Decision Maker: Adults and Health Committee
Decision status: Recommendations Approved
Is Key decision?: No
Is subject to call in?: Yes
All Committees were being asked to provide
feedback in relation to their financial responsibilities as
identified within the Constitution and linked to the budget
alignment approved by the Finance Sub-Committee in March 2024.
Responses to the consultation would be reported to the Corporate
Policy Committee to support that Committee in making
recommendations to Council on changes to the current financial
strategy.
The Committee considered a report which detailed the proposals within the budget consultation relating to the Committee’s responsibilities, from Nicola Wood-Hill, Lead Finance Business Partner.
The Committee were updated that the figures within the report assumed a 4.99% Council Tax increase, with 2% ringfenced for Adults Social Care. There was currently no capital programmes detailed for Adult Social Care as the Service would not know the capital requirement until the Transformation Plan was further developed.
Members were updated that Cheshire East Council was responding to several national surveys which were asking for responses from local councils on the pressures which rises to the National Living Wage and National Insurance contributions were causing. Members were updated that if this led to an increase on commissioned care costs, this would be dealt with from a central contingency.
Members were informed that any grants awarded to Cheshire East Council from the government for historically not raising Council Tax were detailed in the appendices.
Members noted that decisions made by other Service Committees within the Council were at risk of undermining those decisions taken by this committee and asked that this was looked at by officers. Members queried whether there had been any increased in Council Tax Support payments, and whether there had been an impact on Adults Social Care as a result of Council Tax rises.
A named vote was proposed by Councillor Clowes and seconded by Councillor Moss with the following results:
FOR
Councillors Arthur Moran, John Place, Jill Rhodes, Judy Snowball, Dawn Clark and Ben Wye.
AGAINST
Councillors Sue Adams, Janet Clowes, Stewart Gardiner, Andrew Kolker and Liz Wardlaw.
NOT VOTING
Councillors Rob Moreton and Hannah Moss.
The motion was declared carried with 6 votes for, 5 votes against, and 2 not voting.
RESOLVED: (by majority)
That the Adults and Health Committee:
1. Recommend to the Corporate Policy Committee, for their meeting on 6 February 2025, all proposals within Appendix A, as related to the Committee’s responsibilities, for inclusion on the Council’s budget for 2025/26.
2. Identify any further budget change proposals, as related to the Committee’s responsibilities, that could assist Corporate Policy Committee in presenting an overall balanced budget to Council for 2025/26.
3. Note the capital growth items listed in Appendix B and the revenue implications noted in paragraph 23. These will be reviewed by the Capital Review Programme Board in January before a final list is brought to Corporate Policy committee in February.
4. Note the contents of Appendix C – Provisional Local Government Settlement 2025/26 (Finance Sub Committee).
5. Note the contents of Appendix D – Council Tax benchmarking and scenarios (Finance Sub Committee) and consider what the impact of any requests for a change of Council Tax policy would be.
Report author: Tracy Baldwin
Publication date: 22/01/2025
Date of decision: 20/01/2025
Decided at meeting: 20/01/2025 - Adults and Health Committee
Effective from: 30/01/2025
Accompanying Documents: