Issue - meetings

BUDGETING PACK 2022/23

Reports by Section 95 Officer

1. Introductory Report and Recommendations for Budget Papers

2. Revenue Pack

a. Revenue Budget Overview

b. Covid 19 Financial Position

c. Fees and Charges

d. Financial Risks Analysis 2022-23

e. Reserves and Balances – Updated for Budget Pack 2022-23

3. Capital Plan

a. Capital Plan Summary

b. Corporate Asset Management Strategy

c. Corporate Asset Management Plan including Asset Group Summaries

Additional documents:

Webcast for BUDGETING PACK 2022/23

Minutes:

The Council considered the Revenue Budget and Capital Budget papers as contained within the budgeting pack, considered such other appropriate resolutions in relation to these papers and fixed the Council Tax for the year to 31 March 2023 which had been referred without recommendation by the Policy and Resources Committee held on 17 February 2022.

Motion

Argyll and Bute Council:

1) Approves the revenue budget for 2022/23 as set out in the Revenue Budget Overview Report and subject to the decisions outlined below and set out in the Administration’s Budget Model provided at Appendix 1.

2) Approves a base allocation to the Health and Social Care Partnership of £69.005m for 2022/23. Approves indicative base allocations for 2023/24 and 2024/25 to be £69.005m. The level of future years funding is subject to the level of Scottish Government funding and the Council’s overall financial position in future years.

3) Agrees to defer the proposed 3% reduction to the Live Argyll management fee, resulting in a total management fee for 2022/23 of £4.075m. Notes that this will be applied in 2023/24 and will be subject to any future budget decisions. Agrees to engage in early discussions with Live Argyll management in relation to future approach to support effective longer term financial planning.

a) Rejects policy savings option R104 - Burials and Cremations, totalling £80k;

b) Accepts all other policy savings options proposals, set out in Appendix 6 of the Revenue Budget Overview report, totalling £279.5k.

c) Endorses the management/operational savings, set out in Appendix 5 of the Revenue Budget Overview report, totalling £2.442m.

5) Agrees the following additional investments in line with Argyll and Bute Council’s Priorities, as set out in the table below and also in the Administration Budget Model at Appendix 1:

Keeping Argyll and Bute Connected - £3.153m			One-off or Recurring	Funded From
£2.653m	Roads	Continuing a multi-million pound investment programme over the life of this council by providing an additional £2.653m to maintain and improve Argyll and Bute’s rural, remote, island and urban roads network, to guarantee an overall Roads Reconstruction Budget of £8m for 2022/23.	One-off	General Fund/COVID Monies
£0.5m	Active Travel	In support of the council’s agreed priorities, allocates an additional £0.5m for active travel, including further improvements for footpaths and pavements and supporting safer routes to schools across Argyll and Bute. Requests that officers bring forward a report setting out scheme proposals to the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee.	One-off	General Fund
Investing in Our Places - £0.537m
£300k	Street Lighting	Allocates £300k to deliver a programme of street lighting column replacement and improvement across Argyll and Bute, prioritised based on condition, with funding for at least 260 lighting columns.	One-off	General Fund
£100k	Litter Bin Replacement Programme	Invests £100k in Argyll and Bute’s litter bin replacement programme and infrastructure, providing almost 200 new/better bins across the area where required due to condition/need and with a focus on town centres and prominent locations, to support cleaner communities. Requests that officers explore options for use of new and innovative litter disposal solutions for future consideration.	One-off	General Fund
£100k	Staycation Boost	Augments the 2021/22 £0.5m staycation initiative with an additional investment of £100k, including support for community groups and partners in the provision of facilities which can support increasing staycation visitor numbers during the 2022/23 season.	One-off	From Recovery and Renewal Fund
£17k	Seasonal public toilets	Agrees provision of £17k to allow all seasonal public toilets to remain open all year round. These facilities are at Kilchattan Bay, Ulva, Ganavan, Crinan, Sandy Beach and Glenmorag. This means that, going forward, all public toilets will be open all year round.	Recurring (to be baselined)	Revenue Budget
£20k	Festive parking	Agrees that, going forward, all off-street parking charges will be suspended across Argyll and Bute for the two-week period prior to Christmas Day, to encourage residents to support local shops in the lead-up to Christmas, noting that in 2022 this will be from 9^th to 24^th December inclusive.	Recurring (to be baselined)	Revenue Budget
Safeguarding Our Future - £1.5m
£1m	Learning Estate Investment Programme	Allocates £1m to help safeguard and support future funding for Argyll and Bute’s Learning Estate Investment Programme.	One-off – put into provision	General Fund
£0.5m	Climate Change Projects	Provides additional funding of £0.5m, building on previous £1.1m investments, for climate change, including projects within Argyll and Bute’s schools.	One-off	General Fund
Supporting Growth in Partnership - £0.165m
£75k	Argyll and the Isles Tourism Co-operative	In recognition of the importance of effective marketing of Argyll and Bute to maximise staycation opportunities and boost recovery and growth, approves the funding request from AITC and, to support future targeted/strategic activity as part of the overall focus on recovery, requests that officers engage with AITC to put in place a programme of regular evaluation and update reporting.	One-off	Existing Staycation Earmarking
£75k	CHArts	Agrees to the request to provide investment of £75k for 2022/23 to support the organisation in delivering targeted support, in communities, to the culture, arts and heritage sector as part of its plans to contribute to overall economic recovery.	One-off	From Recovery and Renewal Fund
£15k	Our Isles and Oceans	Agrees the request for a contribution of £15k to assist the organisation in delivering a second round of sailing-focused youth development programmes based in Argyll and Bute.	One-off	Existing Staycation Earmarking
Total investment in Argyll and Bute Priorities - £5.355m

6) Notes the announcement of the Scottish Government's £80m Local Authority Covid Economic Recovery (LACER) Fund, to support local economic recovery and cost of living impacts on low income households, and which will be distributed to local authorities to deliver in ways which best meet local needs. In order to ensure that this support reaches communities as quickly as possible, agrees to delegate the arrangements for Argyll and Bute's allocation of this funding to the Leader, Depute Leader and Leader of the largest Opposition Group.

7) Agrees £90,000 base funding for Strategic Events and Festivals for 2023/24, in order that the application ... view the full minutes text for item 5

Issue - meetings

BUDGETING PACK 2022/23

Meeting: 24/02/2022 - Argyll and Bute Council (Item 5)