Decision Maker: Council

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: February 26, 2025

Purpose: To obtain Full Council approval for the annual capital budget, treasury management strategy, revenue budget and to pass the statutory formal Council Tax resolutions.

Content: 1.    That the updated City of Wolverhampton Capital Strategy be approved. 2.    That the City of Wolverhampton Flexible Use of Capital Receipts Strategy be approved. 3.    That the revised, medium term General Fund capital programme of £352.6 million, an increase of £12.9 million from the previously approved programme, and the change in associated resources be approved. 4.    That the authorised borrowing limit for 2025-2026 to support the capital strategy as required under Section 3(1) of the Local Government Act 2003 to be set at £1,249.72 million (Reference PI 3, Appendix 3 of the Cabinet report) be approved. The forecast borrowing was below the authorised borrowing limit. 5.    That the Treasury Management Strategy Statement 2025-2026 as set out in Appendix 1 of the Cabinet report be approved. 6.    That the Annual Investment Strategy 2025-2026 as set out in Appendix 2 of the Cabinet report be approved. 7.    That the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators as set out in Appendix 3 of the Cabinet report be approved. 8.    That the Annual Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) Statement setting out the method used to calculate MRP for 2025-2026 for the General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) as set out in Appendix 4 of the Cabinet report be approved. 9.    That the Treasury Management Policy Statement and Treasury Management Practices as set out in Appendix 6 of the Cabinet report be approved. 10.That it be approved that authority be delegated to the Section 151 Officer to amend the Treasury Management Policy and Practices and any corresponding changes required to the Treasury Management Strategy, the Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators, the Investment Strategy and the Annual MRP Statement to ensure they remain aligned. Any amendments would be reported to the Cabinet Member for Resources and Cabinet as appropriate. 11.That it be approved, that authority be delegated to the Section 151 Officer to lower the minimum sovereign rating in the Annual Investment Strategy, in the event of the UK’s credit rating being downgraded by the third credit rating agency, due to the current economic climate. 12.That the net budget requirement for 2025-2026 of £361.3 million for General Fund services, reflecting the work of the Our Future Council Programme over the last 12 months be approved. 13.That the Medium-Term Financial Strategy (MTFS) 2025-2026 to 2027-2028 as detailed in Sections 4 and 8, and the key assumptions underpinning the MTFS as detailed in Appendices 2 to 9 of the Cabinet report be approved. 14.That a Council Tax for Council services in 2025-2026 of £2,104.29 (Council element) for a Band D property, being an increase of 4.99% on 2024-2025 levels, which incorporates 2% in relation to Adult Social Care be approved. 15.That the refreshed Reserves Strategy as detailed in Appendix 13 of the Cabinet Report be approved. 16.That the establishment of an Executive Director of Families post and subsequent recruitment that would be subject to a Special Appointments Committee as per the Council’s Constitution be approved. 17.That the redesignation of the Director of Transformation post to Director of People Services and subsequent recruitment that would be subject to a Special Appointments Committee as per the Council’s Constitution be approved. 18.That it be noted that the Council Tax base for 2025-2026 was calculated at 67,797.54 (Item T in the formula in Section 31B of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the “Act”), as reported to Cabinet on 15 January 2025. 19.That it be agreed to calculate the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2025-2026 was £142,665,000. 20.That it be agreed that the following amounts be calculated for the year 2025-2026 in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 as amended:   (a) £827,818,750     being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(2) of the Act.   (b) £685,153,750     being the aggregate of the amounts which the Council estimates for the items set out in Section 31A(3) of the Act.   (c) £142,665,000      being the amount by which the aggregate at 3(a) above exceeds the aggregate at 3(b) above, calculated by the Council in accordance with Section 31A(4) of the Act as its Council Tax requirement for the year. (Item R in the formula in Section 31B of the Act).   (d) £2,104.29            being the amount at 3(c) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (section 1 above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year (including Parish precepts).   (e) £0                          being the aggregate amount of all special items (Parish precepts) referred to in Section 34(1) of the Act.   (f) £2,104.29             being the amount at 3(d) above less the result given by dividing the amount at 3(e) above by Item T (1(a) above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 34(2) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year for dwellings in those parts of its area to which no Parish precept relates.   21.That it be noted, that West Midlands Police and Fire Authorities have issued precepts to the Council in accordance with Section 40 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 for each category of dwellings in the Council’s area as detailed in the report. 22.That it be agreed, that the Council, in accordance with Sections 30 to 36 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the aggregate amounts as detailed in the report as the amounts of Council Tax for 2025-2026 for each part of its area and for each of the categories of dwellings. 23.That it be agreed, that having calculated the aggregate in each case of the amounts at (3) (f) and (4) above, the Council, in accordance with Section 30(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, hereby sets the following amounts as the amounts of the Council Tax for the year 2025-2026 for each of the categories of dwellings as detailed in the report. 24.That it be agreed, that a notice of the amounts payable in respect of chargeable dwellings in each valuation band for the year commencing on 1 April 2025 be published in at least one local newspaper and that in accordance with Section 3(2) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, this notice shall also make reference to the National Non-Domestic Rating Multiplier set by the Secretary of State, and specify that the Council Tax and the non-domestic rate demands are annual demands which cover the full financial year. 25.That it be agreed, that the Council had determined that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2025-2026 was not excessive in accordance with principles approved under Section 52ZB Local Government Finance Act 1992. 26.That it be agreed, that as the billing authority, the Council had not been notified by a major precepting authority that its relevant basic amount of Council Tax for 2025-2026 was excessive and that the billing authority was not required to hold a referendum in accordance with Section 52ZK Local Government Finance Act 1992. 27.That it be noted, the MRP charge for the financial year 2025-2026 would be £22.8 million for the General Fund and £440,000 for the HRA; it was forecast that the General Fund MRP would increase to £23.1 million and the HRA MRP remain at £440,000 in 2026-2027 (paragraph 2.15 of the Cabinet report). 28.That it be noted, that Cabinet and Council would receive regular Treasury Management reports during 2025-2026 on performance against the key targets and Prudential and Treasury Management Indicators in the Treasury Management Strategy and Investment Strategy, as set out in paragraph 2.12 and Appendices 2 and 3 of the Cabinet report. 29.That it be noted, consistent with the Our Future Council Guiding Principles the capital programme (General Fund and HRA) would remain under constant review to identify opportunities to generate revenue budget savings.  The outcome of this work would continue to be reported to Cabinet as part of the suite of quarterly financial monitoring reports (paragraphs 2.4 and 2.5 of the Cabinet report). 30.That it be noted, that the Deputy Chief Executive would retain Section 151 Officer responsibility, allowing the Director of Finance post to become vacant, as a result the budget for this post would be given up as a saving.