Issue - meetings

To consider the attached report of the S151 Officer.

The s151 Officer presented the Section 25 report to Members.

Members were advised that the Local Government Act 2003 (Section 25) required that the s151 Officer reported to Members on the robustness of the estimates made for the purposes of the budget calculations and the precept for the Council’s council tax and the adequacy of the proposed financial reserves, so that Members could have regard to them when considering the annual budget and precept.

It was the opinion of the s151 officer that the Council’s budget had been prepared on a rigorous and robust basis and the Council’s reserves were sufficient for its immediate needs. However, it was also the opinion of the s151 officer that there were two significant factors that could undermine the budget over the next year or two because of the actions of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC). Accordingly, the Council faced the choice of either maintaining border controls to protect UK farming and the food chain, at the Council’s own expense or effectively follow the logic of DEFRA’s withdrawal of Dover Port Health Authority (PHA) funding and cease the limited controls at the border and expose the UK to the high risk of African Swine Fever and other Products of Animal Origin (POAO) risks.

If the Council continued at its own expense, it risked massively depleting its reserves, and greatly increasing the risk of the chief finance officer being required to make a report pursuant to s.114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 in 2025/26.

Members considered the report and discussed the potential impact on the Council’s resources.

It was moved by Councillor K Mills, duly seconded by Councillor S H Beer, and

RESOLVED:       That the report be received and taken into consideration when approving the Council Budget 2024/25 and Medium-Term Financial Plan 2024/25-2027/28 (MTFP).

To consider the attached report of the Section 151 Officer.

Responsibility: Portfolio Holder for Finance, Governance, Climate Change and Environment

It was agreed that the report be noted and taken into account when considering the Budget 2024/25 and Medium-Term Financial Plan 2024/25-2027/28.