DECISION:

Propose a draft General Fund Revenue Funding Requirement of £459.429m for 2024-25 subject to remaining changes arising from the final Local Government Finance Settlement and any other necessary adjustments.

1.    Propose to levy a 2% Adult Social Care precept and an increase of 2.99% on the general Council Tax element for 2024-25.

2.    Approve that the Corporate Director Resources, in consultation with the Mayor and Cabinet Member for Resources & Cost of living, be authorised to make any changes required to the draft budget following receipt of the Final Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS).

3.    Note the latest draft position of the Council’s reserves, subject to final audit of the statements of accounts.

4.    Approve the creation of the Council Tax Cost of Living Relief Fund.

5.    Note the results of the budget consultation at Appendix 10.

6.    Propose the 2024-25 Housing Revenue Account budget as set out in Appendix 7A.

7.    Agree that the National Schools Funding Formula (NSFF) adopted by Tower Hamlets originally in 2019-20 continues for 2024-25. The only changes included are increases to the factor values in line with the NSFF.

8.    Agree that the Minimum Funding Guarantee (the mechanism that guarantees schools a minimum uplift in per-pupil funding) is set as close to 0.5% as affordable, the maximum allowed after consideration for growth and factor changes in School allocations.

9.    Agree that the structure of the Early Years Funding Formula remains unchanged except for the introduction of the expanded two-year-old entitlement and new provision from 9 months from September 2024 with revised hourly rates increases in line with the Early Years National Funding Formula.

10.Note that the Local Council Tax Reduction Scheme will remain unchanged for 2024-25.

11.Note the School funding position set out at Section 3.10, in particular the overall Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) deficit.

12.Note the Equalities Implications as set out in Section 4.

13.Approve the three-year General Fund (GF) Capital Programme 2024-27 as set out in Appendix 8A, totalling £202.255m.

14.Approve the three-year Housing Revenue Account (HRA) Capital Programme 2024-27 as set out in Appendix 8D, totalling £384.918m.

15.Approve the revised 2023-24 General Fund and HRA Capital Programme budgets as set out in Appendix 8A and 8D, totalling £88.862m and £72.157m respectively.

16.Approve the budget allocation growth and reductions to schemes in the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account capital programme as detailed in Appendix 8C, subject to sign off through the council’s capital governance process.

17.Approve delegated authority to the Corporate Director of Housing and Regeneration in consultation with the Corporate Director of Resources to take any steps required to deliver the capital programme including but not limited to going out to tender, appointing consultants and contractors in accordance with the Procurement Procedures, acquiring land interests and appropriating land from the General Fund to the Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for the delivery of new council homes, subject to approved budgets and in consultation with the Mayor and the Cabinet Member.

18.Approve budget provisions relating to the housing capital rolling programme to maintain and improve the existing council stock, amounting to 23.903m in 2023-24, £23.000m in 2024-25, £28.000m in 2025-26 and £34.000m in 2026-27, totalling £108.903m, in line with the latest update to the 30-year HRA Business Plan, with spend to be only committed in consultation with the Mayor and the Cabinet Member for budget provisions relating to financial years 2024-25 to 2026-27.

All capital projects within the capital programme will only proceed once all due diligence relating to the council’s capital governance process has been completed.

Action by:

CORPORATE DIRECTOR RESOURCES (J. LORRAINE)

Interim Director of Finance, Procurement and Audit (J. Harrison)