Agenda and minutes

In the event the fire alarm sounds attendees will be advised to evacuate the building via the nearest fire exit and assemble at the Bottle of Notes opposite MIMA.

The Chair welcomed all present to the meeting and read out the Fire Evacuation Procedure.

To receive any declarations of interest.

There were no declarations of interest received at this point in the meeting.

To receive and consider any communications from the Chair,

Mayor, Executive Members or Chief Executive (if any).

The Chair announced, with sadness, the death of former Councillor Geraldine Purvis.

Geraldine represented Brambles and Thorntree Ward between 2011 and 2023.    During her time as a Councillor Geraldine served on a number of committees and scrutiny panels and represented the Council on outside bodies including Thorntree Community Hub and the Tees Valley Arts Board.

Council were also asked to remember former Councillor Terry Lawton, who had also sadly passed away recently.

The Chair invited Members to join her in a minute’s silence, as a mark of respect.

Motion No. 167

Motion No. 167, carried at the Council meeting held on 16 October 2024, resolved that Council would write to the Chancellor of the Exchequer asking that HM Treasury consider reforming eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment. 

A response dated 18 February 2025 had been received from Torsten Bell MP, Minister for Pensions, and a copy of the letter would be circulated to all Councillors following the Council meeting.

A joint report of the Executive Member for Finance and Director of Finance and Transformation (S151 Officer) was presented to seek Council approval for the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2025/26.

The report outlined the proposed Council Tax Reduction (CTR) scheme (sometimes referred to as Council Tax Support) scheme for 2025/26.  Each Billing Authority in England had a statutory requirement to design and locally fund a Council Tax Reduction scheme by no later than 11 March each year, approved by a full Council decision.

The proposed scheme for 2025/26 would incorporate the minor legislative amendments to be made by Government through regulations that the Council was obliged to include.

It was recommended that the scheme’s income bandings were subject to an inflation uplift to reflect the rate applied by Government to working age benefits, so that the current level of support for claimants was maintained and continued to provide appropriate support for the town’s financially vulnerable residents.

A copy of Middlesbrough Council’s Council Tax Reduction Scheme was attached to the submitted report.

On a vote being taken, it was ORDERED that the Council Tax Reduction Scheme for 2025/26 was approved.

Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 places a duty to declare an interest on any councillor who is two or more months in arrears with their Council Tax payments if they attend any meeting involved in setting the Council tax rate for the local authority. They must abstain from any vote involved in the setting of the Council tax rate until they are no longer in arrears.

A joint report of the Mayor, Executive Member for Finance and Director of Finance and Transformation (S151 Officer) was presented to seek Council approval of the proposed budget for 2025/26 and the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) to 2028/29, following on from the report presented to Executive on 5 February 2025.

The Mayor presented the report and thanked all Officers and Councillors for their involvement in crafting the budget.

The annual budget report and MTFP was a detailed and complex report which formed the basis of the Budget and Policy Framework.  Information presented in the main report highlighted the key issues for consideration and provided substantial detail in the supporting appendices.

The report incorporated the following sections following the conclusion of the recent budget consultation and the Final Local Government Finance Settlement (LGFS) for 2025/26 published on 3 February 2025:

•           Report of the Director of Finance (s151 Officer’s) in relation to the robustness of budget estimates and the adequacy of financial reserves under s25 of the Local Government Finance Act 2003 (Appendix 1).

•           Medium Term Financial Plan (MTFP) 2025/26 to 2028/29 (Appendix 2).

•           Proposed 2025/26 Net Revenue Budget of £143.304m (Appendix 2).

•           Council Tax setting including an increase of 4.99% for 2025/26 (Appendix 7).

•           Budget Consultation feedback (Paragraphs 4.8 to 4.16 and Appendix 3).

•           Reserves Policy (Appendix 4).

•           Fees and Charges Policy (Appendix 5).

•           Proposed Capital Programme and Capital Strategy Report for 2025/26 to 2028/29 totalling £170.290m (including £74.798m for 2025/26), and the associated financing (Appendix 6).

•           Schools Budgets (Appendix 8).

The report contained a number of issues for consideration and approval by Council, and also a number of issues to note which were detailed in Section 2.

The report reflected the Final Local Government Finance Settlement published on 3 February 2025, and updates on the minor changes from the report to Executive on 5 February 2025 which was based on the Provisional Local Government Finance Settlement published on 18 December 2024.

Council approval of the 2025/26 budget and proposed Council Tax was required by the statutory deadline of 11 March 2025.

The report was to be read in conjunction with the Prudential Indicators and Treasury Management Strategy 2025/26 report at Agenda Item 7 for the Council meeting.  The Prudential Indicators and Treasury Management Strategy 2025/2026 translated the Council’s revenue income and expenditure plans and capital investment plans for the purpose of the Council’s cash flow management, together with setting the framework within which the Council’s investment and borrowing activity was governed.

Councillor Mason raised a Point of Order under Council Procedure Rule No. 4.34.1 (e).

Consideration was given to a procedural motion moved by Councillor Mason and seconded by Councillor Smiles of which notice had been given in accordance with Council Procedure Rule No. 4.34.1 (e) as follows:

To adjourn the debate for a period of two weeks in order to allow Councillors more time to consider the proposed budget. 

On a vote being taken the motion was REJECTED.

The Chair  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/104

A joint report of the Executive Member for Finance and the Director of Finance and Transformation (S151 Officer) was presented to seek Council approval for the Treasury Management Strategy and Prudential Indicators 2025/26.

The Council was required to approve annually a Treasury Management Strategy and a set of Prudential Indicators, which self-regulated the level of capital financing activities of the Council and the affordability of the capital programme.  These needed to be set on an annual basis to comply with the Local Government Act 2003 and the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Codes of Practice on Capital Finance and

Treasury Management.

The Treasury Management Strategy was important from both a financial and governance perspective as it set the framework within which the Council managed its borrowing and investments, how it delivered these services, and how it controlled the risks attached to any decisions made.  It also set out the parameters and criteria that governed the day-to-day cashflow management activity and how these impacted on the medium to long term financial planning.  These included achieving value for money from any borrowing undertaken, managing risk, and protecting any resources that had been invested.

The Prudential Indicators were an integral part of the CIPFA Capital Finance Code and demonstrated whether the capital programme was affordable, sustainable, and prudent.   They included the level of capital expenditure over the next four years, how this had been financed, the maximum level of external debt and the cost to the revenue budget.

The Minimum Revenue Provision (MRP) policy governed how the Council planned to account for the repayment of loan principal in relation to its borrowing activities and had a fundamental impact upon the annual revenue cost of borrowing and over the long  term.  The current MRP policy was based on a 2% annuity model in line with many other local authorities.  The Council took the decision during the 2022/23 financial year to review the MRP policy, the effect of which was to achieve improved affordability on an annual basis over the short to medium term, although there were higher revenue charges in 25 – 50 years’ time.

The Council’s underlying need to borrow was measured by the Capital Financing Requirement which was forecast to be £310.197m during 2025/26 rising to £333.295m by the end of 2026/27 and decreasing slightly thereafter.  This resulted in the revenue cost of borrowing as at page 2 of the submitted report. 

Whilst the Council was not an outlier in terms of its level of total debt it was reaching its limit of revenue affordability on borrowing to fund its future capital investment.  The Council would need to prioritise its capital investment decisions over the medium and longer term and secure its financing through third party funds such as contributions and grants and capital receipts from the sale of assets to minimise future borrowing.

The Chair invited the Monitoring Officer to conduct a recorded vote on the recommendations contained in paragraph 2 of the report.

The result of the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 24/105