Agenda item

The following recommendations were made by Cabinet to Full Council at the meeting held on 3^rd October:

1.    Council Tax Discounts Determination 2023/2024

To recommend to Full Council that under Section 11A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 2012 and other enabling powers that:

1)    The discounts for the year 2023-24 and beyond are set at the levels indicated in the table at paragraph 2.1

2)    The existing 100% council tax hardship discount and associated policy (see Appendix B) remains in place for 2023-24

3)    That an exception to the levy charges may be made by the Revenues Manager in the circumstances laid out in section 2.2 of this report

4)    The premiums for the year 2023-24 and beyond are set at the levels indicated in the table at paragraph 2.3

5)    A new second homes premium of 100% as detailed in paragraph 2.4 is applied from April 2024, subject to the necessary legislation.

6)    To continue to award a local discount of 100% for eligible cases of care leavers under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended)

7)    Those dwellings that are specifically identified under regulation 6 of the Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings) (England) Regulations 2003 will retain the 50% discount as set out in paragraph 1.2 of this report.

8)    Those dwellings described or geographically defined at Appendix A which in the reasonable opinion of the Revenues Manager are judged not to be structurally capable of occupation all year round and were built before the restrictions of seasonal usage were introduced by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, will be entitled to a 35% discount

To set appropriate council tax discounts and premiums which will apply in 2023-24 and to raise council tax revenue.

In accordance with the relevant legislation these determinations shall be published in at least one newspaper circulating in North Norfolk before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date of the determinations.

The following recommendations were made by Cabinet to Full Council at the meeting held on 7^th November:

1.    Budget Monitoring Report 2022/2023 – Period 6

To recommend to Council that any outturn deficit is funded from a contribution from the use of the General Reserve.

2.    Prudential Indicators 2021 – 2022

That the outturn position in respect of the 2021 – 2022 Prudential indicators is approved.

Cabinet 3^rd October 2022

1.    Council Tax Discounts Determination 2023 / 2024

Cllr E Seward, Portfolio Holder for Finance & Assets, introduced this item. He drew members’ attention to two of the recommendations.

Firstly, that any properties that could not be lived in but were undergoing repair, would receive a 50% council tax discount, as long as the repairs were completed within 9 months.

Secondly, that a second homes premium of 100% is applied from April 2024. Cllr Seward explained that the legislation allowing this was currently going through Parliament and it was anticipated that Royal Assent would be granted in 2023. Local Authorities were required to give 12 months’ notice ahead of introducing the premium, so it was coming to Full Council now for approval. He added that it was not certain that 100% could be applied until the legislation was passed, or whether there would be any flexibility around how it was managed. Cllr Seward reminded members that the District Council only received 9 pence in every pound raised in Council Tax. He said that if the premium was introduced as planned, the additional income would be ring-fenced for affordable housing, however, the Council would need to negotiate with Norfolk County Council and the Police for agreement on this.

Cllr E Withington reiterated the impact of second homes on local communities. She said that the Council needed additional income to address the housing crisis in the District, reminding members that there were currently 2,700 households on the housing waiting list. Funding to purchase land for the building of homes was crucial.

It was proposed by Cllr E Seward, seconded by Cllr R Kershaw and

RESOLVED that

Under Section 11A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 and in accordance with the provisions of the Local Government Finance Act 2012 and other enabling powers that:

1)    The discounts for the year 2023-24 and beyond are set at the levels indicated in the table at paragraph 2.1

2)    The existing 100% council tax hardship discount and associated policy (see Appendix B) remains in place for 2023-24

3)    That an exception to the levy charges may be made by the Revenues Manager in the circumstances laid out in section 2.2 of this report

4)    The premiums for the year 2023-24 and beyond are set at the levels indicated in the table at paragraph 2.3

5)    A new second homes premium of 100% as detailed in paragraph 2.4 is applied from April 2024, subject to the necessary legislation.

6)    To continue to award a local discount of 100% for eligible cases of care leavers under Section 13A of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 (as amended)

7)    Those dwellings that are specifically identified under regulation 6 of the Council Tax (Prescribed Classes of Dwellings) (England) Regulations 2003 will retain the 50% discount.

8)    Those dwellings described or geographically defined at Appendix A which in the reasonable opinion of the Head of Finance and Asset Management are judged not to be structurally capable of occupation all year round and were built before the restrictions of seasonal usage were introduced by the Town and Country Planning Act 1947, will be entitled to a 35% discount

To set appropriate council tax discounts and premiums which will apply in 2023-24 and to raise council tax revenue.

In accordance with the relevant legislation these determinations shall be published in at least one newspaper circulating in North Norfolk before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the date of the determinations.

Three members abstained.

Cabinet 07 November 2022

1.    Budget Monitoring Report 2022-2023 – Period 6

Cllr E Seward introduced this item. He said that he welcomed the proposal by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee that the year end forecast overspend was logged in the Corporate Risk register and that the RAG status was reviewed by the Governance, Risk & Audit Committee (GRAC) at their next meeting in December and that regular updates were provided to Members on the mitigation measures being taken to address the forecast deficit. Cllr Seward added that the Council was now entering unprecedented times in terms of trying to deal with inflationary cost pressures. No-one anticipated this when the Budget was set in February 2022. He reminded members that this was a forecast and that the outturn figures often varied. However, the situation would be monitored closely.

It was proposed by Cllr E Seward, seconded by Cllr P Heinrich and

RESOLVED

That any outturn deficit is funded from a contribution from the use of the General Reserve

2.    Prudential Indicators 2021 – 2022

Cllr E Seward, Portfolio Holder for Finance & Assets, explained to Members that this was a statutory report that was presented to Full Council annually.

It was proposed by Cllr E Seward, seconded by Cllr L Shires and

RESOLVED

To approve the outturn position in respect of the 2021 -2022 prudential indicators