1. Terry Collier Deputy Chief Executive (Chief Finance Officer)
Budget Briefing : 9/2/17 Sustaining a balanced budget over the medium term
Terry Collier Deputy Chief Executive (Chief Finance Officer)
1 : 12 April 2018

2. Session to cover Context
Funding update- Revenue Support Grant and New Homes Bonus
Business rates
Revaluation, transitional relief
Pressures and risk including staffing, assets, housing, recycling,
Ongoing Strategies to address medium term gap
Commercial asset investment strategy
Housing strategies
Balanced Budget
2 : 12 April 2018

3. Grant Reductions: Revenue Support Grant (RSG)
3 : 12 April 2018

4. Projected New Homes allocations
Future projected allocations have been revised down significantly
A 60% fall projected from to 20-21
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5. Combined RSG and NHB funding
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6. Business Rates impact on the Council
Spelthorne keeps 6% of £49m collected
Increasing reliance on business rates increases risk and volatility
£39m rateable value linked to appeals going back to 2010 – Valuation Office taking years to process and in meantime we have to make provisions based on how much to allow for successful appeals which we will have to repay. –with 100% retention appeals may be managed nationally
If an economic downturn we would take a 40% hit from businesses going into administration etc
Knowle Green offices bill to increase by 42% in April 2017 £80k and total bill for all our assets increase of £180k
6 : 12 April 2018

7. Business Rates Provisional multipliers for 2017-18 47.9p and 46.6p
Revaluation takes effect from 1 April 2017
Overall increase in Rateable Value across Borough 14%
Spelthorne does not keep any of the extra business rates
Transitional Relief Similar to 2010 and 2005 transition scheme
•Increases phased in by percentage limits for 5 years
•Paid for by phasing in decreases
•Small properties up to RV £20,000 (£28,000 in London)
•Medium properties up to RV £100,000
•Large properties above RV £100,000
7 : 12 April 2018

8. Transitional Relief Protection
YEAR SMALL MEDIUM LARGE
2017/
2018/
2019/
2020/
2021/
Small RV = £20,000 or less
Medium RV = £100,000 or less
Large RV = above £100,000
8 : 12 April 2018

9. Small Business Rates Relief
Changes announced in March 2016 budget
•Subject to regulations
•100% relief up to RV £12,000
•Tapered relief up to RV £15,000
•Lower multiplier applies automatically to all properties below RV £51,000 except empty properties and properties subject to mandatory relief
9 : 12 April 2018

10. How the BP rental income cake is sliced up: first full financial year (2017-18)
10 : 12 April 2018
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11. Additional net income generated from commercial acquisitions
2017/18
£000
2018/19
2019/2
BP - Main Site
3,448
3,390
3,331
BP - SW Corner
733
728
723
Elmbrook House
328
318
316
4,509
4,436
4,370
Fantastic improvement to our financial position made as a result of these transactions – but we still face significant challenges
11 : 12 April 2018
11 : 12 April 2018

12. Budget Pressures and Growth (1)
Provisionally £2.5m of growth/pressures are being built into the draft budget for These include
Investment in staff - recruitment, development and retention
Local Pay award £200k
Provision for market supplements £200k
Increased provision for Legal £100k
Investment in assets
Elmsleigh lifts £457k – one off
Increased maintenance provision £250k
Business rates valuation increase £180k
12 : 12 April 2018

13. Budget Pressures and Growth (2)
Housing
Additional resources to meet statutory pressures £294k
Reducing Housing Benefits overpayments credit £300k
Streetscene – including reduced recycling income £294k
13 : 12 April 2018

14. Impact on Projected Budget Gaps: Managing expectation
Before After
Balanced Balanced
£1,500k funding gap Balanced
Further £1,800k (cumulative £3,300k) £300k
Further £1,600k (cumulative £4,900k) Further £1368k (cumulative £1,668k)
Further £100k (cumulative £5,000k) Further £246k (cumulative £1,912k)
14 : 12 April 2018
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15. Current Deficit assumptions and factors driving gap
Band D Annual council tax increase of £5 per annum
Interest rates may not rise before early 2018
Stock condition of assets – backlog maintenance of £3.6m to be programmed in over next 4 years
Staff annual pay award –move back to local agreement linked to national pay (as a minimum) – assumed 2% for and 1.75% thereafter
Benefits overpayment income of £0.5m per annum phased out by with Universal Credits
15 : 12 April 2018

16. Budget Pressures including housing and recycling
Continuing demand for B&B temporary housing accommodation now approx. 74 families spend recently slightly eased but awaiting to see full impact of new benefit cap in November 2016
Triennial local govt pensions revaluation take effect from anticipated to rise by £50k steps per annum
Roll out of Universal Credit will continue which will mean by loss of the £0.5m overpayments net credit we have been achieving- delay in process benefits SBC
Risks to recycling income with moves by SCC to reduce waste management costs and move to a single Surreywide approach- potential net increase of £200k to £300k per annum
Funding of Thames Flood Relief Scheme
16 : 12 April 2018

17. Council Tax
Spelthorne to continue to protect its council tax base and put up by maximum amount allowed ie £5 per annum on band D or 2.7%.
1% increase equates to £75k
2.7% increase = £194k
SCC - 5% increase (3% + 2%)
17 : 12 April 2018

18. Towards a Sustainable Financial Future closing the £1.9M gap
Income Generation
Maximising investment returns
Financial investments
Commercial properties
Obtain value and ongoing income from assets
Grow the council tax and business rates taxbase
Reducing office accommodation footprint and costs and generating housing rental income on current site
Alternative delivery models for services
Eg Public Service Mutuals, partnerships and Local Authority Trading Companies
Emergency Planning mutual set up and winning contracts
18 : 12 April 2018

19. Investments- Growing our income
Interest rates available from counterparties to councils are low
To mitigate impact of the above put in place diversified investment strategy
Equity backed funds
Corporate bond funds
Property backed funds
Housing associations
Can only deposit for relatively short periods reducing returns
On our core £9.5m pooled funds Council earned average return of 4.89% for plus capital gain of £0.7m
Return of 5% provides benchmark for evaluating income generation proposals
19 : 12 April 2018

20. Spelthorne Means Business
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21. Questions ?
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