Agenda and minutes

Resolved

that the committee

1.

Develop a Policy for Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMO’s)

(Moved by Councillor M Couchman and seconded by Councillor C Adams)

Resolved

that the committee

1.

Endorsed the amount of debt written off for the period of 1 st April 2024 to 31st December 2024 – Appendix A-E

2.

Approved the write off of irrecoverable debt for Business Rates of £132,655.94 – Appendix F respectively

(Moved by Councillor B Clarke and seconded by Councillor S Daniels)

Resolved

that the committee approved

1.

the Vision Statement, Priority Themes, Corporate Priorities and Outcomes for 2025 – 2030 (Appendix 1);

2.

the proposed revisions to Service Revenue Budgets (Policy Changes) (Appendix E of the MTFS);

3.

the sum of £33,143 be applied from Council Tax Collection Fund surpluses in reducing the Council Tax demand in 2025/26 (Table 16, Section 7.8 of the MTFS);

4.

the sum of £92,642 be applied to Business Rates Collection Fund deficits in 2025/26 (Table 16, Section 7.8 of the MTFS);

5.

that on 12th December 2024, the Cabinet calculated the Council Tax Base 2025/26 for the whole Council area as 23,596 [Item T in the formula in Section 31B(3) of the Local Government Finance Act 1992, as amended (the "Act")];

6.

that the Council Tax requirement for the Council’s own purposes for 2025/26 is £4,925,901 (Appendix F and Appendix H of the MTFS);

7.

the following amounts as calculated for the year 2025/26 in accordance with Sections 31 to 36 of the Act:

a.       £4,925,901 being the amount 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 31A(4) of the Act);

b.       £208.76 being the amount at 6 (a) above (Item R), all divided by Item T (at 4 above), calculated by the Council, in accordance with Section 31B(1) of the Act, as the basic amount of its Council Tax for the year;

8.

the Council Tax level for the Borough Council for 2025/26 of £208.76 (an increase of £6.06 (2.99%) on the 2024/25 level of £202.70) at Band D;

9.

an aggregate Council Tax (comprising the respective demands of the Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council, Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Authority) of £2,209.81 at Band D for 2025/26 be noted (£2,107.68 in 2024/25) (Appendix H of the MTFS);

10.

the Council Tax levels at each band for 2025/26 (Appendix H of the MTFS);

11.

In accordance with Section 11c of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Act     2023, a discretionary council tax premium of 100% on second homes and  empty homes to be implemented with effect from 1st April 2026;

12.

the sum of £148,939 be transferred to General Fund Revenue Balances in 2025/26 (Appendix F of the MTFS);

13.

the Summary General Fund Revenue Budget for 2025/26 (Appendix F of the MTFS);

14.

the Provisional General Fund Budgets for 2026/27 to 2027/28, summarised at Appendix F of the MTFS, as the basis for future planning;

15.

minimum level for balances of £500k to be held for each of the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account, General Capital Fund and Housing Capital Fund;

16.

Cabinet be authorised to release funding from the General Contingency budget and that the release of funding for Specific Contingency items be delegated to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 118.

Resolved

that the committee

1.

Agreed to  implement the annual inflationary increase (5.5%) for the fees and charges where appropriate.

2.

Agreed that delegated authority be given, to set the new fees and charges for the TEC 2 and Flex Buildings, to the Portfolio Holder and the Interim Executive Director Finance, in consultation with the Assistant Director Growth and Regeneration; and

3.

endorsed increases in the charges applied for goods sold through the catering bar and shops throughout the year as these are based on cost price plus a margin.

(Moved by Councillor N Arkney and seconded by Councillor B Clarke)

Resolved

that the committee

1.

approved the Corporate Plan Narrative set out at Appendix A

2.

agreed the updated performance management framework and the plan for quarterly reporting going forward. This includes the draft template for the Annual Delivery Plan (Appendix B) to be used to develop the framework for assessing the progress to deliver the priorities from the Corporate Plan 2025-2030

3.

delegated authority to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Leader of the Council to finalise the actions required for the Annual Delivery Plan for the launch of the new Corporate Plan on 1 April 2025. 

(Moved by Councillor L Smith and seconded by Councillor S Daniels)

Resolved

that the committee

1.

Updated Local Development Scheme in Appendix A be approved for publication.

                  2.

Delegated authority to the Planning Policy and Delivery Team Leader to make any minor typographical amendments to the documents before or after publication

(Moved by Councillor B Clarke and seconded by Councillor S Daniels)