Agenda item

Prior to consideration of the report the Section 151 Officer & Director of Finance provided an update to Members having received the final Local Government Settlement from Government which confirmed:

·       The Council Tax report was based on the approval of the Medium-Term Financial Plan (MTFP) report which was considered by Council in January 2026.

·       The MTFP figures had been based on the Government’s provisional finance settlement and as Members were previously advised there was a chance that the government had made an error this year in relation to the business rates pooling income which would lead to a revision of income in the final settlement.

·       This error was corrected by Government in the final settlement which meant a reduction in income for all years for Bolsover District Council.

·       Government was providing a grant for 2026/2027 which compensated for the  reductions in revenue support grant and income protection, but there was a loss of £725k in business rates which would not be compensated for.

·       This compensatory grant would only apply for the 2026/2027 financial year, so the reductions in income for future years compared to what was originally in  the MTFP would now be £2.1m for 2027/2028; £2.4m for 2028/2029 and £1.6m for 2029/2030. 

·       It was proposed to fund these losses from the National Non-Domestic Rates Growth Protection Reserve, so there would be no change overall to the bottom line of the MTFP.

·       Previously, it was predicted that there would be a balance of £16.9m in the reserve by the end of this financial year, and in the original MTFP this figure would not have changed by the end of the final year of the plan. However, taking account of the changed Government settlement, these figures were updated and it meant that by the end of the MTFP a balance in the reserve of £9.1m was predicted. This may change next year if a further grant for 2027/2028 was announced as part of the 2027/2028 settlement.

·       An updated MTFP report would be submitted to Council in May for approval.

Councillor Moesby, Portfolio Holder for Resources then presented the report which set out the proposed level of Council Tax for 2026/27.  Members were reminded that the Bolsover District share of the Council Tax was agreed at the January 2026 meeting at the maximum allowed for a Band D property.  This report included the increases for the remaining precepts for the Council Tax as detailed in the report.

The Localism Act 2011 required the billing authority to calculate a Council Tax requirement for the year.  The approved demand on the Collection Fund for the Council should be £5,087,952.  The Council had received all parish precept demands which totalled £5,395,398.45 so the total demand on the Collection Fund 2026/27 would be £10,483,350.45.

In order to calculate the Council Tax requirement for the area at the relevant bands, the demands of the County Council, Police Authority, Fire Authority, and Parish Councils also needed to be taken into account.  The Council had received all the relevant precept demands from these other local authorities that precept upon the Council as the billing authority for Council Tax.

The following comments were made during discussion:

·       Councillor Watson stated that she couldn’t support the proposed increase in Council Tax when services were not being improved.  The south of the district had no litter picking services and missed out on many improvements services and yet the Council wanted to increase the Council Tax.  There didn’t appear to be any legacy or benefits for Bolsover residents following on from Local Government Review (LGR) and she sought clarity from the Leader as to what was being done.

·       Councillor Yates confirmed that a Strategic Asset Management Plan (SAMP) was being drawn up which would include all assets and an assessment of their condition including playgrounds, parks, and car parks.  The aim was for these assets to be left in the best possible condition going into the new Unitary Authority following LGR.  However, a lot of the reserves would be needed to upgrade Pleasley Vale Business Park. Members were also asked to share information on Council assets requiring improvement or upgrading within their wards which could then be added to the SAMP.

·       The Section 151 Officer confirmed that there wouldn’t be a definitive profit for Dragonfly until it has stopped trading after 2026/27.

·       The Strategic Director of Services confirmed that remedial works were taking place on Mill Ponds 1 and 2 at Pleasley Vale Business Parks which included one of the culverts for health and safety reasons.  Further works will be required in the future.  The pond was drained as it needed to be desilted, so the water levels had to be lowered.  Consultation had taken place with Derbyshire Wildlife Society and the Environment Agency to obtain the relevant permits.  Media communications were due to be published to advise people of the works and reasons for it.

The Chair reminded Members that a recorded vote would need to be taken on this item as required by the Local Authorities (Standing Orders) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2014.

Moved by Councillor Moesby and seconded by Councillor Ritchie

          RESOLVED that (1) the Council Tax for the Financial Year 2026/27 as set out in the report be approved;

          (2)  authority be given to the officers as set out in section 1.6 of the report to undertake the identified duties in accordance with section 223 of the Local Government Act 1972, and delegated authority be given to the Council’s Chief Financial Officer to authorise any amendments to the list of named officers that may prove necessary during the course of the financial year; and

          (3) delegated authority be given to the Director of Finance & Section 151 Officer to recalculate the figures within this report if the Fire Authority approve different figures than those provisionally received.

For the motion (24):

Councillors Bennett, A Clarke, R Clarke, Davis, Fritchley, Hales, Haywood, Hinman, Jeffery, Kirkham, McGregor, Moesby, Munro, Powell, Raspin, Renshaw, Ritchie, Smith, Tait, Taylor, Tite, Turner, Wapplington, and Yates.

Against the motion (7):

Councillors Fox, Gilbody, Kane, Peake, Stevenson, Watson, and Wilson.

Abstentions: (0)