021/22, as per Table 1 above, after £1.4m of the overall Schools Block DSG has been transferred to the High Needs Block, this was agreed by Schools Forum on 13 January 2021;

b)      the basis for distributing the funding to mainstream schools be as set out and agreed by Schools Forum (Appendix A.3)

c)      the Growth Fund for established schools expanding in September 2021 be set at £2.0m (a component of the total Schools Block budget);

2. Central School Services Block (detail in Appendix A.2)

a)      Following Schools Forum agreement, the Central School Services Block budget is set at £2.627m for 2021/22, after £0.147m is transferred to the High Needs Block.

3. High Needs Block (detail in Appendix A2)

a)      The High Needs Block budget be set at £69.053m for 2021/22 as per Appendix A2, after receiving transfers of £1.547m from other blocks;

b)      Members note that this level of budget is estimated to lead to a cumulative deficit in the High Needs Block in the region of £13.4m by the end of March 2022.

4. Early Years Block (detail in Appendix A2)

a)      the Early Years Block budget be set at £37.185m for 2021/22, noting that spend and DSG income will vary up or down, according to participation levels in each of the three terms;

b)      Funding for Early Years should be distributed in line with the arrangements explained in report to Schools Forum (Appendix A2)

5. Overall position

a)      Members note that individual school balances are expected to be in the region of £3.9m at the end of 2020/21, with 17 of 67 maintained schools in deficit, and the DSG position is currently expected to overspend by £8.6m for 2020/21.

Item deferred to Extraordinary Cabinet – Wednesday, 3^rd February 2021, 2pm.

Cabinet:

1. Approved the increase in parking tariffs in the Central Controlled Parking Zone and the council’s off street car parks as laid out in this report and Appendix A.
2. Authorised the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, Energy and the Green New Deal to undertake the necessary statutory procedures to implement these changes.
3. Noted that the Executive Director Growth and Regeneration in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Transport, Energy and the Green New Deal will liaise with SS Great Britain Trust to agree new parking charges and related discount to SS Great Britain customers.

Cabinet:

1. Approved the re-procurement of the Supply and Delivery of Vehicle and Plant Spares, Consumables and Oils Contract for up to 5 years at a cost of up to £240,000 per annum.
2. Authorised the Director Workforce and Change in consultation with the Cabinet Member Finance, Governance and Performance to take all steps necessary to procure and award the contract.

Cabinet noted the report and the measures underway to improve performance.

Cabinet noted the report and progress on embedding Risk Management arrangements within the Council.