The current round of Brent Connects forums (this week there is one for Wembley on Tuesday (see side bar for details) will hear a presentation about the Borough plan. That plan will incorporate a worsening financial situation for the borough over the next 4 years which seems unlikely to be mitigated by any change of government.
This is the budget cycle for the 2015-16 budget:
![]()
The Council Tax Base shows a slight increase due to increased population and more properties being built in the borough. Additionally more people are paying Council Tax after the Council Tax Support changes. However Central Government funding of local authorities continues to reduce. New Social Care legislation which caps the amount people pay and a reduction in parking charges revenue also affect the picture.
![]()
![]()
The overall impact is a reduction in funding of £50 by 2018-19:
![]()
It is also likely that changes in education funding nationally will see a decrease in London, and of course Brent, after 2015 with some envisaging school budget cuts of 12%.
The report LINK going to the Cabinet tomorrow contains the usual structures on legality:
--> This is the budget cycle for the 2015-16 budget:
The overall impact is a reduction in funding of £50 by 2018-19:
The report LINK going to the Cabinet tomorrow contains the usual structures on legality:
This is the source of the claim, likely to be heard at Brent Connects, that the Council has no alternative but to administer Coalition cuts.A local authority must budget so as to give a reasonable degree of certainty as to the maintenance of its services. In particular, local authorities are required by the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to calculate as part of their overall budget what amounts are appropriate for contingencies and reserves. The Council must ensure sufficient flexibility to avoid going into deficit at any point during the financial year. The Chief Financial Officer is required to report on the robustness of the proposed financial reserves.Under the Brent Member Code of Conduct members are required when reaching decisions to have regard to relevant advice from the Chief Finance Officer and the Monitoring Officer. If the Council should fail to set a budget at all or fail to set a lawful budget, contrary to the advice of these two officers there may be a breach of the Code by individual members if it can be demonstrated that they have not had proper regard to the advice given.